Ningbo, on the coast of the East China Sea in northern Zhejiang Province, is the terminus of the Xiaoshan-Ningbo Railway. Only 140 nautical miles from Shanghai and facing the Zhoushan Islands across the sea, it is a center of land and water communications. With a population of 740,000, it is ranked as the province's second largest city and has remained one of China's major foreign trade ports since the Tang Dynasty. After one of the Opium Wars in the 19th century, China was forced to open five Treaty Ports for foreign trade, including Ningbo.
Get in
Fly to Shanghai and take flight, train, bus, or hire a car to get to Ningbo. From Shanghai to Ningbo is 3 hours and half to 4 hours by bus and train.
Get around
Taxis are ￥9 for the first 3km. Bus is ￥1 (￥2 with air conditionning), but you must know the bus routes - stops are not announced in English.
Money matters
As a foreign expatriate, you can exchange your money at all major banks. A maybe wiser alternative is to use your foreign debit card. International ATMs (Plus/Maestro) can give about ￥1,000 (about 100,- Euros) out of each ATM each day, which should be sufficient. ATMs can be found all over the place.
Land Marks
Tian Yi Square. The city's main square.
Moon Lake. The main city park, originally built in 636.
Tian Yi Library. A garden pavilion built in the 16th century.
Lao Waitan. The "old bund", a popular nightlife district.
Shopping
cheap clothing - Chenghuang Temple.
brand-names - Tian Yi Square.
Carrefour (家乐福超市), 248 Zhongxing Road, Ningbo City，宁波中兴路248. Tel: +86-(0) 574-87771211. With parking lot.
Metro (麦德隆超市), 1 Maidelong Road, Ningbo City， 宁波麦德隆路1号 Tel: +86-(0) 574-88208888. Also with large parking lot. You will need a metro card to do your purchase. People, however, tend to be quite helpful - if you ask them to borrow their card, they are happy to help. That's because in China the metro card does not come along with any credit card abilities unlike sometimes seen in Germany.
Walmart（沃尔玛超市）2nd floor of Wanda Plaza, #999 Si Ming Zhong Rd,Yin Zhou District, Ningbo City 宁波市鄞州区四明中路999号万达广场2楼
Auchan(欧尚超市) #160 Cui Bai Rd. Hai Shu District, Ningbo City宁波海曙区 翠柏路160号. Tel: +86-(0) 574-87072999
Local Cuisine
Ningbo's local seafood style is called "Yong cusine".
Shipu Restaurant (石浦大酒店) [1]. Two locations, 60 Yangyue Jie (tel:8732 8777) at Moon Lake, and 7 Gongqing Road (tel:8730 7470) at Tian Yi Square. Considered one of the best restaurants in Ningbo.
Get out
Bus Buses leave Ningbo's south bus station every ten to twenty minutes for Hangzhou, China's most popular domestic destination. Shanghai is also served by frequent, comfortable buses.
Boat The beautiful Buddhist island Putuoshan is a short bus ride and boat trip away, but can feel like a million miles from the hustle and bustle of the city. The ticket (bus and boat included) costs approximately 60 RMB.
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