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Published: October 16th 2016
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A quick trip to the Ningbo Museum. We tried to walk there as it didn't look too far away on the map, that was a mistake. We got horribly lost wandering around parts of Ningbo that are being developed. I thought Korea would never get finished the amount of construction work going on there, not a patch on China. Also, where are all the people? This part of Ningbo feels like a ghost town at times. After finding a Korean restaurant and having some bibimbap there, we flagged down a cab and drove to the museum. Much easier!
NIngbo museum opened in 2008 and was designed by Wang Shu, a famous Chinese architect. The museum looks very impressive from the outside, really different to the other buildings in the area. The idea behind the design is the mountains and water that have shaped Ningbo. The building also incorporates lots of used materials, such as old tiles. I couldn't really get any good photographs of the whole thing as it is just too big. There is a nice square opposite the museum and that was filled with families playing in the water jets. However, when we went over the jets went
off, they must only be on at certain times. The museum is free to enter, which is nice, makes it accessible for everyone.
We headed up to the top floor to start our exploration there. The escalator was a bit trippy as it goes across the whole distance of the museum, there is nothing underneath you. I really liked it up there. When you walked in there was a small model of some skyscrapers, which Ningbo has plenty of, and then as you walked on, it was like stepping back in time. The museum had a mock-up of an old street, with businesses lining it. There was an old style restaurant, which looked really cute. There were even some pots that looked suspiciously like kimchi pots. There was room, which looked like a fancier restaurant. I think I preferred the smaller one, as it looked more traditional. I loved the old poster, which had Chinese beauties advertising items. The women all looked so pretty and elegant. I didn't fancy the old doctor's surgery much. I bet treatment was pretty rustic. There was also some kind of street procession set up. Another part showed the posher side of life for
old Ningboese. I'm not sure if it was a posh house or a palace.
There is also a gallery dedicated to bamboo carvings. These were amazing! The skill that some people have is just phenomenal. I wish I had one tenth of their artistic ability. We also read up about the local dialect and Ningbo opera, I hope I am able to go and see a show while I am here. We headed downstairs to look at some more of the exhibitions there. It was interesting to learn about the British involvement in the area and the city's important role as a port city. There was also a gallery full of gorgeous pieces of traditional Chinese calligraphy. I really wished I was able to understand it. We did try and decipher some characters by explaining what they looked like to us. I doubt we were even close with our attempts. We then headed down to the ground floor, we couldn't find the way into the exhibit hall, so came out of the exit and decided to go back in. However, time wasn't on our side as when we tried to re-enter the museum had shut. Hopefully, I'll return one
day.
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