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Category: Culture Ningbo
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Published: Tuesday, 31 January 2012 09:47
By James Baquet
THE morning after my return from Putuoshan Island, my friends and I headed out by private car. We traveled west from Beilun, toward central Ningbo, but then turned south into some of Zhejiang’s wild mountains to find Tiantong Temple, the “Temple of the Heavenly Child.”
Founded in the year 300, Tiantong is a huge complex, with dozens of ochre-colored plaster and red-painted wood buildings marching up the mountainside. It is also a major destination for pilgrims, especially those from Japan.
That’s because around 1225, a Japanese monk named Dogen Zenji arrived here, and ended up studying with the great monk Rujing of the Caodong sect of Chan (Zen). Two and a half years later, Dogen returned to Japan and founded the Soto Zen sect (“Soto” is the Japanese pronunciation of “Caodong”), which today claims millions of followers in Japan and throughout the world.
Aside from the main compound, the temple has two “tayuan,” or “pagoda compounds,” located on another part of the mountainside in lush bamboo forests. One of these evocative cemeteries contains the remains of Rujing himself. We had a hard time finding the compound, and ended up having our driver take us up to it in the car.
As with all mountain temples, Tiantong Temple is a bit hard to reach. If you’re not fortunate enough to have a friend who hires you a car, try going to Ningbo’s East Bus Station and taking bus 362-3 for Tiantong Temple stop.
2012-January-30 08:53 Shenzhen Daily
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Category: Culture Ningbo
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Published: Monday, 09 January 2012 15:14
"By taking the course on 'Hongbang tailor' culture, I have got a deep insight into the history of 'Hongbang tailor' dress-making and are greatly encouraged by its spirit. Especially I have come to understand some basic principles such as how to learn, how to live a life and how to do things." said Zheng Fang, a garment major from Zhejiang Textile & Fashion College.
Since the beginning of 2010, the college officially opened the courses on Hongbang tailor culture, lecturing to students the spirit and essence of the culture.
In Zhejiang Textile & Fashion College, the "Hongbang tailor" atmosphere is everywhere. There are Hongbang culture society, Hongbang culture exhibition hall, Hongbang dress shops and Hongbang street. Besides, the underground corridor connecting the teaching area and living area is rearranged as Hongbang culture exhibiting area, so that the students can feel the charm of the Hongbang culture at ease.
The Hongbang culture festival, held three times a year, is a good occasion to promote the Hongbang spirit and develop campus culture, through a series of activities such as crafts and skills contest, business plan competition, credit experiencing activity and idea collecting activity.
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Category: Culture Ningbo
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Published: Tuesday, 27 December 2011 19:52
On December 16, the 14th session of the 11th enlarged meeting of Ningbo Municipal Party Committee was held. The topic of the meeting was how to carry out the spirit of the 6th plenary session of the 17th Conference of the Central Party Committee, the Central Economic Work Conference and the 10th plenary session of the 12th Conference of Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee. On behalf of the Standing Committee of Ningbo Municipal Party Committee, Wang Huizhong, Member of the Standing Committee of Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of Ningbo Municipal Party Committee, made a report, and Liu Qi, Vice Secretary of Ningbo Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Ningbo, conveyed the spirit of the annual Central Economic Work Conference.
At the meeting, the Decision of Ningbo Municipal Party Committee Concerning the Implementation of the Spirit of the 6th Plenary Session of the 17th Conference of the Central Party Committee and the Construction of a City Powerful in Culture was discussed and adopted. The meeting concluded that Ningbo should deepen the implement of the "six strategies" and the "1235" program for the cultural development, and that by 2020, Ningbo should have turned itself into a city powerful in comprehensive cultural strength, with high civic morality, good social atmosphere, good living conditions and unique local cultural features.
In his report, Wang Huizhong gave emphasis to the key issues in the construction of a powerful cultural city. The core of the issues is to build up the system of socialist core values as the common spiritual foundation of the people. He said that Ningbo should follow the principle of having the people benefitted by the cultural construction and for this purpose the city should build a complete public cultural service system whose services should extend to urban and rural areas.
Wang Huizhong said that the grass-roots areas should have more cultural resources and that such areas should have more cultural programs and enjoy more cultural services.
Wang Huizhong said emphatically that Ningbo should do a good job in protection, development and display of the local cultures so as to promote the image and quality of the city. These cultures include: the tradition of the East Zhejiang School of Learning, the sea culture of Ningbo, the book collection culture of Ningbo, and the intangible cultural heritages of the Yong Opera and the Yuyao Opera. He said that Ningbo should make use of the resources of Ningbo as the starting port of the Silk Road on the Sea and the South End of the Grand Canal of China.
Wang Huizhong said emphatically that in the construction of a modern metropolitan city, Ningbo should take into account the cultural elements of the city and highlight the unique features of the city in the construction and renovation of the city. In the meanwhile, Ningbo should be active in undertaking national and international cultural programs to promote the influence of the city
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Category: Culture Ningbo
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Published: Thursday, 08 December 2011 01:56
It was learned form the training class concerning cultural trade organized by the Ministry of Commerce in Ningbo, cultural product exports in Ningbo last year accounted for 3.34% of the export volume of the city, with a growth rate doubling the national average. During the first 10 months, it reached $380 mln, up 15.3% over the same time last year.
Some leading cultural enterprises like Soundking and Hailun have increased their export volume. After the outbreak of the global financial crisis in 2008, Ningbo Soundking Group spent 70 mln Yuan on acquiring three other world-renowned audio brands (Studiomaster, Cardac, Carlsbro), which made it better known around the world. Recently, a group of 36 Europeans in purchase of super stereo musical instruments visited the Soundking Group and immediately signed intention agreements worth 10 mln Yuan. Another representative, Ningbo Hailun Musical Instrument Manufacturing co., Ltd., is known as the National Pilot Base for Cultural Industry, with its pianos exported to the EU, the US and the Asia-Pacific region. Building international sales networks has become a new alternative for Ningbo cultural enterprises. For example, Ningbo Kaku Cartoon Making Co., Ltd invested 2 mln HK dollars on establishing Maiquan & Keke International Cultural Media Co., Ltd in Hong Kong in October, mainly to promote its animations and derivatives, and to deal with orders from Japan, South Korea and other countries. Moreover, Zhejiang Xuanyi Internet Technology Co., Ltd, in collaboration with Chinese subsidiaries of game companies from Japan, America, etc, has brought its independently developed online game "The Revival of Empires" to the international market.
Other cultural enterprises such as Guangbo and Deli have also set up dozens of sales networks across the globe, especially in the European and US markets. Guangbo Group alone has founded 3 marketing companies in America, Dubai and Hong Kong respectively, and signed contracts with over 20 subsidiaries in Belgium, Italy, etc., exporting over 5,000 kinds of cultural products with a turnover of $90 mln per annum.
It's shown by China's Customs Statistics that cultural products in Ningbo are mainly exported to the US and European market. During the first 10 months, a total of 140 mln dollars of Ningbo cultural products were exported to the US , up 20.4%, and 95.759 mln dollars to the EU, up 5.5%, among which visual artwork ranks in the first place (worth 300 mln dollars) ,with printing work the second ( worth 54.861 mln dollars).
In the next few years, as the NCDP (Ningbo Cultural Development Plan initiated during the 12th Five-Year Plan) puts it, we will give full support to the export of cultural products and services with Ningbo characteristics, attach great importance to international sales network construction. Driven by incentive policies, cultural products in Ningbo will go global at a rate never seen before
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Category: Culture Ningbo
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Published: Wednesday, 12 October 2011 06:45
On the evening of October 9, the Central Opera House, led by Yu Feng, Director of the Central Opera House and famous conductor of Ningbo origin, will perform Turandot, the grand opera by Puccini, the famous Italian opera master, in Ningbo Grand Opera House. This represents the beginning of the 5th China International Vocal Competition, sponsored by China Ministry of Culture and hosted by Ningbo Municipal Government. From October 9 to 20, 86 singers from 24 countries and regions will gather in Ningbo to present their performance. Audience can enjoy their interpretation of the aria by composers of the 17th and 18th centuries, such as Bach and Haydn, and the art songs by Beethoven, Dvorak, Debussy, etc.
As the only national culture-and-art event to be held in Ningbo, this year's competition demonstrates a significant international feature as the number of applicants and the number of overseas applicants both exceed those of the previous ones. There are 11 judges for the competition, 3 national and 8 international. The three national judges are Guo Shuzhen, Chair of the judge's panel, famous soprano and music educator, famous composer He Zhanhao, and famous conductor Yu Feng.
The competition includes preliminary contest, semi-final and final. 4 placing rewards will be given to male and female singing voices respectively. 2 best singers of Chinese art songs (including one overseas singer of non-China origin) and a dinstinctive young piano accompanist will also be awarded. Besides certificates and trophies, the winners will get a cash reward, ranging from $1000 to $20000.
As for the songs, singers are required to choose one from the 10 required Chinese art songs (such as That is Me and Ah, Chinese Field) by the organizing committee, besides the western classic arias, art songs and opera arias. This embodies the regional feature of China as the organizer of the competition.
