With a population of 5.38 million and a land area of 1, 079 square kilometres, Ningbo is one of the first batch of 14 coastal cities opening-up to the outside world. It ranked 10 th in comprehensive competitiveness among China's major cities including Hong Kong and Macao. Ningbo is an important part of the Shanghai international seaborne transportation hub. The Ningbo Port has a 200,000-ton iron are wharf, the largest of its kind in China, a 250, OOO-ton crude oil wharf, an international container wharf and 29 deepwater wharfs each with a capacity of 50,000 tons. At present, the Ningbo Port has established trade links with 560 seaports in 84 countries and regions around the world. Also, a comprehensive transport network including railways, airports, waterways and highways had been formed in Ningbo, The Ningbo Hangzhou Bay Trans-Oceanic Bridge will greatly shorten the distance between Ningbo and Shanghai. Other facilities like the Hangzhou-Ningbo Expressway, Tongjiang-Sanya Expressway and Xiaoshan-Ningbo Railway link Ningbo to the rest of the country. Ningbo is one of the most important manufacturing. bases in East China. Such pillar industries as steel and iron, power generation, petroleum refining and petrochemicals, and papermaking have been formed in Ningbo. The city is also one of the leading garment producers in China, with a total output that accounts for 12 per cent of the country's total. The city is one of China's model cities in environmental protection, which makes it an ideal place to live and work.

Ningbo Bids for Legendary Status

Ningbo, the birthplace of the ancient legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, or butterfly lovers, applied on January 7, 2003 to the United Nations to be included on the "World Intangible Cultural Heritage" list. Scholars from the China Art Research Institute, the China Folk Culture Society and the China Folk Art Association unanimously supported the application.

The love story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is one of the finest works of ancient Chinese folk literature regarded as the oriental version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet." Originating during the Jin Dynasty (265420), the legend tells of a love story between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Zhu was the daughter of a wealthy family. She was sent to school disguised as a boy. During her three years at school, she became friends with her classmate Liang and secretly fell in love with him. Unfortunately, Zhu's father suddenly summoned her back, saying that he had found her a husband. Zhu was reluctant to go, but had Hobson's choice. Liang was unable to discover the truth until Zhu had left. He hurried to Zhu's home, asking for her hand in marriage, but was turned down and thrown out. In despair, Liang fell sick and died. Zhu was broken-hearted when she heard the news. She ran away from home and visited the Liang's grave on the day of her marriage. Suddenly, the sky became dark. Liang's grave opened. Zhu threw herself into it. Legend claims that both Liang and Zhu turned into a pair of beautiful butterflies and lived happily together. Local historical records show that Liang was a county magistrate in Yingxian District in Ningbo about 1,600 years ago. He died of a fatal disease at the age of 21, but because of his kindness, hard work and honesty, he lived on in the legend. The story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is one of the most widely spread legends in China. It is deeply rooted in the Chinese folk tradition, and has always been close to the heart of ordinary people. Handed down from generation to generation, today the story has been widely told in the form of operas, traditional paper cuts violin, and bass drum music. In the City of Ningbo, more traditional wedding culture based on the story has also attracted young couples. The entire story meets the requirements for the United Nation's world intangible cultural relics, which specifies that the applying relic must be deeply rooted in the local traditional culture; that it must manifest the special value and characteristics of an area; that it has great potential for further development; and that it requires protection.

Tianyige (The First Hall Under Heaven)

Hidden in greenery next to Moon Lake in downtown Ningbo City, Tianyige (The First Hall Under Heaven) has survived from more than 400 years with its history, unique architectural design, and particularly valuable collections of ancient books and texts of past dynasties. The two-storey simple structure now houses more than 300,000 volumes of ancient books and manuscripts, among which 640 volumes are the only existing copies, including woodcut copies and handwritten copies of works from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (16441911) dynasties. The collection is a rich source of local chronicles and imperial examinations and precious materials for the study of history, people, and social customs and habits. The library still stands thanks to the strict management of Fan Qin (1506-1585), founder of the library. Born in 1506, Fan Qin lived in the reign of Ming Emperor Jiajing (1522-1566). Fan became an official at the age of 27 after he passed the highest imperial examination. Mter that he worked in many places across the country, including today's Shaanxi and Henan provinces in North China, Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan in South China, and Fujian and Jiangxi in East China. he later became the vice-minister of National Defence of the Ming court . But Fan Qin had a special passion for books. Wherever he went, he never forgot his book collection. He paid special attention to the collection of local annals, records of political affairs and examination papers. He was also interested in poetry and prose engraved or printed by officials in various places around the country during the Ming Dynasty. Fan himself liked to make copies if he had rare prints. At the age of 55, he retired and began the construction of his library. Five years later when his library was opened, Fan had already collected more than 70,000 volumes. According to historical records, there were at least 500 private libraries south of the Yangtze River. The Ming Dynasty was in its heyday at the time. But none of these libraries was as successful as Fan Qin's. Apart from living in a stable and prosperous society, there were at least three other criteria necessary for a successful curator of books. He had to love books, be rich enough to buy books, and had opportunities to acquire more books. The particular success of Fan Qin was his strict management system for the preservation of his books. According to the rules of the library, the book resources belonged to all family members who should take care of them together. Every branch of the family had a key, but they were not to unlock the library unless all branches of the family were present. Any family member who violated the rules would not be allowed to worship his ancestors, which was believed to be a serious punishment for a person in feudal society. If anyone dared to sell a single book, he would be expelled from the family. Before his death in 1585, Fan Qin wrote a willone son inherited all the books and the other Fan's money. At his father's bedside, Fan Dachong, the eldest son, promised he would look after the books. Since that time, Fan Dachong's descendants have observed the family rules and taken great pains ~o preserve the collection.

Tianyige witnessed the glories and the turbulence of past dynasties as well as its own triumphs and setbacks. In the period of Ming Emperor Jiajing's reign (1522-1566) to the early years of Qing Emperor Qianlong's reign (17361795), Tinayige enjoyed its most glorious period, which lasted about 230 years. It came across its first setback when Qing Emperor Qianlong was searching for precious books for the compilation of his grand sikuquanshu (Complete Library in Four Divisions or Complete Collection in Four Treasures), between 1773 and 1782 under the editorship of Ji Yun (1724-1805) and Lu Xixiong. In 1773, Fan Maozhu, the 8 th generation descendant of Fan Qin, had to hand over 638 books, of which 96 were included in the sikuquanshu. Although the Qing court promised to return the books, only a small number of them were actually returned to the library. When the Opium War (1840-1842) broke out, both foreign invaders and local thieves repeatedly plundered Tianyige. After hundreds of years of vicissitude, by the 1940s, there were only 13,000 volumes left in Tianyige.

It is only since the founding of the new China in 1949, particularly since the 1980s, when the local government began to renovate Tianyige and rebuild its collection of ancient books and texts that Tianyige has revived. Not only famous for its rich collection of books, Tianyige set the example for the construction of many other private and royal libraries with its functional architecture and surrounding landscape. "Tianyi," the name of the library, taken from the Book of Changes, was a spring that was supposed to produce water that could prevent fire. In front of the building, there is a small pond surrounded with rocks and trees. On both sides of the building, there is a' narrow lane with a brick wall to separate the library from other buildings for protection from fire . .The ground floor was actually used as a reading room where Fan Qin liked to invite his friends. The second floor where all the books were kept was divided into six parts with bookshelves. It was said that the Fans had a special grass that drove away moths. They also regularly aired the books because of the humid weather in the south. During the Qing Emperor Qianlong, Tianyige became a model for the construction of seven imperial libraries when the emperor undertook the compilation of his sikuquanshu. Emulating the style of Tianyige, the seven libraries were used to store all the books collected .for the compilation of sikuquanshu. Today, Tianyige is a major historical and cultural site under state protection. It. has become a museum encompassing 26,000 square metres including the library, a garden where the Fan family used to live, a calligraphy hall and a local chronicles hall. It also covers its two neighbours, the Ancestral Hall of the Chen Family and the Branch Ancestral Hall of the Qing Family.

The Great Wall at Linhai City, Ningbo

Construction of the Great Wall at Linhai, then called Taizhou Prefecture, dating back about 1,600 years. In the following Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, expansions and renovations were continuously made. In 1997, a cross section was discovered at the Xingshan Gate of the existing wall. This section of the wall revealed the renovation and expansion process of the Linhai Great Wall. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the three-metre-high wall consisted of earth. In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), a layer of bricks was added to it and a one-metre-high stonewall was built along it on the riverside to protect it from floods. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the height was raised to about five metres and another layer of bricks was added. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the height was raised again. Both the height and width of the existing wall are greater than 10 metres. It is more than 6,000 metres long. Several gates still exist, including the Jingyue, Kuocang and Wangjiang gates. In the mid-Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates invaded the China's southeast coastline, including the Taizhou Prefecture. In 1555, Tan Lun, the local magistrate, began constructing a wall along the border. Two years later, Qi Jiguang, a famous national hero, who fought against Japanese pirates, began his eight-year tour of duty in Taizhou. He renovated the wall, making it thicker and higher, to strengthen its defense capability. Taizhou became a strong fortress against Japanese pirates and Qi and his warriors won nine battles successively in six years. In 1567, Emperor Longqing (1567-1572) ordered Tan and Qi to renovate the Great Wall in the north. The emperor also selected

, 3,000 soldiers to participate in the renovation of Taizhou Great Wall to supervise the construction process. The Great Wall in Jixian County of Tianjin and Datong of Shanxi Province were designed and built by Qi Jiguang (1528-1987) and his soldiers. The Badaling Great Wall and the Mutianyu Great Wall in Beijing were also constructed and renovated by Qi Jiguang and his soldiers. The architectural style was the same as the Taizhou Great Wall. The Great Wall in Linhai is among China's best-preserved historical and cultural relic. Besides the military functions, the Great Wall has another important function: anti-flooding. The Great Wall at Linhai is located at the Lingjiang River's entrance to the sea. River water and seawater join here, and the water often rises to reach the city. To the west of the city is the Kuocang Mountain range. The wall was specially designed to avert the threat of flooding from streams running off the mountain, and walls were built along the south and west of the river. The tourist, who visits the Linhai Great Wall, is amazed by the creativity of its ancestors and the Linhai people's endeavour in preserving this cultural relic. In 1994, the city of Linhai was named Famous Historical Cultural City by the state.

Linhai (population 580,000) is located at the middle of Zhejiang Province's coastline On its east is the East China Sea, on its west the Kuocang Mountain, on its south the Yandang Mountain and on its north the Tiantai Mountain. The city has a 74-kilometre-Iong coastline.

The Ningbo Trans-Oceanic Bridge -Spanning Hangzhou Bay

Construction of the Ningbo Trans-Oceanic Bridge over the Hangzhou Bay began on June 8, 2003 and is expected to be conpleted in 2008. Adopting the latest technology and using an investment of 16 billion yuan (US $ 1.93 billion), the six-track bridge is to be 36 kilometres long and 33 metres wide upon completion. It will be the largest sea bridge in the world. The designed traffic speed of the bridge will be 100 kilometres per hour. The bridge will greatly shorten the land transportation distance between Shanghai and Ningbo and help form a two-hour transportation "Golden Triangle" among Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Ningbo. It will also be key to the formation of an international mega metropolis group with Shanghai as the centre in the Yangtze River Delta.