The Old Bund in Ningbo is located on the north bank of the Sanjiangkou in Ningbo, which is the gateway to the ancient city of Ningbo. Ningbo was one of the four major ports in China in the Tang Dynasty, and the starting point of Jian Zhen's eastward crossing was in Ningbo. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Ningbo was one of the three major ports in China, and a municipal shipping company was established to manage foreign trade. Although the Qing government has always adopted a closed foreign policy, Ningbo has always maintained broken trade relations with Japan and Nanyang. In the early Qing Dynasty, China lacked copper, and the government minted copper coins. Most of the folk bronzes were imported from Japan through Ningbo. Japan also imports silk, cotton cloth and porcelain from Ningbo. Ningbo was the only special port to maintain foreign trade when the Qing Dynasty was completely closed to the outside world. This special port status lasted for about 40 years from 1644 to 1684.

1842 after the opium war, the Qing government signed the treaty of nanking. As one of the five major trading ports, businessmen from all over the world flock to Ningbo. Countries such as Britain and France used a series of means to seize sovereignty, establish strongholds, occupy customs, control Haikou, monopolize shipping and promote westernization, thus making Ningbo port a semi-colonial port. The port was officially opened on 1844. Soon, the jiangbei coast developed into a residential area for expatriates from Britain, France and the United States. It is one of the earliest concessions in China, and it is also known as the Bund in history. Its opening history is 20 years earlier than that of Shanghai Bund, and it is one of the oldest Bunds in China. It was not until the rise of Shanghai Port that the status of Ningbo Port was gradually weakened. 1927, the China government took back the administrative right of foreigners staying in the north bank of the river, and the Bund in the north of the river also recorded the historical changes of modern Ningbo in the baptism of years. Objects and facilities embodying western industrial civilization appeared here at the earliest, such as spacious roads, clean streets, electric lights, chimes, bicycles, houses, churches, hospitals and banks, which objectively promoted the modernization of Ningbo. It has become the only existing Bund in Zhejiang Province that can reflect the port culture.

As one of the four famous commercial gangs (Jin, Hui, Ningshao and Chaoshan) in China's modern history, Ningbo commercial gangs took advantage of the development opportunities brought by the Bund as a trading port and the advantages of shipping trade at home and abroad to set up shipping companies one after another. Among them, Ningshao Shipping Company and Sanbei Transportation Company, founded by Ningbo businessmen, Zhu and Li, are the most famous, building the wharf from Sanjiangkou to Xiabaisha and engaging in the transportation from Ningbo to Shanghai. "Yinxian Tongzhi" said: "After the five-port trade, the Yi people have traveled all over the country, Nanyang, Europe and America, and their wealth is increasing day by day."

The latest cultural relics survey shows that at least 3 1 of the 54 cultural relics buildings on Ningbo Bund are related to Ningbo businessmen. These1buildings from the end of the 9th century to the beginning of the 20th century reflect the rich and colorful architectural style of combining Chinese and western styles. From the architectural function, there are not only offices and places for religious activities, but also finance, trade and luxury residences. Therefore, as a landmark building in Ningbo's modern history, the Bund historical and cultural protection zone has been identified as one of the six historical and cultural protection zones in the "Ningbo Urban Master Plan". The protection scope of this historical and cultural protection area is: Yongjiang River in the east, Xinjiang Bridge in the south, Renmin Road in the west and the ship dock in the north. At present, within the scope of development and transformation, four buildings, namely Inspection Institute, Hongchangyuan, Zhuzhai and Yanshi Mountain Villa, are listed as municipal-level cultural protection buildings.

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There is a new West Lake in Hangzhou, a new world in Shanghai and an old Bund in Ningbo. The Old Bund, with a construction area of 80,000 square meters, covers all functions of personal consumption such as urban construction exhibition hall, international hotel, world food, urban apartment, trade hall and living world.

It has become the top social platform of Ningbo's high-end diversified business circle.

After a hundred years of loneliness, on June 5438+1 October1,the old Bund in Ningbo reopened, which will form a new business circle and become a corner with Ningbo Tianyi Square.

Along the Yangtze River, foreign consulates, Catholic churches, banks and ship docks lined up, which recorded almost the whole history of Ningbo's port opening. These buildings are at least 100 years old. At present, the preserved cultural relics include: British Consulate, Inspection Institute, Maritime Command of Japanese Invaders, Zhejiang Customs, Catholic Church, Jiangbei Jesus Church, Ningbo Post Office, Trading Bank, etc. There are also some private houses, such as Lao Hongchangyuan, merchants' private houses, Yan's villas and Zhu's houses. These buildings have a strong European style, representing Britain, France, Germany and Holland. In sharp contrast with the traditional houses in China. European architectural corridor

The buildings along the Bund in Jiangbei have a strong European style. In addition, there are some private houses, such as Yanshi Villa, Zhuzhai and the old shop "Hongchangyuan". These buildings combine Chinese and western styles, which are in sharp contrast with the traditional houses in China and have great ornamental value.

The starting point of modern business gangs in Ningbo

Modern Ningbo merchants took advantage of the development opportunities brought by the Bund as a trading port and the innate advantages of China's opening to the outside world and foreign trade at that time, and set up shipping companies one after another to engage in the transportation from Ningbo to Shanghai, especially the risky foreign economic activities at that time, which greatly promoted the modernization process of Ningbo merchants. According to the survey, at least 3 1 of the 54 cultural relics buildings on Ningbo Bund are related to Ningbo merchants.

Modern commercial culture exhibition area

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Bund was the commercial center of Ningbo. This is a characteristic business district around the rise of the port. The whole Bund block can be divided into three floors, and the function of each block is clear: the first floor is the production and operation area of the outer road, the second floor is the consumption area of the middle road, and the third floor is the residential area of the back road.

A testing ground for new things and ideas.

Since modern times, the Bund in Ningbo has been a place where new ideas and new things are constantly sprouting and old and new ideas are constantly colliding. Eating, wearing, living, playing and so on are all permeated with westernization. Western-style cakes, western-style movies, nightclubs and dance halls have entered the lives of local people, and it has become fashionable to live in foreign houses, eat foreign dishes and light foreign lanterns. Ningbo people see the world from the window of the Bund and get in touch with western civilization.

Creative education center

Modern Ningbo Bund is also an education center. Like Feidi (now Ningbo Sanjiang Middle School), Feide, Zhengshi and Yucai Middle School were the best schools at that time. In order to win the hearts of the people, the church has set up several public welfare education machines on the Bund. These schools not only absorbed a group of foreigners as teachers, but also infiltrated advanced western educational concepts into daily teaching at that time. Many vivid educational activities at that time still have considerable reference significance even today.

Foreign religious distribution center

On June 1 844 65438+1October1day, five ports in Ningbo were opened for trade, and Jiangbei Bank was designated as a foreign trade residence. 1860 or so, most foreign consuls, businessmen, priests, foreigners and their relatives live in the area from Sophora japonica to Taohuadu French Catholic Church on the north bank of the Yangtze River. The religions near the Bund in Ningbo are basically foreign. In this area, monasteries, Jesus churches and Catholic churches can be seen everywhere. At present, a physical symbol of foreign religions is the French Gothic architecture-Catholic Church, which was built in 1872 with a building area of 4,380 square meters.

In 2002, Ningbo Urban Construction Investment Holding Co., Ltd. invested 600 million yuan to transform the old Bund. Today's old Bund, after transformation, has basically maintained the original style of Shili Ocean Field, become a new fashion vane in Ningbo, become a new business circle, and become a corner with Tianyi Square. Because the three rivers in the Sanjiangkou of Ningbo are shaped like the English letter "Y", the old Bund area was called "Y-Town" at the beginning of its opening, transliterated as "Bund". Then Shanghai Bund continued to use this name.