Ningbo

Famous Sight

As an old cultural city with a clear distinction of four seasons and moderate climate, Ninbo has nurtured many talented people. There are 225 cultural relics in Ningbo, and these scenic spots are sure to make Ningbo a nice place for tourists from all over the world.

Hemudu Relics

Hemudu Relics, which is located in Hemudu village in Yuyao city, has been verified to have a history of 7,000 years. From the site, large amount of rice, animals'remains, fruits, wooden buildings, oars, thousands of ceramic vessels and primitive handicraft have been excavated. This stands to prove that Ningbo is the first place to grow rice. Like the Yellow Valley, Yangtzi Valley is also the origin of China's brilliant culture.

Hemudu Relics is now under the national preservation. And a museum of Hemudu Relics has been built with inscriptions from Chairman Jiang Zeming. Reserchers can find here many objects and documents for their study of human history.

Tianyi Building

Tianyi Building, located in the west of Yue Lake, was first erected from 1561 to 1566 and became the oldest book-collecting building now in China. In it there are more than 300,000 books, among which 80,000 are reliable texts of handwriting and wood engraving. These books are mostly local chronicles and records of imperial examinations, which provide precious documents for the study of ancient Chinese and their folklore and history.

The original and graceful design of the two-layer Tianyi Building also helps to give it its name. In front of the building is a sink called Tianyi Sink with a hill of rare stones in the middle, just like nine lions and one elephant playing in water. The Zunjin Building, the Mingzhou forest of tablets, the Dongyuan and the branch of Qingshi ancestral temple constitute integral parts of the whole Tianyi Building.

Baoguo Temple

Baoguo Temple is located at the foot of the Ling Mountains and is about 15 kilometers from the proper of Ningbo. With a history of 700 years, it is the oldest wooden building now in the South of China and has already been put under the national preservation.

The uniqueness of the temple lies in the fact that it was erected without using a single peg. The roof beams is cleverly covered by hollow sunk panels, which helps to give the building its name of "non-beam temple".

Moreover, the main part of the temple called the "Daxiong Hall" has been a riddle for thousands of years as neither birds nor mice dare to enter it and spiders can never weave a net there.

Xuedou Mountains in Xikou city

The Xuedou Mountains is located 35 kilometers southwest of the city proper of Cixi city. Its three scenic spots include the Xikou town, Xuedou Mountains and Tingxia Lake. In Xikou town, there remains the Fenghao room, the former residence of Jiang Kaishi and Jiang Jinguo, Wenchang building, Wulingmen, Angling Platform, Tomb of Jiang Kaishi's mother and Wushan Temple. In Xuedou Mountains, there is a Buddhistic rite of Maitreya, Thousand Feet Rock waterfall, Miaogao Platform and Yushu Pavilion.
As a summer resort, the whole scenic area is about 60 square kilometers with an average temperature of 16 throughout the year.

Liang-Zhu Cultural Park

As a matter of fact, the love story of Liang and Zhu is not simply a legend, but it had a prototype in history. In the local chronicles, like Chronicles of Ningbo Prefecture and Chronicles of Yinxian County, there are definite accounts about Liang Shanbo. According to the historical records, Liang Shanbo was born in Guiji (today's Shaoxing) in the East Jin Dynasty (317-420 AD). He was once County Governor of Yinxian County. In the book Climates, Geography and Atlas of Siming by When Zhang Jin (a historian in the Song Dynasty), under the entry of Yinxian County, it is noted, The Righteous Woman's Grave, where Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai were buried together, lies behind Jie Dai (meaning "reception") Temple 10 li west of the county, with a temple nearby. Old records indicate that the two used to be classmates for nearly 3 years and Shanbo was too innocent to suspect that Yingtai was in fact a girl. This corresponds with the record in Chronicles of Ten Provinces and Four Ethnic Groups about the righteous woman Zhu Yingtai who shares one grave with Liang Shanbo. This citation not only tells us of the location of the Liang Shanbo Temple, but also quotes the ancient chronicles in the early Tang Dynasty on the Liang-Zhu story. These are the earliest records on the love story of Liang and Zhu in Chinese history. Although there are many other relics which are supposed to be related to the lovers in China, there is only one Liang Shanbo Temple and it is here in Ningbo. After careful field investigations by authoritative experts on folk arts, it has been confirmed that the origin of Liang Zhu love story is the Shanbo Temple in Gaoqiao Town.