A well-presented portrait of Ningbo’s long history
Print Edition
MY first impression of the Ningbobang Museum was its modern architecture, a very fitting setting for a museum dedicated to cataloguing the business and progress of Ningbo and its people. After walking around the grounds for a few minutes, I made my way through the metal detector, was given my free ticket and began the tour of the museum, courtesy of a Ningbo University student.
The exhibition starts in the Tang (AD 618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, a time when Ningbo was a metropolis of southeastern China. Exports then included seafood, silk, medicine, fashion and bank services. Numerous exhibitions devoted to these businesses and activities paint a vivid picture of this period. What came as a surprise was the proficiency in English of many people living in that time, due to the fact that they were some of the main international traders in Shanghai.
After the so-called “Peaceful Army” entered Zhejiang Province, the prosperity of the city ended. Many businessmen and owners of money exchanges were forced to flee to Shanghai. Even there, though, they had success in business and trade, and even helped establish the first Chinese Stock Exchange in Shanghai in 1920. Indeed, much of Shanghai’s economic activity and progress at that time is owed to migrants from Ningbo, some of whom ventured overseas and continued to invest and succeed in business.
The museum contains many artifacts, arranged in chronological order. One of my favorite exhibitions told the stories of individuals, one by one, accompanied by some of their prized possessions and inventions. Besides Shanghai, Hong Kong and Taiwan, many of Ningbo residents also made their way to the United States, Europe and other parts of Asia.
Lest a visitor weary of looking at exhibits, the museum has a cafe on the first floor. Not much can be said for their selection of snacks, but they do have plenty of different teas to try. The cafe itself is a soothing spot, surrounded by a pond.
All of the museum’s exhibits are well displayed and maintained. The only drawback is that the tours are all in Chinese, so those not versant in Mandarin will have to settle for reading the English explanations provided beside each exhibit.
However, there is plenty to see and read, and visitors will leave with a nicely drawn picture of Ningbo’s history.
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