Hemudu Site

Cicheng used to be an administration center of Cixi County. As administrative division changes in middle 20th century, the town is now part of Jiangbei District, and the layout and historic details of the town is well preserved. The preservation of the town is honored Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation by UNESCO in December 2009. The most convenient way to take a tour around the town is to take a manpower tricycle. In the town you can see a well-preserved Confucian Temple and many traditional residences, mostly built more than 100 years ago.

Baoguo Temple is seated on the mountainside of Lingshan Mountain, about 15 km (9 mi) away from downtown. As a cultural relic spot under state-level protection, it was established in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) and rebuilt and expanded in later dynasties. Now a museum, the present Baoguo Temple is a mixture of constructions made by various dynasties. It's wooden main hall is over 1000 years old, and is one of the oldest wooden buildings in China south of the Yangtze River.

Shanglin Lake Kiln Site is situated in the area near Shanglin Lake, Cixi City. It is a national key cultural protection unit. The celadon produced by the kiln is famous for its color and quality. Shanglin Lake is an important source and base for celadon in China. The ancient kiln from Han Dynasty to Song Dynasty number more than 100.

A home from the 1300s, which the family turned into an exclusive school in the 1600s. Wooden plaques provide details on family members and students in Chinese and English. It's in a quiet area, behind a park, ringed by a garden, with canals on two sides, and gets 5-10 visitors per day so it can be a tranquil escape from the city, but is otherwise unremarkable if you don't recognize the names.

This park has a small waterfall, several hundred year old temple, and scenic hiking trails alongside the mountains. A taxi service is available for those that are not interested in hiking to the top, but want to see the mountain ranges in a convenient setting.

Tianyi Pavilion is the oldest private library in existence in China. A complex of gardens and small buildings, Tianyi Pavilion was built in 1561 in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The Tianyi Pavilion is not only world famous for its wide collection of books, but also for its unique architecture and elegant landscape. The Tianyi Pavilion has a flush gable roof, and is six bays wide and deep, with a corridor extending from the front to the back. In front of the pavilion is a pond that stores water for fireproof. Fan Wenguang, Fan Qin's great-grandson, rebuilt the pavilion by laying rockery around the lake, building kiosks and bridges, planting flowers and grass in the fourth year (1665) of the Kangxi reign in the Qing Dynasty. The whole pavilion and the milieu feature the style of private gardens south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. During its rebuilding in 1933, the Zunjing Pavilion of Confucian Temple in Ningbo was moved to the backyard. Steles from the Song (960-1279) to Qing Dynasties in Ningbo City were also put there. These steles and the Zunjing Pavilion are called the Stele Forest in Mingzhou.