Ningbo Travel Guide - Brief Information on Ningbo

With a long history, Ningbo is a sub-provincial administrative city of Zhejiang province, specifically designed according to state plan. The city lies south of Hangzhou Bay and faces the East China Sea. It is separated from Zhoushan by a narrow body of water and borders Shaoxing to the west and Taizhou to the south. Ningbo has direct jurisdiction over 6 districts, 3 county-level cities and 2 counties.

Being one of 14 open coastal cities, Ningbo is the economic center and petrochemical industrial base of the area south of the Yangtze River Delta as well as an important city of East China. As a port city for external trade since the seventh century, Ningbo has become the most developed city in Zhejiang and a main exporter of consumer goods, electrical products, food, industrial tools and textiles.

Apart from its economic significance and achievements, Ningbo also boasts a rich culture and is a renowned tourist city. It is the cradle of Hemudu Culture which had a history of more than 7,000 years. The city enjoys wonderful natural and cultural landscapes and now has 11 national historic reservations and 225 historic and cultural preservation units. Among them, the most celebrated include the Tianyi Pavilion Library, the Baoguo Temple, the Tuoshan Dam, the Xuedou Temple, Dongqian Lake, and the East Han dynasty relics of the Celadon Kilns of the Yue Kingdom at Shanglin Lake. Besides, with its profound cultural background, Ningbo is very popular for its exquisite and unique handicrafts, such as gold-silver thread embroidery, gilt wooden engravings, bamboo ware and foil-gilt lacquerwork.

Ningbo has a well-developed transportation system and is the transport hub of the east part of Zhejiang Province. Land transportation, maritime traffic, air traffic and waterborne traffic are developing quickly. Ningbo’s Lishe airport is connected with Hong Kong and other major cities nationwide and in addition, railways, highways, waterways and public transportation are easily accessible.