Living in Ningbo - restaurants, supermarkets and dvds

[Ciara]

Does anyone here live in Ningbo or lived there recently?

 

I am moving to Ningbo from a city where there were plenty of Western and international restaurants and supermarkets, so I have probably been a bit spoilt! Are many of these in Ningbo If so, can you recommend?  Specifically, bakeries, sushi restaurants, and cafes with decent cakes and lattes?

 

Also, and this is a little specific: Are there any dvd shops? Yeah I know most people don’t bother with them anymore, but I prefer them!

 

Thanks!
 

[mungouk]

It has an Apple store, so presumably many of those things you mention would also follow from that?

 

https://www.apple.com.cn/retail/tianyisquare/

 

Lonely Planet says of this square:
 

Quote

Tiānyī Guǎngchǎng (天一广场), Níngbō’s spiderweb-shaped central square is full of restaurants offering an international spread of cuisines, including plenty of wallet-friendly fast-food joints and a supermarket.

 

See also

https://www.echinacities.com/Ningbo/city-guide
https://www.nottingham.edu.cn/en/university-life/life-in-ningbo.aspx

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/ningbo

 

[abcdefg]

Youtube has about a dozen videos on life in Ningbo. Maybe one of them has some answers to your questions. 

 

4 hours ago, Ciara said:

Specifically, bakeries, sushi restaurants, and cafes with decent cakes and lattes?

 

However, several of these things undergo rapid change and you will probably need to wait until you are boots on the ground.  Last month's "sushi king" is now out of business and the shop across the street is all the rage. 

[Ciara]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I know about the main places like that square in Ningbo from research. I actually lived in Ningbo for a very short time, about 3 months, almost ten years ago! 

Things change so much though, so I was hoping a current resident or recent visitor might have some info?

[vellocet]

The DVD era ended around 2010 or so.  DVD shops are long gone, along with all the other pirated software markets.  

 

Ningbo is only 2 hours from Shanghai so I get the idea you're going to be spending every spare minute you have there.

[mungouk]

4 minutes ago, vellocet said:

DVD shops are long gone

 

I vaguely remember "shops", in the days before Jing Dong and Taobao... 

[Ciara]

I live in Suzhou at the moment, there’s actually 2 dvd shops here, always pretty busy too! I was just wondering if anything similar in Ningbo. I don’t go to Shanghai that much these days and it’s pretty close,  but maybe I’ll end up going more if there’s not many good restaurants in Ningbo etc.

 

Might be an idea to join a Ningbo WeChat group or something, I guess.

[mungouk]

I tried looking for expat Ningbo WeChat groups, but couldn't find any. There are plenty for Hangzhou and Shanghai (and probably Suzhou) so I guess there must be something out there.

Good luck, and all the best for the move! 

 

[xinoxanu]

5 hours ago, vellocet said:

DVD shops are long gone, along with all the other pirated software markets.  

 

Are you talking about Ningbo?

 

Because in cities like Chengdu you still have both... and those places are well-known as well.

[vellocet]

Wow.  I have not seen an old-fashioned DVD shop in forever.  They all got closed down after the stolen IP crackdown, along with all the fake markets.  I haven't even owned a DVD player since 2016.  When I got my new laptop, it was an optional extra that I declined in favor of an SSD.  Haven't missed it, there hasn't been an occasion when I said, "I really need a DVD player to play this DVD or CD someone gave me!"  Besides all that stuff is available online now, either legitimately for a reasonable price, or by bittorrent.  

 

Are they legit DVDs or the old-fashioned pirate ones that have IMDB reviews copied and pasted onto the back?  My favorite was when they'd post a negative review.  "This movie lacks direction, any artistic value, and it is a waste of anyone's two hours to watch.  Avoid."

[abcdefg]

I know of two in central Kunming (as of last year, before Covid.) Both had cheap pirated DVD's for 10 or 15 Yuan as well as more expensive, licensed selections for many times that much. Both stores also sold audio-video equipment and small consumer electronics. Wouldn't be surprised if that was the source of lots of their walk-in traffic. Each was located near a large secondary school campus 高学。  

 

Better yet, I "inherited" a large collection from my landlord going back 10 or 15 years (a guess.) They spanned three generations: the old lady and her husband, both in their 70's and retired, her married adult daughter whose husband worked out of town, and the 6 to 8 year old granddaughter. Also had an actual DVD player hooked up to the TV. When it eventually broke, I bought another. To be honest, despite a wealth of material, I used it less and less over time, relying instead on downloaded material. 

 

Lots of the movies in my "house collection" had brightly-colored jackets and were "revolutionary" tales about war and romance occuring together. "Love in the Ashes" and "Hero's Blood Kiss" type of material. The female lead usually had pigtails, a head scarf and loose kakhi clothes. Most films seemed to have a strong patriotic message. Grandfather was retired military. Grandmother worked all her life in a book store. 

 

 

[Falling_Arrow]

hi Ciara, how did you go finding places? I'm moving to Ningbo in September this year, and I'm keen to locate an international supermarket.

[Johnny-5]

On 3/1/2024 at 11:07 AM, Falling_Arrow said:

I'm moving to Ningbo in September this year, and I'm keen to locate an international supermarket.

As a long time 宁波人 I can safely assure you that you need not worry. There are two Sam's a Costco and a Metro. The Metro is the OG that's been around since forever and is more "international", but the others might be more convenient for where you might be living.

 

Do you know what part of the city you'll be in? Where will you work? Because it didn't used to be a big deal, but nowadays the city has grown so large that your choice of store will really depend on your location in the city.

 

Anyhow, welcome to Ningbo! (hope you like seafood)