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Tianyi Pavilion Libra
ry is located downtown beside the beautiful Yuehu Lake. It was built by Mr. Fan Qin, a high-ranking official equivalent to today’s national defense minister, during the reign of Emperor Jia Jing’s in the Ming Dynasty. Tianyi Pavilion Library is the oldest well-preserved private library in China today. It is a combination of culture, social studies, history and art. Tianyi Pavilion Museum occupies over 26,000 square meters. The overall layout is Tianyi Pavilion, Eastern Garden, The Chens’ Ancestral Hall, The Qings’ Branch Ancestral Hall, Calligraphy and Painting Hall and Local Chronicles Hall.
Tianyi Pavilion keeps a large collection of about 300,000 ancient books, among which 80,000 are rare copies including the woodcut copies and handwritten copies of the Song and Ming Dynasties. They are rich sources of local chronicles and imperial examinations and are precious materials for the study of history, people, social customs and habits. Tianyi Pavilion Library is called the “Book City of South China”. Tianyi Pavilion is not only world famous for its wide collection of books, but also for its unique architecture and elegant landscape.
Tianyi Pavilion Library is a major historical and cultural site under state protection, and is also one of the major symbols of Ningbo.
Hemudu cultural relics are the remains of a primitive tribe of China’s Neolithic age, covering an total area of 40,000 square meters. Its height of cultural accumulation is 4m or so with four layers and its 4th layer is measured to have a history of more than 7,000 years. Totally, more than 6,000 pieces of cultural relics have been dug up such as tools, containers, primitive works of arts and abundant trace of paddy rice planting, and large area of wooden structure remains are also founded, displaying splendid primitive agricultural culture.
Transportation: You can get a bus from Ningbo south bus station (leaving every half an hour), or a mid-size bus to Luojiang at Ningbo north bus station or Yuyao east bus station.
Ticket Price: RMB20.
Baoguo Temple is located in a deep and secluded valley halfway up Mt. Lingshan, 15 kilometers north of Ningbo. At 970 years of age, it is the oldest and most preserved wooden structure in South China. Baoguo Temple was originally built during the East Han Dynasty with Maofeng Mountain at its back, and flanked by Xiangbi Mountain and Shiyan Mountain.
Baoguo Temple’s incredible architecture has gained wide recognition. It consists of Shan Men (Mountain Gate), Tian Wang Dian (Hall of Heavenly King), and Da Dian (Grand Hall), and occupies an area of 13,000 square meters. The 970-year-old temple’s Grand Buddha Hall is uniquely free from birds, rats, spiders and insects, which may be due to the unique skills of the creators of the Song building. This fully demonstrates the great intelligence and creative power of the laboring people of ancient China.
There are altogether 17 exhibition halls open to the public in Baoguo Temple. In addition to the building itself, other important cultural relic exhibits on display include Emperor-conferred Longchang, Buddha statues, bronze utensils, brick and stone sculptures, precious gifts conferred by foreign guests, a “thousand-labor bed”, and the “thousand-labor sedan.”
Baoguo Temple is a major historical and cultural site under state protection.
