Get In & Around Ningbo
By Air
Lishe Airport is about 11 kilometers (7 mi) from downtown Ningbo,
about 20 minutes' drive. The taxi fare should be ¥45-60.
Alternatively, a shuttle bus to South Ningbo Railway Station runs
every hour until 18:00 (¥10). Local bus service is also available
(¥2).
There are regular flights to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenyang, Xi'an,
Xiamen, Nanchang, Haikou, Shantou, Shenzhen, Changsha, Nanjing,
Kunming, Chengdu, Lanzhou, Zhuhai, Hefei, Guilin, Chongqing, Dalian,
Qingdao, Wuhan, Fuzhou, Harbin, and Urumqi in Mainland China; Macao
and Hong Kong; Kaohsiung on Taiwan; Fukuoka in Japan; Incheon in
South Korea; and Bangkok in Thailand.
By Train
Ningbo Railway Station
Centrally located with downtown hotels a short taxi ride
away. Metro Line 2 serves the station. Taxis are not permitted to
pick up new fares in the drop-off area outside the station, but are
usually readily available at a queue in the basement. The ticket
offices are open from 06:15-19:45 to the left of the main entrance.
Tickets can be purchased on the first or second floor; tickets which
have been booked online may only be picked up at the office on the
second floor.
From Hangzhou
Many high-speed trains (Gaotie
or "G" trains) are available daily from Hangzhou East Railway
Station. These take about 1 hour and cost ¥80-100.
There are another 10 or so normal trains from Hangzhou's City
Station (城站) which are cheaper but average slightly longer travel
times.
From Shanghai
All trains from Shanghai to
Ningbo go through Hangzhou. High speed trains are available from
Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station (上海虹桥站). These take 2-3 hours and
cost between ¥100-150.
Normal trains are available from Hongqiao Station or from Shanghai
South Railway Station (上海南站). These take 4-5 hours and cost around
¥50.
Downtown Ningbo can fill a few days but is similar to most major Chinese cities. To see some really jaw-dropping parts, you have to get out to the suburbs and countryside, where you will meet the kindest of people with the warmest of smiles and breathtaking mountain ranges steeped in thousands of years of history that has been relatively undisturbed.
Get Around
Metro
Ningbo Rail Transit operates Lines 1 and 2, the former having
stations which service the airport and railway station. Plans call
for an additional four lines by 2020, of which Line 4 will service
East Railway Station.
Taxi
Taxis are ¥10 for the first 3.5 km. Be aware that a ¥1 "fuel tax" is
added to the fare in addition to the price displayed by the meter.
As is common throughout China, you should expect no comprehension of
English from the driver. Print the addresses in Chinese in advance
will be helpful.
Bus
Busses are usually ¥2, although some older lines without
air-conditioning cost ¥1 and some longer lines charge according to
distance. Stops are not displayed or announced in English.
Bike
Bike sharing is prevalent. Users will need to install the
particular smartphone app specific to the company to rent a bike.
Prices are around ¥2 for 30 minutes.
Attractions in Ningbo
Tianfeng Ta
Commercial St 城 隍庙商业步行街 (Close to Chenghuang Temple). Tianfeng Tower was
originally built during the Tang Dynasty (695-696) then rebuilt
during the Song Dynasty (1144). Tianfeng Ta has seven “obvious”
stories and seven “hidden” stories, with four more reportedly buried
underground.
Baoguo Temple
(Bus Route: 332). 08:30-16:30. Baoguo Temple is seated on the
mountainside of Lingshan Mountain, about 15 km (9 mi) away from
downtown. As a cultural relic spot under state-level protection, it
was initially established in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) and
rebuilt and expanded in later dynasties. The present Baoguo Temple
is a mixture of constructions made by various dynasties. ¥12.
Ayuwang (Ashoka) Temple
(bus 759 or 790 from Ningbo East Bus Station) Legend
says the Sheli Pagoda here wasn't built, but rose from
the ground. This active monastery 20 km (12 mi) from
Ningbo houses a bone fragment of Sakyamuni, Buddhism's
founder, as well as artifacts, paintings and calligraphy
- some personally written by Chinese emperors. Legend
has it that the monk who found it was looking for one of
the many Sheli pagodas that the Indian ruler Ayuwang
(Ashoka) had established throughout the world. The monk
was walking in the area and heard a bell ringing from
underground. He sat down and prayed for three days and
three nights, at which point the pagoda came surging up
from beneath the ground. A temple was eventually
completed on the site in 522 and named.
Hemudu
(Bus 333 from Ningbo, 06:00-17:00). 08:00-17:00. In the
outer district of Yuyao about 90 minutes by road from
down town Ningbo in the flourishing countryside. Hemudu
has a small but good museum with signs in English.
Displayed are a still playable 6-7,000-year-old bone
flute, rice, plough shares, weaving, inlaid-bone and
wood carvings, and jade ornaments. ¥25, student ¥13.
Tiantong National Forest Park
(bus 162 from Ningbo East Bus Station) Located in Taibai
Mountains, 25 km (16 mi) from Ningbo City proper, the
Tiantong National Forest Park covers an area of 334
hectares, with green peaks rising one higher than the
other. The park is home to nearly 1,000 species of
plants, including a large number of fine tree species,
such as Henry emmenopterys, ginkgo trees, Henry ormosias
and Tianmu Mountain lily magnolias, in addition to some
rare medicinal herbs, such as five-leaf gynostemmas,
glabrons sarcandras, fortune plumyews, many-leaf paris
and diverse leaf jack in the pulpits. A total of 119
Chinese herbal medicines found here are included in the
China Pharmacopoeia. For this reason it bears the name
"natural botanical garden in east Zhejiang Province.
Nanxi Hot Spring
Nanxi Hot Spring lies in in the outer district of Ninghai, Nanxi Village of Shentianchuan Township, 76 km (47 mi) to the downtown of Ninghai County. With a forest resource of 9,627 hectares or 9,627 mu, the scenic area was approved by the State Department of Forestry in 1991 as a national forest park, and thus it became one of the ten best scenic spots in Ningbo. As a well-known hot-spring resort in Zhejiang, the park is featured in its peaceful mountains, clear waters and dense forests.
ZheDong Grand Canyon
315-606 China Ninghai County Baixi Village, Chakou Town. Huge
sweeping views of lush green countryside, water runs through the
canyon as you follow a rough and ready trail.
