Tianyi Pavilion

Tianyi Pavilion is the oldest private library in existence in China. Occupying an area of 26,000 square meters (about 6.4 acres), it lies beside the picturesque Ming Lake in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province. The library has amassed a collection of 300,000 volumes, 80,000 of which are rare books.

Tianyi Pavilion was built in 1561 in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The founder of this library was called Fan Qin, who had been appointed as an official in several cities around China. Having a liking for books, Fan Qin collected local annals, records about jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination held in the palace under the emperor's supervision) of various dynasties and contemporary anthologies. Books given by Fan's friends and handwritten copies of books were an important part of the collection. Thanks to his efforts, the library already had 70,000 volumes at the time of his death. Unfortunately, only 13,000 volumes remained at the time of the foundation of the PRC, because a great many of them either were expropriated by the bureaucracies, stolen or fell into decay. Recent generations were committed to the protection and enlargement of the library. In the 1950s, some books were found and some others were donated by the local book collectors.

The Fan family adopted a discipline that no one in the family was allowed to claim any book as his or her own property, and books were prohibited from being taken out of the pavilion. Tianyi Pavilion was the private property of the Fan family, so others including women of the Fan family, were not allowed to read books in the library. However, books and materials are now available to experts and scholars for research purposes. From the books and steles kept in the library, information on the education, economic development, literary and revolutionary history of Ningbo City can be learnt.

Baoguo Temple

Baoguo Temple is seated on the mountainside of Lingshan Mountain, about 15 kilometers (around 9.3 miles) away from downtown Ningbo City. As a cultural relic spot under state-level protection, it was initially established in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) and rebuilt and expanded in later dynasties. The present Baoguo Temple is a mixture of constructions made by various dynasties.

At the gate of Baoguo Temple stand two stone pillars with Buddhist scriptures, which date back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Inside the temple, along the central axis are located the Mahavira Hall (the Grand Hall), the Kwanyin Hall, the Devaraja Hall and the Scripture Repository. Around the Grand Hall are scattered the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower and the Guest House, and so forth.

The Grand Hall is the main construction of the temple. Built in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), it is one of the oldest and the best-preserved example of wooden architecture south of the Yangtze River. Today, the Grand Hall is still a mystery to scientists. No bird builds its nest in the Grand Hall; even no insect lives in the hall and the hall always remains free of dust. Some say that it's because the wood used in the hall gives out a special scent which frightens away these insects. More people believe it's because of its extraordinary style of construction. The hall is built without a single nail and the girders, pillars, columns are joined together neatly. When the wind comes into the hall, it swirls and produces a sound wave which scares off birds and insects and takes away the dust.

There are 17 showrooms open to the public, such as the exhibition rooms of Kwanyin statues, bronze wares, the local customs of marriage, and notable scientific and technological discoveries and inventions of the 20th century. Tourists have the chance to enrich themselves with knowledge during their visit.