Ningbo Old Bund

Background

The Old Bund, formerly called Jiangbei'an, lies north of Ningbo's Sanjiangkou on the north bank of the Yong River and was the site of the old Ningbo port docks. The 1842 Treaty of Nanking opened Ningbo as a treaty port, and Ningbo formally opened in 1844; the first British consul chose a site at Jiangbei'an, after which a consulate, a Catholic church, the Zhejiang Customs, a police station, a post office and foreign firms were built one after another. It became a foreign settlement and one of the starting points of Ningbo's modernization and of the rise of the "Ningbo merchants", and is often called a "Bund" older than Shanghai's. In 1861 the new Zhejiang Customs was set up at Jiangbei'an, popularly called the "foreign customs"; in the 1930s the Jiangbei port area became Ningbo's shipping center. As water transport declined, Jiangbei'an grew quiet, and from 2002 it was redeveloped into a commercial and leisure district. Dozens of historic buildings remain, of which the Jiangbei Catholic Church is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level, and the former Zhejiang Customs, the former British Consulate, the former Xie family residence and the former Ningbo Post Office are Zhejiang provincial protected heritage sites; the former Zhejiang Customs is now a museum.

Local customs

• The Old Bund is good for architecture by day, and from evening it is where Ningbo people eat, drink coffee and stroll
• from the riverside you can see the night views of Sanjiangkou and the Bund Bridge. The Catholic church is often lit up at night, and at weekends the district holds markets and performances
• the nearby Ningbo Museum of Art, converted from the old dock passenger terminal, also often has exhibitions.

Religion & beliefs

• Jiangbei Catholic Church is a working Catholic church. Please dress appropriately and keep quiet when you enter, do not walk around or take photos during Mass and religious services, and follow the notices inside
• when photographing the exterior, do not block the entrance used by worshippers.

Rules that apply here

Travel tips

• Allow 2–3 hours
• it is most atmospheric from dusk into the night. You can get there via Waitan Bridge Station on Metro Line 2 or the Gulou Station area on Lines 1 and 2, or by taxi in about 10 minutes from Tianyi Square
• parking is tight on weekends. The district is open all day and free
• opening hours and booking requirements of the Zhejiang Customs Former Site Museum, the Ningbo Museum of Art and the Catholic church are as announced by each. Combine with: crossing Xinjiang Bridge to Tianyi Square, the Drum Tower and Moon Lake, then Tianyi Pavilion
• or go by car to the Ningbo Bang Museum or east to the Zhenhaikou coastal defense ruins. It is windy by the river at night, so bring a jacket in spring and autumn
• the old street's stone slabs are slippery in the rain, so watch your step.