Ningbo Three-Day Tour

From Sanjiangkou to Dongqian Lake, unlock the romance of the Jiangnan water town
— Eat seafood, stroll through ancient towns, visit Buddhist sites, and be a “Ningbo local” for a day

🗓️ Itinerary Overview
📍 Theme: Harbor Culture × Jiangnan Water Town × Buddhist Holy Land
🚗 Transportation: Metro + Taxi (attractions are scattered, renting a car/charter for Dongqian Lake is recommended)
🏡 Accommodation Recommendations:

Near Laowaitan (¥400-600/night, convenient for night tour of Sanjiangkou)
Park Hyatt Dongqian Lake (¥1200+/night, lake view, choose if budget allows)

Day 1: Old Town Stroll · Harbor Memories
🌅 Morning: From Tianyi Pavilion to Drum Tower

8:00 Tianyi Pavilion (¥30, China’s early private library)

Easter egg: Find the 400-year-old camphor tree planted by Fan Qin, with a “bookworm” painting hidden in the tree hollow by the caretaker

10:00 Drum Tower area, eat Ningbo Tangyuan (Cangyagou main store, try durian Tangyuan ¥18/bowl)

🦞 Lunch: Seafood Feast

Order “Salted Yellow Croaker Soup + Red Crab with Roe” at Ninghai Restaurant (¥150/person)

Ask the owner to serve a dish of “stinky winter melon” to experience Ningbo people’s “rice pressing pestle” tradition

⛵ Afternoon: Sanjiangkou Time

14:00 Ningbo Museum (free, designed by Wang Shu, exterior wall is tile wall)
16:00 Laowaitan to see European-style buildings, check in at Ningbo Art Museum (the spiral staircase is very photogenic)

🌃 Night Tour: Nantang Old Street

19:00 Stroll the night market, eat Youzanzi + seaweed rice buns, listen to Pingtan artists sing “Ningbo Old Dialect”

Day 2: Dongqian Lake · Xiaoputuo Secret Realm
🚗 Recommended to charter/rent a car (¥400-600/day)
🌊 Morning: Lake Scenery

8:30 Xiaoputuo cycling (bike rental ¥30/hour, see “Xiayu Suolan” from the lake heart causeway)
10:30 Hanling Old Street, drink “Mulian Jelly” (transparent jelly + mint water, ¥5/cup)

🍜 Lunch: Lake Fresh Feast

Eat “Qingyu Huashui + Dongqian Lake River Shrimp” at Qianhu Fishing Port (¥180/person)

🏯 Afternoon: Zen Time

14:00 Ayuwang Temple (free, see the relic pagoda + feed koi)
16:00 Tiantong Temple (free, millennium-old temple, stunning during ginkgo season)

🌙 Overnight: Dongqian Lake

Recommended to experience Park Hyatt Tea House, listen to guzheng and drink Fuquan mountain tea (¥198/set)

Day 3: Sea and Sky Buddha Land · Xiangshan Peninsula
🚗 Charter to Xiangshan (¥600/day, 1.5h drive)
🌅 Morning: Shipu Fishing Port

7:00 Chinese fishing village early market (watch fishing boats unload, buy freshly grilled squid strips ¥20/bag)
9:00 Walk “Wanxing Street” in Shipu Ancient Town (Ming and Qing dynasty old street, look for broken porcelain pieces embedded in the walls)

⛵ Afternoon: Songlanshan Resort

13:00 Play at the Asian Sailing Center (free, Olympic-level sailing base)
15:00 Bai Sha Bay beach walk (few people, clear water, can find small crabs in reef crevices)

🦀 Dinner: Seafood Carnival

Eat “Steamed Hairtail + Scallions and Razor Clams” at Yumancang (¥120/person)

🍜 Ningbo Must-Eat List

Breakfast: Cangqiao Mianjie noodles (¥15, super fresh with fried tofu)
Snack: Fenghua Beef Dry Noodles (¥25, beef bone broth)
Dessert: Cicheng Rice Cake dipped in brown sugar (¥10, soft and stretchy)

💡 Local Insider Tips

Seafood pitfall prevention: Ask for “market price” when ordering and request to see the weight
Hidden gem: Cicheng Ancient County Town (more original than Nantang)
Dialect Easter egg: Learn “Mao de Ning” (means “it’s okay”), used for bargaining in markets

In Ningbo, even the wind carries the aroma of salted yellow croaker and salted fish—
When you see fishing boats in the morning mist of Dongqian Lake, you suddenly understand the meaning of “Looking across the bay, it must be where immortals dwell.”