Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy

Photography by: Thayer Gowdy
Written by: Thayer Gowdy
Title Design by: Hannah Perrine Mode

Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy

Ningbo

China has always been on my list of places to visit, so when I was asked to capture a little known city of 7.6 million people called Ningbo, which is sandwiched between the ocean and the low-lying Smiling Mountains, I jumped at the chance. My first impression was on crisp spring day, from the 32nd floor of the Shangri-La Hotel, all of Ningbo laid out in front of me. In the evenings, the peaceful expansive scenery was replaced by colorful light shows pulsing on the riverfront buildings, reminding me of Dan Flavin’s minimal fluorescent sculptures.

Below me, a mix of historic sites and unique architecture awaited. The Qing'an Guild, built during 1850-1853, is a grand gathering space with an opera stage and excellent natural acoustics. True to its original destiny as a meeting space for shipping merchants, it hosts little model boats and offbeat dioramas you’d want to take home. The Ningbo Museum is similarly conceptual; a tribute to traditional Jiangnan residences mixing elements of mountains, water and oceans, old tiles and bamboo. The Tianyi Pavilion, world famous for its wide collection of books, is another architectural gem, featuring serene atmosphere and elegant landscape. The only noise you’ll hear is the click and clack of the towering bamboo as you sit beside the ponds. I wandered into the shop, and, inspired by the peace and quiet of the space, took home a beautiful walnut pen with a brass cap, a creative tool of the pre-technology era.

As you venture outside of the city, more magic is to be discovered; mountain temples that smell of incense and monks in saffron robes, chanting beside walls filled with golden buddhas. Giant forests of bamboo blowing in the wind and more bamboo pressing on used, old roofing tiles smashed into the temple’s newer layers of modern concrete. Xuedou Mountain, which was one of my favorite places on the trip. Located in the outer district of Fenghua and labeled as the abode for immortals on the sea, this temple houses a 56.74-meter statue of a sitting Maitreya Bodhisattva; rubbing his belly is supposed to bring you good luck and fortune. With a round face, long ears, squinting eyes and a perpetual smile, Maitreya is a favorite Chinese icon, nicknamed the ‘laughing Buddha’.

Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy

Food

Ningbo is known for its seafood. The catch? I am one of those people that doesn’t eat anything from the sea, so the challenge was clear. Eating dumplings three meals a day turned out to be divine, however, and was one of the elements that made me fall in love with China. But there’s so much more to local cuisine; at Grandma’s Home, we ate delicious pumpkin soup and spicy chicken with noodles, as well as many other traditional dishes. The dumplings, especially the sweet variety, stuck with me forever.

Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy

People

The moments that remain with me from Ningbo were often from encounters with the people there. At a base of the Laughing Buddha Temple I had my palm read by an old man, who also sold tiny plastic buddhas. I have a pretty vague idea of what he said, but the gist was that I needed to listen better, and that I would find my other half in Lunar May, and perhaps I shouldn’t eat so many dumplings. At Moon Lake, I watched elders practicing Tai Chi and families renting swan-shaped boat to relax, delicate notes of someone playing the flute drifting by. A lovely lady joined me spontaneously to watch birds on the shore. And at the Chinese opera at Park Hyatt Ningbo, I experienced my most stunning moment - in the lobby, as we were checking in, a beautiful Chinese ‘Kunqu’ opera performer, singing in a signature high pitched birdlike voice, wandered the halls past us all of a sudden. I trailed behind to find a her standing outside by the pools overlooking a mirror smooth pastel Dongqian Lake, a living film. The sun was a great ball of orange hovering on the edge of the mountains. An unexpectedly perfect ending to an unexpected trip.

Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy
Tiny Atlas Quarterly, Ningbo, Thayer Gowdy

Resources

Eat:

Grandma’s Home (Tian No. 1)

Traditional Chinese food in a chain restaurant that had an epic view over Tianyi Square.

Gang Ya Gou TangTuan Dian

Purple dumplings, cold spiced beef tendon, hairy crab xiao long bao and other local delicacies on Tianyi Square.

Min Zhen Shipu

At this restaurant near Xuedou Mountain, you can pick out your fish or even a snake from piles of ice, like at a fish market. For adventurous eaters.

Stay:

Shangri-La Hotel Ningbo

Towering above the city, the Shanrgi-La is modern and impeccably designed, with floor to ceiling windows and a lavish throwback ballroom.

Park Hyatt Ningbo

With its slick spa, minimal look, lake views and a traditional tea house on site, the Hyatt is pampering but not overwhelming.

Do:

Qing'an Guild

The ancient building was designed to be a gathering place for shipping merchants and a shrine to Mazu, a goddess who protects fishermen and sailors.

Ningbo Museum

Designed by Wang Shu, the first Chinese citizen to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2012, this is a must see.

Ningbo Drum Tower

This local landmark usually features an exhibition at its top, as well as the ever-present views of the city and the market below. Do not miss the ‘secret’ tunnel that leads you to a bustling market on the other side.

The Tianyi Pavilion

The oldest private library in existence in China, built in the times of the Ming dynasty. Rare books and relics.

Tianyi Square

Sit above it at Grandma’s Home and watch the world pass by below.

Yue Hu Spa at Park Hyatt Ningbo

Soothing baths and traditional treatments, some featuring a giant tea bag dipped into the tub.

Song Dynasty Sculpture Park

A stunning collection of Southern Song Dynasty sculptures, most of them intact. The tiger carvings are especially inspiring, their eyelids lowered as if half asleep.