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87-617: The Butterfly Lovers is a Chinese legend centered around the tragic romance between Liang Shanbo ( 梁山伯 ) and Zhu Yingtai ( 祝英臺 ), whose names form the Chinese title of the story. The title is often abbreviated as Liang Zhu ( 梁祝 ). The story was selected as one of China's Four Great Folktales by the "Folklore Movement" in the 1920s—the others being the Legend of the White Snake ( Baishezhuan ), Lady Meng Jiang , and The Cowherd and

174-667: A humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ) with four distinctive seasons, characterized by hot, humid summers and chilly, cloudy and dry winters (with occasional snow). The mean annual temperature is 17.6 °C (63.7 °F), with monthly daily averages ranging from 5.8 °C (42.4 °F) in January to 29.1 °C (84.4 °F) in July. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from −8.8 °C (16 °F) on 12 January 1955 to 42.1 °C (108 °F) on 8 August 2013. The city receives an average annual rainfall of 1,430 mm (56 in) and

261-545: A Buddhist monk called Fahai. Twenty years after his mother is buried under the pagoda, Xu Mengjiao earns the position of zhuangyuan (top scholar) in the imperial examination and returns home in glory to visit his parents. At the same time, Xiaoqing, who had spent the intervening years refining her powers, goes to the Jinshan Temple to confront Fahai and defeats him. Bai Suzhen is freed from Leifeng Pagoda and reunited with her husband and son, while Fahai flees. In

348-636: A Soda Bottle" ( 汽水樽裡的咖啡 ), which are all based on the story of the Butterfly Lovers, with possible homosexual themes. These singles helped her to receive the "Female Singer Silver Award" at the Ultimate Song Chart Awards Presentation 2005 ( 叱吒樂壇流行榜頒獎典禮 ). In September 2013, Australian musical theatre company Chinese Music Group performed its annual musical The Butterfly Lover at the Union Theatre at

435-584: A ballet version of Butterfly Lovers for Tivoli Ballet Theater, Copenhagen, using the music of the Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto . In 2022, a musical of the same name, loosely based on the legend was staged in Hong Kong's Shouson Theatre, directed and written by Marc Ngan and Amos Wong. In 2023, Jessie Chung and Paul Lee starred in a stage play adaptation of Butterfly Lovers. The production

522-725: A character from the Taiwanese series is also added to this adaptation renamed Lộ Phương played by Chí Linh. In September 2016, Nation Broadcasting Corporation together with the Musicals Society of Bangkok staged Butterfly Lovers the Musical, featuring Kanyapas Srinarong-Chayanuwat as Zhu Yingtai and Nat Thewphaingam as Liang Shanbo. Music, lyrics and script by Suruj Tipakora-Seni, directed by Victor Kriengsak Silakong, and choreographed by Manaschai Bunchung. In 2017 English Choreographer Paul James Rooney created and choreographed

609-648: A city with rich culture and a long history dating back to the Jingtou Mountain Culture in 6300 BC and the Hemudu culture in 4800 BC, Ningbo was awarded "City of Culture in East Asia" by the governments of China, Japan, and Korea in 2016. From 1842, Ningbo was one of the first five treaty ports opened up to the West. Ningbo is one of the top 200 cities in the world by scientific research as tracked by

696-411: A county magistrate. On the day of Zhu's marriage to Ma, strong winds prevent the wedding procession from escorting the bride beyond Liang's grave, which lies along the journey. Zhu leaves the procession to pay her respects at Liang's grave. She descends in bitter despair and begs for the grave to open up. Suddenly, the grave opens with a clap of thunder. Without further hesitation, Zhu throws herself into

783-470: A daughter of the Zhu family of Shangyu , disguised herself as a man and attended school together with Liang Shanbo from Kuaiji . Shanbo's courtesy name was "Churen". Zhu returned home first. Two years later, Shanbo visited her and only knew that she was a woman then. He was disappointed and felt as though he had made a loss. He asked her parents for her hand in marriage but her family had already betrothed her to

870-665: A group of students from the University of Oxford formed the Liang Zhu Drama Production Company, and rewrote the story into a contemporary drama that was performed in English. In September 2005, Denise Ho performed in the musical Butterfly Lovers ( 梁祝下世傳奇 ) as the leading actress, producer, and musical director. Her album of the same name gave her three Number 1 singles – "Becoming a Butterfly" ( 化蝶 ), "Lawrence and Lewis" ( 勞斯．萊斯 ), and "Coffee in

957-451: A half. The city now serves as the economic center for the southern Yangtze River Delta and has been ranked among the most competitive cities in China. In 2009 Ningbo's economic activity reached US$ 60.8 billion, down 10.4 percent from 2008. The exports totaled US$ 38.65 billion, down 16.6 percent from the previous year. In addition, Ningbo imported US$ 22.16 billion of goods, up 3.1 percent from

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1044-500: A man named Xi Xuanzan ( 奚宣贊 ) meets a girl, her mother, and her grandmother; he falls in love with the mother — who is dressed in white — but the girl warns him that her mother has killed all her previous lovers. A Daoist exorcist exposes the mother as a white snake; her daughter is a black chicken and the grandmother an otter. He builds three stone pagodas in the West Lake and subjugates the creatures beneath them. Xi Xuanzan becomes

1131-683: A religious layman. The story "Madam White Is Kept Forever Under the Thunder Peak Tower" ( 白娘子永鎭雷峰塔 ) in Feng Menglong 's influential 1624 collection Stories to Caution the World began to portray the White Snake in a sympathetic perspective. Xi Xuanzan had become Xu Xuan ( 許宣 ), the Taoist exorcist had become a Buddhist monk named Fahai , and the White Snake now has a maid-servant (clothed in blue-green) named Qingqing ( 青青 ), who

1218-664: A rich historical background. The name Mingzhou is derived from the characters " 明 " (Míng), which symbolizes the presence of two lakes within the city walls: the Sun Lake (日湖) and the Moon Lake (月湖). This nomenclature traces its roots back to the Tang dynasty in 636 AD, reflecting the enduring history of Ningbo. While the original Sun Lake dried up during the 19th century, the Ningbo government embarked on its restoration in 2002. Ningbo

1305-742: A romantic wedding in Verona, with blessings from the locals. Ningbo and Verona became sister cities in October 2005. A delegation from Verona visited Ningbo in 2007 and presented the city with a bronze statue of Juliet. The legend has been adapted into traditional Chinese opera in several local varieties, as Liang Zhu in Yue opera and In the Shade of the Willow ( 柳蔭記 ) in Sichuan opera . The Yue opera version

1392-460: A transcribed tanci text by Chen Yuqian ( 陳遇乾 ). In all of them, White Snake is presented as endearing and devoted; while Fahai's portrayal is more negative. The following is one version from Chinese opera : A white snake and a blue-green snake from Mount Emei transform themselves into two young women called Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing , respectively. They become best friends and travel to Lin'an Prefecture (or Hangzhou ), where they meet

1479-405: A version Fahai hides inside the stomach of a crab. There is a saying that a crab's internal fat is orange because it resembles the color of Fahai's kasaya . The legend has been presented in a number of major Chinese operas , films, and television series. The white snake was simply known as the "White Lady" or "White Maiden" ( 白娘子 ) in the original tale in Feng Menglong 's Stories to Caution

1566-483: A young man named Xu Xian on a ferry-boat in West Lake . Xu Xian lends them his umbrella because it is raining. Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen fall in love instantly and are eventually married. They open a medicine shop. Fahai , the abbot of Jinshan Temple in Zhenjiang , approaches Xu Xian and tells him that his wife is a snake. Xu Xian brushes him off, so Fahai tells him that he should have her drink realgar wine during

1653-555: Is a fish spirit . In this tale the White Snake tries to enrich her husband, but unwittingly turns him into a crime suspect; when he tries to leave her, she threatens him with a flood. The story ends with the righteous monk Fahai trapping the demons under the Leifeng Pagoda ("Thunder Peak Tower"). The Qing dynasty saw major transformations of the legend thanks to Chinese opera and quyi (storytelling performances). While Huang Tubi (黃圖珌)'s 1738 chuanqi play Leifeng Pagoda

1740-490: Is a city with very rich tourist resources. The following is a list of the main tourist attractions authorized by the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism in each subdivision of Ningbo city. Many well known Chinese came from Ningbo or have Ningbo as their ancestral home . The Hangzhou Bay Bridge , a combination cable-stayed bridge and causeway across Hangzhou Bay, opened to

1827-403: Is actually a woman. They are devoted to and passionate about each other and they make a vow to the effect of "till death do us part". The joy of their reunion is short-lived as Zhu's parents have already arranged for her to marry a wealthy merchant, Ma Wencai. Liang is heartbroken when he hears the news and his health gradually deteriorates until he becomes critically ill. He dies in office later as

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1914-528: Is affected by the plum rains of the Asian monsoon in June, when average relative humidity also peaks. From August to October, Ningbo experiences the effects of typhoons , and is affected by an average 1.8 storms annually, though the city is not often struck directly by these systems. A 2012 OECD study lists Ningbo among the top 20 cities worldwide most at risk of flooding due to anthropogenic climate change. Ningbo

2001-510: Is among the cities in China which are implementing sponge city strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Local officers of Ningbo Administrative divisions of Ningbo The sub-provincial city of Ningbo is as whole an urban group with one central group, one northern group, and one southern group. It has direct jurisdiction over the following: Ningbo is an important port city located 220 kilometers (140 mi) south of Shanghai . The city's export industry dates back to

2088-507: Is considered similar to Feng Menglong's version, a major shift seemed to have occurred in texts from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Three long- or medium-length works from this period are: Fang Chengpei's ( 方成培 ) chuanqi play Leifeng Pagoda (1777); a thirteen-chapter novel (also Leifeng Pagoda , 1806) by Yushan Zhuren ( 玉山主人 , "Master of the Jade Mountain"), and The Righteous Demons ( 義妖傳 , preface dated 1809),

2175-487: Is determined to be with him for all eternity. Before her departure, she reveals her true identity to the headmaster's wife and asks her to pass a jade pendant to Liang as a betrothal gift. Liang accompanies his "sworn brother" for 18 miles to see her off. During the journey, Zhu hints to Liang that she is actually a woman. For example, she compares them to a pair of mandarin ducks (a symbol of lovers in Chinese culture), but Liang does not catch her hints and does not even have

2262-664: Is genuine and that he no longer cares if she is a snake. He manages to escape after persuading a sympathetic young monk to release him. When he reunites with his battered wife on Broken Bridge , where they first met, Xiaoqing is so furious at him that she intends to kill him, but Bai Suzhen stops her. Xu Xian expresses his regret, and both Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing forgive him, Xiaoqing more reluctantly. Bai Suzhen gives birth to their son, Xu Mengjiao (in some versions Xu Shilin ). Fahai tracks them down, defeats Bai Suzhen and imprisons her under Leifeng Pagoda , despite pleadings from Xu Xian. Xiaoqing flees, vowing vengeance. Lü Dongbin , one of

2349-898: Is one of China's oldest cities, with a history dating to the Jingtou Mountain Culture in 6300 BC and Hemudu culture in 4800 BC. Ningbo was known as a trade city on the Silk Road at least two thousand years ago, and later as a major port for foreign trade. As of 2020, the earliest relics of human activity discovered in Ningbo City are from the Jingtou Mountain site in Yuyao. These relics date back to 6300 BC, evidencing early human consumption of seafood and rice. A large number of cultivated rice, farming tools, remains of dry fence buildings, remains of domestic livestock, and primitive religious items have been unearthed from related sites of

2436-607: Is one of the 15 free trade zones authorized by the State Council of China and is the only free trade zone in Zhejiang Province. It was established by State Council in 1992, covering the area of 2.3 km (0.89 sq mi). It lies in the middle of the coastline of mainland China, at the south of Yangtze River Delta. In 2008, its industrial output value was RMB 53.33 billion and grew at 19.8 percent as compared to 2007. The Nordic Industrial Park Co. Ltd. (NIP)

2523-500: Is one of the first wholly foreign-owned industrial parks in China located in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. NIP is managed and operated by a Scandinavian management team. The Ningbo Advertising Park is a national level pilot park located in the Ningbo Southern Business District. The financial incentives have attracted over 300 relevant firms to establish operations. Unlike other Chinese cities, Ningbo has

2610-618: Is outcompeting Shanghai for the preeminent Chinese east coast port. Ningbo is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast to the south, via Singapore towards the southern tip of India , via Mombasa to the Mediterranean, and from there via Athens to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central Europe and Eastern Europe . Due to its long history and economic prosperity, Ningbo

2697-617: Is the setting for the Chinese classical romantic tragedy Butterfly Lovers, or Liang Zhu. The Butterfly Lovers is also known as the Chinese Romeo and Juliet. A white marble statue portraying Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, the two lovers who eventually turned into butterflies, was placed in the square in front of the Juliet Museum in central Verona during the festival. Fifteen couples from Ningbo in Chinese-style costumes held

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2784-691: The Battle of Ningpo on 10 March 1842. In 1861, the forces of the Taiping Kingdom took the city relatively unopposed as the defending garrison and all Ningbo residents fled except for the Jews and Persians ; they held the town for six months. In March 1885, during the Sino-French War , Admiral Courbet's naval squadron blockaded several Chinese warships in Zhenhai Bay and exchanged fire with

2871-704: The Dragon Boat Festival . Bai Suzhen unsuspectingly drinks the wine and reveals her true form as a large white snake. Xu Xian dies of shock after seeing that his wife is not human. Bai Suzhen travels to Kunlun , where she braves danger to steal a magical herb guarded by disciples of the Old Man of the South Pole . The herb restores Xu Xian to life. After coming back to life, Xu Xian is still fearful of his wife. He travels alone to Jinshan Temple, where Fahai imprisons him, telling him that he must live in

2958-544: The Eight Immortals , disguises himself as a tangyuan vendor at the Broken Bridge. A boy called Xu Xian buys some tangyuan from Lü Dongbin without knowing that they are actually immortality pills. After eating them, he does not feel hungry for the next three days so he goes back to ask the vendor why. Lü Dongbin laughs and carries Xu Xian to the bridge, where he flips him upside-down and causes him to vomit

3045-689: The Hemudu culture (5000–4500 BC), evidencing human settlement and culture in the eastern part of the Ningshao Plain, where modern-day Ningbo city is located. Before the Han dynasty , the area where Ningbo City is located today was sparsely populated. In the Xia dynasty , the location of Ningbo was called "Yin". In the Spring and Autumn period , the area where Ningbo belonged was the Yue State . At that time,

3132-528: The Nature Index . The first character in the city's name ning ( 宁 or 寧 ) means "serene", while its second character bo ( 波 ) translates to "wave". The city is abbreviated " 甬 " ( pinyin : Yǒng ) for the eponymous "Yong Hill" ( 甬山 ), a prominent coastal hill near the city, and the Yong River that flows through Ningbo city. Formerly known as Mingzhou (明州; Míngzhōu), Ningbo boasts

3219-638: The Treaty of Nanjing signed in 1842 at the end of the First Opium War between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and China. During the war, British forces briefly took possession of the walled city of Ningbo after storming the fortified town of Zhenhai at the mouth of the Yong River on October 10, 1841. The British subsequently repulsed a Chinese attempt to retake the city in

3306-579: The University of Melbourne . The play, written by Australian journalist and writer Bang Xiao, reformed the storyline with contemporary views, and was delivered in Chinese mandarin with live subtitles in English and Chinese. The story has been adapted into Vietnamese Cai Luong a number of times, with its Sino-Vietnamese title Lương Sơn Bá – Chúc Anh Đài  [ vi ] written by artist and songwriter The lea. ding roles have been played by Vietnamese actors and actresses such as Hương Lan , Phi Nhung , Tái Linh, Phượng Mai, Mạnh Quỳnh, and Vũ Linh. One of

3393-536: The Xiangshan Peninsula ( 象山半岛 ) in Xiangshan County . The Siming Mountains ( 四明山 ) run north from Mount Tiantai and within Ningbo City, traversing Yuyao City , Haishu District , and Fenghua District , and reaching a height of 979 m (3,212 ft). Tidal flat ecosystems occur adjacent to the city, however, large areas have been reclaimed for agricultural purposes. Ningbo has

3480-741: The Xiaoshan–Ningbo Railway (Xiaoyong Line), which runs west to Hangzhou ; the Ningbo–Taizhou–Wenzhou (Yongtaiwen) Railway , which runs south to Wenzhou ; and the Hangzhou–Ningbo High-Speed Railway , which runs parallel to the Xiaoyong Line providing high-speed railway service. With the booming economy in the region, the Xiaoyong Railway, a conventional railway built in the 1950s, could not meet

3567-489: The bubonic plague . An outbreak of bubonic plague followed. Bacteriologist Huang Ketai reported that at least 109 people died from the plague in Ningbo in November and December 1940. According to Daniel Barenblatt, imperial planes loading germ bombs for bubonic dissemination over Ningbo was recorded on film in 1940. Ningbo ranges in latitude from 28° 51' to 30° 33' N and in longitude from 120° 55' to 122° 16' E, bounded on

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3654-401: The tangyuan into the lake. In the lake dwells a white snake spirit who has been practicing Taoist magical arts. She eats the pills and gains 500 years' worth of magical powers. She, therefore, feels grateful to Xu Xian, and their fates become intertwined. There is another terrapin (or tortoise) spirit also training in the lake who did not manage to consume any of the pills; he is very jealous of

3741-499: The 7th century. Today, Ningbo is a major exporter of electrical products, textiles, food, and industrial tools. The city's private sector is especially well-developed, contributing 80 percent of total GDP in 2013. Historically, Ningbo was somewhat geographically isolated from other major cities. In 2007 the Hangzhou Bay Bridge was built, cutting highway transit time between Ningbo and Shanghai from four hours to two and

3828-579: The Chinese Liang-Zhu Culture Association as culturally significant sites for the birth of the legend. The Sino-Italian love culture festival was held on Wednesday, 24 September 2008 in the northern Italian city of Verona , co-sponsored by the municipal governments of Verona and Ningbo city. Verona is the literary hometown of Romeo and Juliet, the lead characters in Shakespeare's famous play Romeo and Juliet . Ningbo

3915-474: The Liang Shanbo Temple is built with a sitting statue of the couple, with Zhu Yingtai dressed in phoenix coronet and embroidered cape sitting on the right side of Liang Shanbo. The rear hall is their bedroom set with a vermilion wooden bed, behind which is the couple's tomb. People in Ningbo City tend to worship the temple for bliss of eternal love of couples. The Liang Shanbo Temple built in 347 by

4002-548: The Ma family. Shanbo assumed office as a magistrate in Yin ( 鄞 ; in present-day western Ningbo ) and died of illness later and was buried west of the city of Mao ( 鄮 , in eastern Ningbo). Zhu was on her journey to the Ma residence by boat and passed by Liang's grave. The strong wind and waves prevent the boat from advancing. After learning that it was Shanbo's grave, she set foot on land and broke down. The ground suddenly cracked open and Zhu

4089-460: The Portuguese had a sizable community in Ningbo (or, more likely, on nearby small islands such as Shuangyu ). Portuguese activities from their Ningbo base included pillaging and attacking multiple Chinese port cities around Ningbo. They also enslaved people during their raids. The Portuguese were ousted from the Ningbo area in 1548. Ningbo was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by

4176-666: The Tower", and "Reunion of Butterfly Lovers" according to the main line of the story Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. The layout of ancient Chinese architectural style in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River such as kiosks, pavilions, platforms, and towers was adopted against the mountains and waters, realizing a gorgeous effect of diverse landscapes of mountain beyond mountain and garden beyond garden. Located in Shaojiadu Village, Gaoqiao Town five miles west to Ningbo City,

4263-558: The Vietnamese adaptations published by Thuy Nga Productions starring Phi Nhung and Mạnh Quỳnh was cowritten by Viên Hoàng blending the original Vietnamese adaptation and extending the story by using some elements of the 2000 Taiwainese television series into the original story. This includes Ma Wencai's villainous feats which result in Liang Shanbo's death, his destruction of the school and death of his former teacher. Lu Bingzhang

4350-725: The Weaving Maid ( Niulang Zhinü ). Six cities in China collaborated in 2004 on a formal application for the Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on the legend at UNESCO , submitted in 2006 through the Chinese Ministry of Culture . The legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is set in the Eastern Jin dynasty (266–420 AD). Zhu Yingtai is the ninth child and only daughter of

4437-413: The White Snake The Legend of the White Snake is a Chinese legend centered around a romance between a man named Xu Xian and a female snake spirit named Bai Suzhen . It is counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales, the others being Lady Meng Jiang , Butterfly Lovers , and The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl . The snake-woman motif possibly came from Indian folklore. In the earliest versions

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4524-401: The World . The name "Bai Suzhen" was created in a later era. Some adaptations of the legend in theater , film, television and other media have made extensive modifications to the original story, including the following: [REDACTED] Media related to Legend of the White Snake at Wikimedia Commons Ningbo Ningbo is the core city and center of the Ningbo Metropolitan Area . To

4611-448: The Yue King Goujian built Juzhang City in the present-day Cicheng Town, which became the earliest city in Ningbo. In the latter half of the Warring States period, the area of Ningbo became the jurisdiction of Chu State . In 221 BC, Qin unified the six states and the Ningbo area was delegated to Kuaiji Commandery , with three counties of Yin, Yin, and Juzhang (some studies assert there were four counties of Yin, Yin, Juzhang, and Yuyao). In

4698-478: The beauty at her residence, he returns home and falls ill, his body dissolving into water. His family searches for the woman and discovers that she is a giant white snake. In the Ming dynasty , some time before 1547, a collection of early huaben tales was printed by Hong Pian ( 洪楩 ); in it was "The Three Pagodas of West Lake" ( 西湖三塔記 ), likely the first work to set the legend in the Southern Song capital Lin'an Prefecture , or modern Hangzhou . In this story,

4785-446: The city, which has also attracted more than 10,000 foreigners. The municipal government offers preferential policies designed to encourage investment in international trade, new strategic industries, manufacturing, information services, and creative industries. Located in the north-east of Ningbo, behind Beilun Port, NETD is 27 km (17 mi) away from the city center. With more than 20 years of great effort, NETD has already formed

4872-404: The demand for railway travel between Zhejiang's two largest cities, so construction of a new high-speed railway line between Hangzhou and Ningbo started in 2009. The new railway line was finished in 2013 and reduced travel time between Ningbo and Hangzhou to 50 minutes. The Ningbo–Taizhou–Wenzhou Railway is a high-speed railway that opened in September 2009. It connects Ningbo with cities along

4959-437: The early years of the Western Han dynasty, Kuaiji Commandery belonged to the Kingdom of Jing and Wu. After the Seven Kingdoms was settled, Kuaiji Commandery was restored. In 589 AD (Sui Kai Huang nine years), the counties were merged under the Wu kingdom. Since the Tang dynasty , Ningbo has been an important commercial port. Arab traders lived in Ningbo during the Song dynasty when it was known as Mingzhou or Siming, since

5046-552: The east by the East China Sea and Zhoushan Archipelago ; on the north by Hangzhou Bay , across which it faces Jiaxing and Shanghai ; on the west by Shaoxing ; and on the south by Taizhou . Its land area is 9,816 square kilometers (3,790 sq mi), while its oceanic territory amounts to 9,758 km (3,768 sq mi); there is a total 1,562 km (971 mi) of coastline, including 788 km (490 mi) of mainland coastline and 774 km (481 mi) of island coastline that together accounting for one-third of

5133-428: The entire provincial coastline. There are 531 islands accounting for 524 km (202 sq mi) under the city's administration. Ningbo's city proper is sandwiched between the ocean and low-lying mountains to the southwest, with coastal plain and valleys in between. Important peninsulas include the Chuanshan Peninsula ( 穿山半岛 ), located in Beilun District and containing mainland Zhejiang's easternmost point, and

5220-427: The fact that, after a major flood destroyed Torah scrolls in Kaifeng in 1642, a replacement was sent to the Kaifeng Jews by the Jews at Ningbo. The city of Ningbo was known in Europe for a long time under the name of Liampó. This was the usual spelling used, for example in the standard Portuguese history, João de Barros 's Décadas da Ásia , although Barros explained that Liampó was a Portuguese "corruption" of

5307-505: The general framework for large scale construction and development, and established the perfect investment environment. It is situated close to the Ningbo Port and Ningbo Lishe International Airport. Major Investors include ExxonMobil , Dupont and Dow Chemical . The Ningbo Daxie Development Zone was approved in 1993 and covers an area of 5.92 km (2.29 sq mi). Over more than ten years of development and construction, industrial and logistical foundations have been established in

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5394-439: The grave to join Liang. Their spirits emerge in the form of a pair of butterflies and fly away together, never to be separated again. The earliest record of the legend can be traced back to the late Tang dynasty . In Shidao Sifan Zhi ( 十道四蕃志 ), the author Liang Zaiyan ( 梁載言 ) wrote: The righteous woman Zhu Yingtai was buried together with Liang Shanbo. In Xuan Shizhi ( 宣室志 ), the author Zhang Du ( 張讀 ) wrote: Yingtai,

5481-422: The locals in memory of Liang Shanbo, who had contributed greatly during his term in office as a magistrate to resolving the problems caused by the flooding of the river. The Liang-Zhu Cultural Park in Ningbo was built by the locals, with the love story as its main theme. The "Liang-Zhu Tomb" ( 梁祝塚 ), "Liang Shanbo Temple" ( 梁山伯廟 ), "Husband and Wife Bridge" ( 夫妻橋 ), and Qin Gong ( 寢宮 ) are officially recognized by

5568-455: The main body of the bridge and an 8 kilometer long tunnel. The port of Ningbo is the world's busiest port. It was ranked number 1 in total Cargo Volume (1.22 billion tonnes in 2021 ) and number 3 in total container traffic (31.1 million TEUs in 2021) since 2019. Ningbo Lishe International Airport connects Ningbo by air to the rest of China, with regularly scheduled domestic and international flights. Three railway lines intersect in Ningbo:

5655-456: The more correct Nimpó. The spelling Liampó is also attested to in the Peregrination ( Peregrinação ) by Fernão Mendes Pinto , a (so-called) autobiography written in Portuguese during the 16th century. For the mid-16th-century Portuguese, the nearby promontory, which they called the cape of Liampó after the nearby "illustrious city", was the easternmost known point of the mainland Asia. The Portuguese began trading in Ningbo around 1522. By 1542,

5742-429: The most musically symbolic retelling of the legend; at 25 minutes and 40 seconds long, it has now become a classic piece of Chinese music. During the 1970s, Hong Kong television station TVB adapted the legend as a musical miniseries, with Roman Tam and Susanna Kwan supplying the vocals for the soundtrack composed by Joseph Koo . The musical piece was used as the theme music for more than two films. Legend of

5829-482: The municipality possessing a separate state-planning status in many economic departments, rather than being governed by Zhejiang Province . Therefore, Ningbo has provincial-level autonomy in making economic and financial policies. In 2022, the GDP of Ningbo was CNY 1570,43 billion (US$ 233.479 billion), and it was ranked 12th among 293 cities in China. Moreover, Ningbo is among the wealthiest cities in China; it ranked 8th in terms of average yearly disposable income in

5916-523: The north, Hangzhou Bay separates Ningbo from Shanghai ; to the east lies Zhoushan in the East China Sea ; on the west and south, Ningbo borders Shaoxing and Taizhou respectively. As of the 2020 Chinese national census , the entire administrated area of Ningbo City had a population of 9.4 million (9,404,283). Ningbo is one of the 15 sub-provincial cities in China, and is one of the five separate state-planning cities in China (the other four being Dalian , Qingdao , Xiamen , and Shenzhen ), with

6003-411: The ocean-going trade passages took precedence over land trade during this time. It was a well known center of ocean-going commerce with the foreign world. These merchants did not intermingle with native Chinese, instead practicing their own customs and religion and inhabiting ghettos. They did not try to proselytize Islam to the Chinese. There was also a large Jewish community in Ningbo, as evidenced by

6090-527: The pavilion of a wooden bridge. They study together for the next three years in school and Zhu gradually falls in love with Liang. Although Liang equals Zhu in their studies, he is still a bookworm and fails to notice the feminine characteristics exhibited by his classmate. One day, Zhu receives a letter from her father, asking her to return home as soon as possible. Zhu has no choice but to pack her belongings immediately and bid Liang farewell. However, in her heart, she has already confessed her love for Liang and

6177-427: The previous year. Ningbo's economy grew 9.26 percent in 2013 to 712.89 billion yuan (US$ 115.12 billion). In 2009, the city's per capita output was US$ 10,833, about three times the national average. With several important development zones established in or around Ningbo, the city has received considerable foreign investment. Over 60 domestic and foreign-invested financial institutions have established operations in

6264-762: The public on 1 May 2008. This bridge connects the municipalities of Shanghai and Ningbo and is considered the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world. It is the world's second-longest bridge, after the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana , United States. The Jintang Bridge, a four-lane sea crossing bridge linking Jintang Island of Zhoushan and Zhenhai district, is a 27 km (17 mi) long opened on December 26, 2009. The Xiangshan Harbor Bridge opened to traffic on December 29, 2012, connecting Ningbo with Xiangshan. The 47 km (29 mi) long project includes 22 km (14 mi) as

6351-511: The region, such as Shanghai 's Yangshan Deep-Water Port. Statistics in 2010 showed that total cargo throughput was 627,000,000 tonnes and container throughput 13,144,000 TEUs. In 2021, total cargo throughput was 1,224,050,000 tonnes, including 31,080,000 TEUs. Ningbo proper saw 623,400,000 tonnes and 29,370,000 TEUs, while Zhoushan saw 600,650,000 tonnes and 1,710 000,TEUs. Thus, with bulk container breakdowns, hugely improved logistics, and massive chemical and foodstuff, processing developments, Ningbo

6438-541: The same authority as provincial governments for economic administration and is the largest port in the world in terms of annual cargo throughput. In contrast to Shanghai, the port is deep-water and capable of handling 300,000 ton vessels. The port is located mainly in Beilun district and Zhenhai district. In 2006 Ningbo Port started its expansion towards the neighboring island city of Zhoushan to build an even larger port with higher capacity to compete with neighboring ports in

6525-414: The shore defenses. Ningbo was also once famed for traditional Chinese furniture production, and western encyclopedias described Ningbo as a center of craftsmanship and industry. During the 1800s Ningbo authorities contracted Cantonese pirates to exterminate Portuguese pirates who had raided Canton shipping around Ningbo. The massacre was "successful", with 40 Portuguese dead and only 2 Cantonese dead. It

6612-465: The slightest suspicion that his companion is a woman in disguise. Zhu finally comes up with an idea and tells Liang that she will act as a matchmaker for him and Zhu's "sister". Before they part, Zhu reminds Liang to visit her residence later so he can propose to marry her "sister". Liang and Zhu reluctantly part ways at the Changting pavilion. Months later, when Liang visits Zhu, he discovers that she

6699-527: The temple in order to save himself from the snake demons. Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing fight with Fahai to rescue Xu Xian. During the battle, Fahai calls on guardian deities like Skanda and Sangharama to help him. Bai Suzhen uses her powers to flood the temple, causing collateral damage in the process. However, her powers are limited because she is already pregnant with Xu Xian's child, so she fails to save her husband. Xiaoqing helps her escape back to Hangzhou. Meanwhile, Xu Xian realizes that his wife's love for him

6786-474: The wealthy Zhu family of Shangyu , Zhejiang . Although women are traditionally discouraged from taking up scholarly pursuits, Zhu manages to convince her father to allow her to attend classes in disguise as a man. During her journey to Hangzhou , she meets Liang Shanbo, a scholar from Kuaiji (present-day Shaoxing ). They chat and feel a strong affinity for each other at their first meeting. Hence, they gather some soil as incense and take an oath of fraternity in

6873-493: The white snake was depicted as an evil demon. Over the centuries, however, the legend has evolved from a horror tale to a romance story about forbidden love. The Tang-dynasty story collection Boyi zhi ( 博異志 ; "Vast Records of the Strange"), from the early 9th century, contains a chuanqi tale about a man named Li Huang ( 李黃 ) meeting an attractive woman clad in white (whose aunt is clothed in blue-green). After mating with

6960-478: The white snake. One day, the white snake sees a beggar on the bridge who has caught a green snake and wants to dig out the snake's gall and sell it. The white snake transforms into a woman and buys the green snake from the beggar, thus saving the green snake's life. The green snake is grateful to the white snake and she regards the white snake as an elder sister. In the meantime, the terrapin spirit has accumulated enough powers to take on human form, so he transforms into

7047-511: The year of 2020. As of 2020, Ningbo has global headquarters and registered offices of over 100 listed companies, and many regional business headquarters. In 2021, Ningbo featured the seventh most listed companies of all cities in China. Furthermore, Ningbo was among the top 10 Chinese cities in the Urban Business Environment Report released by the Chinese state media China Central Television (CCTV) in 2019. As

7134-586: The zone for the transshipment of energy, liquid chemicals and containers. Ningbo National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was founded in 1999 and was upgraded to a national level zone in January 2007. It is 10 km (6.2 mi) from Ningbo International Airport and 18 km (11 mi) away from Ningbo Port. The zone serves as the important technical innovation base of Yangtze River Delta. Industries encouraged include chemicals production and processing, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, raw material processing, Research and Development. Ningbo Free Trade Zone

7221-643: Was appointed as a missionary to China by the Church of England Missionary Society , and arrived at Ningpo with Mrs. Moule in February 1858. His time was chiefly divided between Ningpo and another mission station he began at Hang-chow. He wrote Christian publications in the Ningbo dialect . During WWII in 1940, between 80% and 90% of Ningbo's population fled Ningbo, leaving primarily the elderly behind. The Japanese bombed Ningbo with ceramic bombs full of fleas carrying

7308-425: Was brought into being by Malaysia's Symphony Theatre, who gathered an international team of 35 talents from Taiwan, US, Australia, and Malaysia to take on the colossal performance. The story also inspired the production of Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto , or Liang Zhu Violin Concerto as known in Chinese, a work for violin and orchestra. It was composed by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang in 1958. The piece has been

7395-713: Was buried within. Jin dynasty chancellor Xie An proclaimed the grave as the "Tomb of the Righteous Woman". The legend was also recorded in various official records such as Yinxian Zhi ( 鄞縣志 ), Ningbofu Zhi ( 寧波府志 ) and Yixing Jingxi Xinzhi ( 宜興荊溪新志 ). Adjacent to the Yuyao River with a land area of 300 mu, the Liang-Zhu Cultural Park features multiple sceneries including "Becoming Sworn Brothers at Thatched Bridge", "Being Classmates for Three Years", "18 Miles of Send-off", "Farewell in

7482-671: Was dubbed " The Ningpo Massacre " by an English correspondent, who noted that the Portuguese pirates had behaved savagely towards the Cantonese Chinese, and that the Portuguese authorities at Macau should have reined in the pirates. During the late Qing era, Western missionaries set up a Presbyterian Church in Ningbo. Li Veng-eing was a Reverend of the Ningpo Church. The Ningpo College was managed by Rev. Robert F. Fitch. The four trustees were natives of Ningbo, and three of them had Taotai rank. Rev. George Evans Moule, B.A.,

7569-655: Was made into a colour motion picture in China in 1954. Filming by the Ministry of Culture and the East China Military and Political Commission took place in Zhu's legendary hometown of Shangyu. Based on the romance, the Shaw Brothers Studio also produced The Love Eterne , a film in Huangmei opera directed by Li Han-hsiang in 1962, starring Ivy Ling Po and Betty Loh Ti . In May 2001,

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