Ningbo Experiences Fast Changes

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I chose ningbo, rather than Shanghai mainly because I felt there were too many people in Shanghai. A friend in Düsseldorf suggested that I consult Mr. Hermann who had worked in Ningbo. But I thought his experience might be inaccurate, for after all his stay in Ningbo had been more than 20 years before.

No other country in the world is seeing faster changes taking place in China. Ningbo in Chinese literarily means “waves become peaceful”. But the city does not necessarily fully reflect what the name suggests. The city with a population of six million boasts skyscrapers, parks and greenbelts, rivers and fountains. The six million includes all the residents living in the administrative region of Ningbo. No city in Germany has a population more than six million. Berlin has a population of 3.5 million. Düsseldorf, the capital of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, has a population of merely 580,000. In Germany, cities with a population of more than 100,000 are considered megacities.

Ningbo, a coastal city where three rivers converge, is a port city with flourishing industries. Though the coastline faces peaceful waves of the sea, the city is more than peaceful. Traffic is unbelievably busy. In sharp contrast, traffic in German cities is more orderly. In Germany, pedestrians have the right of way whereas in Ningbo, pedestrians make way for automobiles and cars make way for buses and trucks.

Fortunately I live on the campus full of camphor trees and camellias, far away from the madding noise of the city. The college resembles a city within a city, with a touch of dream everywhere. Since my arrival in China and Ningbo, I have felt I am becoming younger. I owe this youthful feeling to college students who are full of energy and vigor. I work with them, dine with them, I watch operas with them and I even travel with them.

A year after my arrival in Ningbo, I know Ningbo thoroughly. I often serve as a tour guide for friends from Germany, Japan and Sri Lanka. Most tours start with Tianyige Library. On the large compound are ancient buildings and a garden. Birds chirp lovely. The library offers a pleasant atmosphere in which people feel exhilarated. There is a portrait of the founder of the library wearing a hat for scholars of his time. When I take visitors there, I feel as if the man in the portrait happily winks at me.

After a tour around the library, we walk to the Moon Lake and a park nearby. The old downtown, the market at City God Temple, and Tianfeng Pagoda constructed at the behest of Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) are all in this area. The present pagoda goes back to the 12th century. After a brief tour in the old downtown, we visit Tianyi Square, which is called Tiffany Square by foreigners.

In the evening, I can wander along the Bund with my guests. The Bund of Ningbo is situated along the Yongjiang River. This is where the three rivers converge. The Bund is composed of restaurants and cafes and bars and nightclubs. Many buildings along the street are in European architectural style. Skyscrapers cast their reflections into the rivers and street lights illuminate the waters. Yachts dock at the wharves.

The Bund, Starbucks at Tiffany Square and Ningbo University are the center of my life in Ningbo. I enjoy a tranquil life on the campus. Students add vigor to my work. I can hardly imagine how dreary my work would be without these young people. Compared with Japanese students, Chinese students are more relaxed, candid and communicative. In Japan, students bow and walk behind me, always keeping a distance of three steps. They wouldn’t change even if I ordered them to come closer. Here in Ningbo, I am among students. They are very courteous, but they use Du, instead of Sie, when they speak with teachers. More intriguingly, people here follow their wills but now and then they work together to get something done. I think I am probably the coolest teacher from Düsseldorf, at least in China.

If Mr. Hermann came to see me in Ningbo, surely he wouldn’t be able to recognize Ningbo. Nor would he recognize me, for the city and I have experienced so many changes. Haisu District used to be the city’s center, but it has given way to Yinzhou, the newer district of Ningbo, where a great group of millionaires in Ningbo have their homes. Everything in Ningbo has changed or is seeing changes. People hope subways could improve traffic, but the construction of subways make the traffic more entangled.

I would like to work as a guide and take Mr. Hermann around Ningbo. After so many years, we can still start the city tour at Tianyige Library. We can visit Ningbo City Museum, a postmodernist structure. We can visit Ningbo Business Community Museum, situated in the Culture District in the vicinity of Ningbo University. Ningbo is a city of future and its potentialities are rooted in its history. Comparatively, Shanghai is young. Ningbo Business Community is an organization of Ningbo business people, which emerged first in Shanghai and Hong Kong in the 19th and the 20th centuries. Today, groups of Ningbo business people are across the world. The organization has chapters in Chicago, Boston and Hamburg.

Many places in and around Ningbo are worth visiting. For the sake of space, I will not give a detailed account. The most impressive are some Zen temples. A Japanese monk once visited Tiantong Temple and later promoted Zen in Japan. I am not religious, but I like these temples, because they are beautiful and they touch the hearts of people. I believe inside every appearance is karma and vice versa.

Ningbo was called Mingzhou in ancient times. Archaeological finds at Hemudu Sites of the Neolithic Age since the 1970s further confirm that the city has a long history. Today, it is believed that the city’s history goes back to 7,000 years or even to 9,000 years. The painted pottery unearthed at Hemudu is typical of the Hemudu Culture. The Chinese history is forever changed due to the archaeological finds at Hemudu.

What about Ningbo University? It is pretty young, but the university has some highly respected scholars of history. These experts emit an aura of the Neolithic Age.