1 Day in Ningbo: What to Do and See in Ningbo

Day 1

Xikou Scenic Area

Ticket Price: 120 RMB

Recommended Length of Stay: 1-2 Days

Location: Xikou Town, Fenghua District, Ningbo City

Xikou Scenic Area has a thousand years of history and was the hometown of Warlord Era leader Chiang Kai-Shek. The location naturally imparts a feeling of mystery, and it really is an otherworldly paradise with the little town set alongside the wide brook and nestled against Xuedou Mountain, which is famous for its streams and waterfalls. Xuedou is one of China’s famous Buddhist mountains, and its Xuedou Temple was a “ten direction Zen monastery” during the Tang dynasty. It is acknowledged among Buddhists as the bodhimanda (place of enlightenment) of the bodhisattva Maitreya.

Reviews from Real Guests:

Tella: Absolutely beautiful waterfalls. The waterfalls alone make it worthwhile. Besides the ladies at the ticket office who were a bit impatient, the rest of the staff at the scenic area were friendly and helpful. there are two or three different ticket options focusing on different scenic spots in the area. the 150RMB ticket option includes the waterfalls and Buddha. you are taken on a bus (leaves about every 10min) to near the top of the mountain. then you follow a staircase and walkway along the river and a cross several bridges to view all the waterfalls and three hidden pools. there are information boards about the scenic spots all along the way in English Chinese and Korean. lots of bathrooms, picnic spots and rubbish bins for your convenience. even though it was overcast and drizzling some of the time, it meant that there was almost no one around us at any time. we saw about 4 other groups of tourists the entire time. completely serene and absolutely beautiful. after about 2800m walk down the river, you then get to the monorail where you have to buy a ticket for 50RMB per adult and 25RMB per child. the ticket includesthe cableway and monorail. it leaves fairly regularly and we only waited about 10min. the monorail takes you partway back up a different part of the mountain. you then walk up a few stairs, about 300m to the cable car...the same ticket is used for the cable car as for the monorail. at the top is another vantage point, a small convenience shop and about a 700m walk to the laughing Buddha. you can't get lost...it's basically a one way trip so don't worry. the temple and bottom of the Buddha you enter with your original150RMB ticket but an extra 20RMB ticket is required to go right up to the Buddha. then it's a bus ride back to the bottom and that's it.

Yeliab: Great full day activity from Ningbo, or from staying at a resort in Xikou. You'll arrive at the tourist centre at the bottom of the mountain. Buy the tickets for 150 RMB and take the bus to the last stop at the top of the area, then begin your walk down. The path is clearly marked and has several highlights throughout, like a waterfall, a cable car, and a monorail. We were very pleasantly surprised by this attraction. We went on a hot day, and there was plenty of shade and stops to keep refreshed and hydrated. Everything was clean, and there were lots of bathrooms. Don't bring anything you don't want to carry for 6 hours. The negative reviews are correct: there is only one route, and once you're committed, you're in until the end! Do not go to this attraction on holidays!

* All reviews in the blog are machine-translated.