Staycation Summer

Ningbo Tour No.1 – Jiulonghu

Just like everyone else in the world, my travel plans for the Summer had been cancelled. No longer was a trip to Cambodia on the cards, instead an entrapment in China. Due to restrictions, it would become safer (and easier) to remain in my own city in China of Ningbo.

Ningbo lies on the East coast of China, 2 hours south of Shanghai on the train. A city with a huge number of scenic spots and temples. Staying in Ningbo for the summer means that I had started to find out where to visit and how to get there. First up, a trip to Jiulonghu also known as Nine Dragon Lake.

Jiulonghu is free to visit if you just want to walk through the old villages and around the lake, some building work is ongoing currently so I chose to pay and enter the Scenic area instead. I intend to return when the sun isn’t quite as scorching and walk around the lake and villages. To find this place, I used my Apple Maps, its labelled as ‘Jiulong Lake Tourism Holiday Resort’.

To start, I jumped on the lakes boat to travel to Monkey Island (exactly what it sounds like). The trip onto Monkey Island is included in the overall cost of the ticket, 70RMB. Monkey Island is home to a number of monkeys which are looked after by Island staff, the island appears to be a research facility. During lunch, the monkeys are returned to the cages for food before being let out again. The time that I reached the island was lunch so unfortunately, or luckily in my case, the monkeys were in the cages.

Upon returning to the mainland, I entered through the barriers into the Scenic Area. Here you can find buses ready to take you further into the island the bus is included in the ticket cost as well. It takes about 5-10 minutes to reach the end destination from the bus, then you will arrive at the Xiangshan Mountain Temple. The temple was closed due to COVID-19.

Given the hot day, I walked past the Temple and onto the path that leads into the second part of the Scenic area. On the path there were a number of small stalls selling ice-cream or street food. I bought a cup of fruity ice pops for 6RMB.

As I entered into the next part of the Scenic Area, i saw the first waterfall. This area consists of 4 waterfalls and 3 main pool areas. The first waterfall is named ‘Flying Dragon Waterfall’, this waterfall is close to the entrance so not too far to trek inside the area.

As you enter this area, the air instantly cools. The waterfalls are close together so the actual area is cool and easy to walk through. Many steps lead the way to the final pool at the top. Along the way, rocks line the steps where families would sit and put their feet into the pools below the waterfalls.

If you follow the path from the start and go up beside the first waterfall you will travel past:

• Flying Dragon Waterfall
• Two Dragon Waterfall
• Linglong Waterfall
• Snow Dragon Waterfall
• Xiayao Pool
• Shangyao Pool

On the return back down, you can opt to take the same pathway you took up or you can come around and do a full circle back down through a bamboo forest. Either way, the sights are worth it!

If you ever come to find yourself in Ningbo, China, you should definitely take a trip to Jiulonghu as its filled with natural beauty and stunning landscapes that are a must see!

Treat yourself to the sights like below: