Ningbo Performances

There is nothing artistic about the pic I'm posting tonight other than the fact that they are all about the performing arts. While we were in Ningbo we got to see many performances and were very lucky to see some of the talent the city has to offer.

This picture was taken at the official opening gala function of the Ningbo Tourism Festival.

This boy was one of two performers that amazed us with their skills at Tengtou Village. He also did an amazing performance of hopping up steps while standing on his head.

This is a traditional Chinese stage performer. Part of the act is that the mask changes colours a couple of times during the performance. He was one of many performers on stage on the opening day of the tourism exhibit on Tianyi Square.

This traditional orchestra performed at the National Day Reception hosted by the mayor of Ningbo. They look quite spectacular in their yellow dresses with the red background.

For the next week I may be a little erratic with my posts. We have a delegation from China arriving tomorrow and returning to China next Thursday. I have to fly to Cape Town tomorrow to meet them there and will be there for two days. We will be doing Table Mountain and Cape Point during our stay, so I am looking forward to getting some nice Cape Town pics. On Sunday we are back in Port Elizabeth and will be visiting two game reserves on one of the days, so I am hoping for some good animal pics as well. After they return to China my life will now get back to normal. It has been a hectic 6 weeks and I can't wait to get some rest and get back to my normal work routine. So please excuse me if you don't see much of me for the next 7 days, but I will make it up with some great South Africa pics when I get back.

Gates of Ningbo

Throughout Ningbo we saw many different gates and entrances. Today's post is dedicated to some of the gates that I encountered in our travels through the city and surrounds.

We spend one morning in Tengtou Village. Tengtou is situated just outside the city and was started as an eco friendly agricultural project. It is one of the global 500 best eco-environment regions and very popular agritourism destination with city folk. It has become a spot where families go on weekends to get away from the city and show their children what life on a farm is all about. It is also very popular for weddings and wedding photos.

Just a short distance from the modern shopping area of Tianyi Square I found this very traditional market where locals go and buy clothes, accessories and this and that. We found this little shop selling traditional things like fans, traditional clothes and more which made for very nice gifts. This gate was at the one side of the area.

A modern gate or arch at Tianyi Square with bright colours and traditional Chinese lanterns.

And of cause my obligatory night photo. This is one of the traditional gates that were found around the ancient shopping areas. The area has been developed into a modern shopping district with the modern Tianyi Square and other downtown shopping centres just around the corner.

Places of worship in Ningbo

My post tonight is a bit info less. I can't find my Ningbo visitor guide brochure to give you some info on the places I am featuring today. I did find my map though, so I may be able to give you some idea on what you are looking at. We saw many different types of churches and places of worship. In this post I will feature three. That not counting the houses of worship for the shopping gods. That we saw lots of. Great big shopping centres. But for me churches make better photographic subjects.

This church is marked on the map as Christ Church. According to the notes I took it is a Catholic church and is situated in Waitan Park. Moments after I took this pic the skies opened up with a thunder storm of note.

This pic is of the Catholic Church next to Tianyi Square, one of the biggest shopping area in Ningbo. The back of the church is visible from the square and on spotting that the lights were on I headed over there after dinner. I took this one the same night as the pic of Tianfeng Tower, which meant that it was taken from under the umbrella with on hand while hoping that there aren't any raindrops falling on the lens.

This pic was taken of a Buddhist temple next to Moon Lake Park. We had a peek in and there were lots of incense being burned and very colourful areas for prayer and contemplation. The facade on the top of the building was fascinating.

Moon Lake Park, Ningbo

Moon Lake, also called Xi Lake or Huxi Lake by locals, is situated in urban Ningbo. The lake is surrounded by Moon Lake Park. The area is very popular with locals as most of the people in the urban area lives in appartment building without gardens and uses the park to get into a natural area.

Apart from several historic buildings that is situated around the park and lake, there are also ornamental gardens, rockeries, walkways and many quiet spots to relax and find yourself.

All throughout the park we saw people fishing from the lake with basic fishing rods. I didn't see anybody catch anything though. This "guy" was sitting on a rock on the bank in one of the more senic spots. To me this is what Moon Lake is about. Being calm and "rustig".

The park is specially attractive at night with the moon reflecting in the lake, hence the name Moon Lake. Many of the buildings around the lake is also lit up at night which make the area even more senic.

Tianfeng Tower, Ningbo

Tianfeng Tower was built during 695 and 696 AD when Emperor Wu Zetiain was in power.

The tower was destroyed in a war during the Jian Yan's reign from 1127 to 1130 AD. It was rebuilt in 1144 AD. In 1798 is was badly damaged in a fire and slowely started to erode badly in the extreme weather of the area. In 1984 the tower was extensively repaired to its original appearance in the Song Dynasty. The Tainfeng tower is 51 m high and has 13 layers, bright or dark.
As impressed I was with the tower during the day, so impressed I was with it at night when we drove past it the Friday night and I saw it was lit up. I went back the Saturday night to get some pics and the lights were off. What a disappointment. I went to check again the Sunday and still nothing. The Monday night it was pouring with rain and we were in the nearby shopping area when I noticed the lights were on. I told the others that I will be walking back to the hotel and set off with my umbrella and camera to try and get a decent photo of the tower at night. I don't know how many pics I took where every time I lifted the camera skywards I would get raindrops on the lense. I got lucky with one or two shots and this is one of them.

Tianyige Library, Ningbo

Ningbo's best known tourist attraction is Tianyige Library . It is tucked away in the vicinity of Moon Lake. Built in 1516 and said to be the oldest surviving library building in China, it was founded by Ming official Fan Qin. His collection went back to the eleventh century and included woodblock and handwritten copies of the Confucian classics, rare local histories and lists of the candidates successful in imperial examinations.

You can visit the library's garden and buildings, some of which contain small displays of old books and tablets.

It's quite a charming place and the gold-plated, wood-paneled buildings, the bamboo groves, pool and rockery still preserve an atmosphere of seclusion, contemplation and study.

Ningbo, China

I returned from my visit to Ningbo in China yesterday afternoon with all good intentions in the world to do a post last night, but 31 hours of traveling and sitting in airports took its toll and I passed out before even switching the computer on.

Over the next week or so I will do a series on Ningbo and its sights and attractions. Today is just an introductions and the description of Ningbo is thanks to Wikipedia.


Ningbo (literally meaning "Tranquil Waves") is a seaport with sub-provincial administrative status. The city and surrounding areas have a population of over 5 000 000 and is situated in northeastern Zhejiang province in China. Lying south of the Hangzhou Bay, and facing the East China Sea to the east, Ningbo borders Shaoxing to the west and Taizhou to the south, and is separated from Zhoushan by a narrow body of water.

Ningbo is one of China's oldest cities with a history dating back to 4800 B.C. the Hemudu culture. Ningbo was known as a trade city on the silk route at least 2000 years ago, and then as a major port along with Yangzhou and Guangzhou in the Tang Dynasty; thereafter, the major ports for foreign trade in the Song Dynasty. Ningbo was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842) at the end of the First Opium War between Britain and China. During the war, British forces took possession of the walled city of Ningbo briefly after storming the fortified town of Zhenhai at the mouth of the Yong River on 10 October 1841. In 1864 the forces of the Taiping Rebellion held the town for six months. In March 1885, during the Sino-French War, Admiral Courbet's naval squadron blockaded several Chinese warships in Zhenhai Bay and exchanged fire with the shore defences.
Ningbo was once famed for traditional Chinese furniture production.
During World War II in 1940, Japan bombed Ningbo with fleas carrying the bubonic plague.


"It has been said of the Ningbo fishermen that, 'no people in the world apparently made so great an advance in the art of fishing; and for centuries past no people have made so little further progress.

Nelson Mandela Bay (of which Port Elizabeth forms part of) has a twinning agreement with Ningbo.