The local people live a healthy life. Many of them reach the age of 90.
There’re many Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty ancient construction here.
“Diaohong” persimmon, “Huaqi” taro and tea are the main resources of their incoming.
Address: Lijiakeng village， Zhangshui town, Yinzhou district, Ningbo city, China.(Chinese:浙江省宁波市鄞州区章水镇李家坑村)
Village Area: 8.2 square km,
Population: ~800
Moutain forest area: 3700 mu.
There’re several Nine Dragons Lakes in China, the number nine and the animal dragon are both favorited nouns in Chinese.
Nine Dragons Lakes is an AAAA scenery area. It locates at Zhenghai, Ningbo, China, about 20km to the center of Ningbo. The dark mountain peaks around the lake standing like eyebrows, a border of green hills winds arranged in a circle. The green waves in the lake is like a mirror, the mountain sends its shadows on it. There’re bamboos on both sides of the roads, monkeys on the island.
(Chinese: 九龙湖)
The Nine Dragons Villas (Jiulong Shanzhuang, Chinese: 九龙湖度假村) stands on the shores of Nine Dragons Lakes, 20 kilometers north of Ningbo. The scenery is dominated by green mountainsides and wild bamboo stands, lending the hotel an aura of natural peace and tranquility. The hotel has 138 guestrooms, including standard rooms, suites and villas. This Ningbo hotel’s weatlh of recreational facilities includes boats, the Monkey Island recreational area, a bowling alley, shuffle board, KTV, a chess and cards room, sauna, massages, beauty salon, gym, fishing and an outdoor swimming pool.A well-appointed conference center, business center and VIP reception room stand ready for corporate functions and business meetings. Many items on the menu at the on-site restaurant outlet are taken directly from the lake, with a seperate focus on tender venison. The exquisite dining venue maximizes guests’ appreciation of Nine Dragons Lake’s beautiful scenery.
If you’re pining for a respite from the urban treadmill, look no further than Yuehu Park. Its location near downtown Ningbo offers easy access for a quick and relaxing getaway. Built in AD 636, the park’s landscape is dotted with towers, terraces and pavilions lining the perimeter of Moon Lake. The park has a long history as a meeting place for scholars. It affords ample place to stroll, sit, picnic or just lose yourself in a bit of nature. Boats are available for hire to float around the lake or try your hand at a bit of fishing. Several shops offer snacks and drinks for visitors.
On any nice day, you’ll see older couples walking the paths together, young couples sneaking a cuddle, and children racing excitedly over the bridges and around boulders. Many people come to the park on their own to enjoy moments of tranquility.
Tired from the trip? Stretch your legs at Yuehu Lake Park. It’s in downtown Ningbo, so take your time to check into a hotel first and take a taxi. Yuehu Lake is known as Ningbo’s own “West Lake,” where locals love to relax without leaving the city. Yuehu, literally “the moon lake,” dates to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). It was a place where ancient scholars, poets and painters gathered. Today, the park includes 10 scenic spots, including islands, pavilions and bridges. The remains of the ancient Korean Embassy can be found on the east bank of Yuehu Lake, as Ningbo used to be a key port for trade between China and other countries and a starting point for the Silk Road on the Sea, the two most favored courses followed by ancient trade ships on the East China and South China seas. The embassy was built in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). You can choose to visit the relic if you love history, or simply walk around the lake, looking at grandfathers doing tai chi, or rent a boat to enjoy the sunshine.
One of China’s most beautiful and serene lakes, Dongqian Lake(Chinese: 东钱湖) in Ningbo is four times as large as the West Lake in neighboring Hangzhou but blessedly less famous — and less crowded with tourists.
Dongqian Lake “combines the verve of Taihu Lake and the charm of West Lake,” a perfect hybrid of masculinity and femininity, according to Guo Moruo (1892-1978), a renowned scholar and poet of contemporary China.
We took a long causeway that divides the lake, which is rimmed by willows and greenery — not spoiled by hotels and development. Around the lake are lush meadows, with rugged hills in the distance.
It seems like an emerald.
We crossed several stone arches before parking in the center of the causeway, which divides the lake and offers a spectacular view.
Beyond a thick curtain of willow, we spotted ospreys or fish hawks gliding over the glistening water and diving for fish — they are tethered on a fishing line — then returning to a fishing boat where a fisherman takes their catch. Nearby in the center of the lake is Xiayu (Rosy Clouds and Islands) Temple, where Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, is venerated. A huge stone statue of the deity rises from the water, seated on her lotus throne and wearing a benign smile.
The temple on the other side of the island consists of newly renovated Buddhist halls. The main attraction, however, is a towering stone boat and a deep underground cave.
The boat is built on a three-story-high altar, reached by a marble staircase on which dragons are embossed. The boat is itself three stories high and carries a single passenger on the deck, a monk staring ahead, his hands folded in namaste. The inscription on the sale reads: “Ci Hang Pu Du” (“A Mercy Ferry for All the Living to Land of the Pure”).
The cave itself is not remarkable, but the legend is touching. It is said that a filial son once escorted his blind mother, who was a pious Buddhist, to this cave for a pilgrimage to Goddess Guanyin — instead of going to Putuo Mountain — to keep his mother from a risky sea voyage.
Guanyin noted his devotion and appeared before the man and his mother to reward their piety. Thus the cave is called Putuo Dong Tian (Guanyin’s Sanctum). There are tens of thousands of Buddhist temples around China, but it’s rare to find one like Xiayu with its main entrance facing open water. Adding to the charm, dragon boats occasionally ply the waters.
We were lucky to see a dragon boat race with cheering rowers.
The scenery of Dongqian Lake is legendary, recorded 2,000 years ago.
It is said that Xi Shi, one of the famous Four Beauties of ancient China, was taken there by her husband Fan Li, the most renowned plutocrat of that age, for a romantic retreat after his long service in the Yue Kingdom of the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).