Ningbo: the ancient port of the maritime Silk Road

One of the oldest and busiest ports in China, Ningbo houses the oldest surviving private library still in existence in East Asia.

The center, ancient port of the maritime Silk Road, can be comfortably visited by subway.

The Tianyi Library, founded in the sixteenth century, remains the oldest private library still in existence throughout East Asia.

A few steps away, the Tianfeng Temple, with its ten-century brick pagoda, dominates the historic centre's skyline.

Continuing towards the port you visit the Maritime Museum of the Silk Road, which retraces Ningbo's role as a key stop in maritime trade with Japan and Korea.

As evening approaches, the Laowaitan quarter, a former foreign concession along the river, comes alive with restaurants and venues in restored European buildings.

The Tianyi Library, founded in 1561 by a retired imperial official, still preserves more than three hundred thousand ancient volumes thanks to a rigorous conservation system passed down for generations within the same family.

Ningbo was one of the first Chinese ports to open trade with Japan during the Tang dynasty, a role it maintained for over a thousand years along the maritime Silk Road route.