Cicheng Ancient Town

Exploring the 'Number One Ancient County Town in Southern China' in Cicheng Town, Jiangbei District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, which is known as the 'Number One Ancient County Town in Southern China'. Cicheng was founded in the 26th year of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (AD 738) and has a history of over 1200 years. It is the only ancient county town in the Jiangnan region that has been preserved relatively intact.~ Cicheng Ancient County Town contains a large number of traditional buildings such as academies, book collection towers, pharmacies, temples, official residences, residential alleys, examination halls, Confucian temples, and county yamen. In addition to the newly renovated and open to the public county yamen, Confucian temples, and Feng Yu's residence, there are many ancient Ming and Qing buildings integrated into the existing residential houses in the old streets and alleys, such as archways, ancestral halls, brick-carved gates, and ancient residential houses, all of which are the preserved mansions of officials and exquisitely crafted local residential buildings from the Ming and Qing periods. ~ If time permits, you can walk through the streets and alleys, searching for these Ming and Qing relics one by one, and feel the profound history among the lights of thousands of homes.

🎈 Last night, I stepped into a colorful dreamland—the Dragon Lantern Festival in Jiangbei Cicheng, Ningbo. Every corner here is filled with the strong atmosphere of the New Year and festivity. 📍 Location: Minzu Road, Cicheng Town, Jiangbei District, Ningbo City. As soon as you enter, a huge dragon-shaped lantern catches your eye, as if telling ancient stories. 🍡 Food: Cicheng's rice cakes and sweet dumplings are soft, chewy, and sweet without being greasy, each bite is a tribute to tradition. 🎇 Attractions: DIY lanterns, lantern riddles, as well as exciting performances and shows, as if traveling through time and space, back to the ancient era of dim lights. 📸 Photography tips: Dark clothes form a stark contrast with the brilliant lights, don't forget to bring a power bank, because the night view here is so beautiful that you don't want to miss a moment. 🕒 Opening hours: From morning to night, different times of the day have different beautiful scenes waiting for you to discover. 💡 Tips: The best viewing spot is the pavilion on the top of the hill, overlooking the entire lantern festival, as if you are in the midst of the Milky Way, breathtakingly beautiful. Come to the Cicheng Dragon Lantern Festival, unlock the charm of your night, let tradition and modernity intertwine, and feel a different flavor of the New Year! 🏮🌌

When I heard about this place I didn’t have any expectations but after arrival J was so surprised about its beauty that we decided to overnight here. Basically most of the shops, restaurants, coffee shops are on Minquan Street (photo 10&13). At one end there is a small lake (photo 2&3) which was so romantic at sunset. You can also hike around it. At night there is a very special atmosphere when all the red lanterns are illuminated and in the trees there are poems written. Cicheng is a place to immerse into Chinese culture and history. In the park there are the couples dancing in the evening and you feel that the time stands still. Getting There - By subway to Cicheng station then a 10 minutes walk Attractions - Minquan Road Congma River National Customs Cultural Life with rebuilt city wall and gate (photo 5-9) There is also a small museum inside the wall Chinese Herbal Medicine Trade Museum (photo 14) Hotels - Ningbo Cloud Hotel is inside the old town Delight Hotel Lotus Courtyard (photo 19&20) where we stayed. It was opened in 2021 and their service is very good. Food & Restaurants - There is delicious streetfood. Try niangap a rice made local specialty or Chou doufu 臭豆腐 (photo 11) or the cute soft drinks (photo 10) Shanyan Restaurant has a great outdoor space (photo 16&17) One Step Cafe #urbanexplorer #tripblazers

Ningbo has an ancient county town called 'Cicheng' with a history of a thousand years. It is the only well-preserved ancient county town in the Jiangnan region, known as 'the first ancient county town of Jiangnan'. It is a national historical and cultural town, a national 4A-level tourist attraction, the hometown of Chinese filial piety culture, and has 33 key cultural relics protection units at the national, provincial, city, and district levels within an area of about 5 square kilometers. Strolling through the ancient streets and alleys of Cicheng is like traveling back in time to the bustling period of ancient times. The architecture here is mainly from the Ming and Qing dynasties, with grey bricks and black tiles, flying eaves and upturned corners, every detail exudes a simple and elegant charm. Navigation: Cicheng Ancient County Town Address: No. 8 Jiefang Road, Cicheng Town, Jiangbei District, Ningbo City Recommended food: The must-try delicacy in Cicheng is rice cake, which can be boiled, roasted, grilled, or fried. No matter what dish it is paired with, it is delicious. Soft and chewy, it is an essential daily meal for the people of Cicheng.

The 2024 Dragon Year Lantern Festival, with the ancient county town scenery as the background and the culture of 'Shan Hai Jing' as the base, enjoy a visual and auditory feast, immersive experience of the bizarre mythological world. The 'Dragon New Year' themed lantern group is the highlight of this year, combining the elements of the ancient county town with the zodiac dragon, and various shapes of lanterns have brought a good start to the Dragon Year. When the colored lights are on, it also means a good start to the New Year. Check in at the 'Cicheng Lantern Festival', may all your wishes come true in the new year! The lantern festival in Cicheng this year really interprets the oriental aesthetics to the fullest, promise me you must go to the scene because it's really shocking! 🌟Cicheng Dragon Year Lantern Festival Time: 2024.2.2-3.22 🌟Cicheng Dragon Year Lantern Festival Viewing Guide Minquan Road Free Zone Lantern Group (a few Dragon shapes can be checked in) Congma River Charge Zone Lantern Group (main exhibition area, tickets required) 🌟Check-in Route Enter the city gate dragon head from the east gate➡️Shan Hai Jing goddess➡️Kunpeng➡️Baize➡️Zouwu and Jiao➡️Fuzhu➡️Fusang and Phoenix➡️Road of Shan Hai➡️Kirin➡️West gate 🔥Lantern Festival Highlight Tour Route Zhonghua Building Entrance➡️Water Lantern➡️Kirin➡️Road of Shan Hai➡️Fusang and Phoenix➡️Baize➡️Zouwu and Jiao➡️Fuzhu➡️Kunpeng➡️Shan Hai Jing Mermaid Goddess➡️Two arch gate lights on the city wall➡️Giant blessing tree➡️Dragon head of the city wall's big east gate 🌟Recommended Must Check-in Shan Hai Jing goddess, Baize, Road of Shan Hai, Kirin Exquisite enough, super photogenic, have you ever seen a moving Shan Hai Jing goddess? It is recommended to take videos or live shots on your phone, the magical dynamic effect makes her come alive, and there are more performers at night, you need to be quick to grab a good spot. 🌟Play Tips ✔️You can wear some new Chinese style clothes and bring some small props. ✔️It is recommended to come earlier, there may be a lot of people at 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening, it is better to go in earlier. ✔️There is not much to eat inside, it is recommended to eat outside and then go in for a walk. ✔️The lanterns by the river are beautiful and photogenic. ✔️It is a one-way street inside, please be aware. ✔️Wearing red and white clothes is more photogenic. ✔️You can take a panoramic view from the high east gate of the city wall. ✔️In addition to the lantern festival, Cicheng also has New Year's national style performances and national tide markets during the New Year, bring your family to celebrate the New Year. It is recommended to enter the park at dusk, you can see the lanterns under the afterglow, wait for the night to fall and look down from the city wall of Cicheng ancient town, the brilliant night view under the lantern festival is really too absolute. The Congma River is full of fairy spirit, with dreamy carp lanterns floating, and the lively and beautiful goddess portrait, super photogenic. The entire small town is illuminated by colorful lanterns, as if traveling to the bustling Chang'an city that never sleeps, various shapes of lanterns are hung high, shining brightly. Ningbo is really ahead of the game this time! Come to Cicheng to enjoy the lantern festival!