Blogs from Ningbo, Zhejiang, China, Asia - page 2

I arrived in China two years ago, curious of Chinese traditions and customs. To my surprise modernity and its customs are just as prevalent in the city where I’ve been living and finding harder to leave Ningbo. The Ningbo evenings, where the river breeze and the ocean breeze meet after squeezing through skyscrapers and the many humming city lights. Before arriving Ningbo was described a smaller Chinese city, still it dazzles and is just as energetic as I imagine many global cosmopolitan cities. I stood for some time, admiring the rows of rainbow bridges and their many colors. The night skyline of Ningbo dazzles. I’m afraid I’m falling for this city. The nights of the Ningbo skyline are like modern stars. They light the way and point to a brighter future.... read more

This morning I suddenly realized that I was no longer the same person as when I began this journey in Ningbo. My China experience was beyond expectation, despite this not being my first visit to the country or city. In fact, every visit to China offers a new journey, a new experience, a new feeling. This time my journey led me to Tianyi Pavilion and its surrounding gardens. If you don’t know about the Tianyi Pavilion, you should do some research. The first private library in China, the oldest standing library in Asia， one of the world’s three most treasured historic libraries. As an outsider to Chinese culture， this was my first time to be truly humbled, to truly appreciate the value of history as I viewed where history itself was... read more

Today my friends and I visited a remarkable temple in Ningbo, China; Ashoka Temple. Ningbo is full of historic Buddhist buildings, the Ashoka Temple is perhaps the most well-known and respected. DAY 1 The Ashoka Temple preserves over 1700 years of Chinese history. A Chinese friend insisted we visit this temple. His grandmother visited countless times to give prayer and burn incense among the ancient monuments and cultural relics. DAY 2 The second day of the visit we went to Seven Pagoda Temple, which is the largest preserved temple in urban Ningbo and a very famous temple in Zhejiang. Every day hundreds if not thousands of people visit the Buddhist temples in Ningbo. You can sense the spiritual atmosphere that has preserved these places and the spiritual integrity of Ningbo.... read more

A trip out to the countryside! Today we were heading out to explore the bamboo forest in the Ningbo area. The drive proved just how vast China is, we drove for two hours (we did get lost a bit) and when we reached our destination we were still in Ningbo, I think maybe even the same county. The drive wasn't too bad we left the highway and the scenery got more and more rural the further we drove. It was so nice to be out of the city and see a different side to Ningbo. We finally found the village where we were meeting the others and the bamboo farmer's house. We had drove past it several times. The family had prepared some snacks for us and I got stuck in as I was feeling pretty ... read more

Geo: 29.88, 121.55We were up early as we had to get to Hongqiao Railway Station, we decided we would get breakfast there to save time. We got a taxi, luckily the roads were quiet until we got the the big elevated roadway, then a lot of the time, we were just crawling. We made it, this place is absolutely huge, through security, then to line up for tickets and hopefully get the right train to Ningbo!! All good, now to sit back for 2 hours and watch the scenery! We arrived safely, then walked to our hotel, just down the road, like 650m away!!! We checked in to the Howard Johnson Plaza Ningbo, and because we haven't stayed here before, we were upgraded to a suite with a personal butler!! Our room was nice, 2 rooms, ... read more