Ningbo part one

cctv.com 08-04-2004 16:34

Ningbo is known for many things in China: the port city, fashion capital, robust economy, so on and so forth, but travel hotspot is not among the usual vocabulary to describe it. Nevertheless, a brief ten days visit made me realize how stereotyping can cost you big time. My eyes were really opened up by those interesting places to see, fun things to do, and new stuff to uncover in the greater Ningbo area.

Ningbo city is lucky to have one place 鈥Tianyi Ge, or Tianyi Pavilion. Many Chinese scholars take it an honor to visit Tianyi ge, not merely for the fact that it is the earliest private library in Chinese history, but more for the symbolic meaning and the extraordinary stories behind the place.

The buildings were made of wood, and books in paper, so every precaution was taken to prevent catching fire. This is a so-called fire-proof corridor, in the case of fire, it stops fire being spread from the residential area to the library itself.

Another precaution taken was this pond. So in case of fire, they can take the water from here to put out the fire in the library.

Smoking and alchohol prohibited. There is another door over here. So I guess this is it, the staircase leading to the Mecca of knowledge coveted by so many people.