Ningbo Old Bund

The Ningbo Old Bund, along Zhongma Road in Jiangbei District, was one of China's earliest treaty-port foreign concession areas, predating Shanghai's Bund by several years, and its riverside stretch of restored colonial-era brick and stone buildings now houses restaurants, bars and boutique shops along the Yong River. Visitors walk the pedestrian riverside promenade past former consulate and trading-company buildings from the 1840s onward, many with European facades that contrast with the traditional Chinese architecture found elsewhere in Ningbo, and cross to the opposite bank via a pedestrian bridge for a view back across the water at the lit-up facades. The district functions today primarily as a leisure and nightlife area rather than a museum piece, with the historic buildings adaptively reused as cafes, cocktail bars and restaurants rather than displayed behind glass. A visit of one and a half to two hours covers a walk along both riverbanks and a stop at one of the riverside cafes or bars; the area is best experienced in the evening when the colonial-era buildings are illuminated and the riverside promenade fills with locals out for a walk or dinner. Daytime visits are quieter and better suited to photographing the building facades without evening crowds. Because the district blends historic architecture with contemporary bars and restaurants, its atmosphere shifts considerably between a quiet daytime walk and an active evening social scene.