Chapter 1 Arduous Pioneering Life
Part I Departing from Ningbo
Living so far on the other side of the ocean,
I can hardly remember the faces of my parents.
——A Ningbo ballad

1. Ningbo as an International Port
The peculiar geographical position not only has established Ningbo as an important port for trade in ancient China, but it also enables Ningbonese traders to have access to marine transportation and paves the way for their successful junk shipping business in Shanghai and other parts of the country.

Trans-shipment port at Yangtze River Estuary for freighters
Ningbo is in the middle of China’s coastline, which is roughly divided into two parts at the Estuary of the Yangtze River. The northern part is of pelitic composition, with calm and complanate water, and thus is propitious to flatboats, and the southern part is of solid composition, with deep and urgent water, and is suitable for sharp bottom vessels. Therefore, it’s necessary for freighters from both directions to find a port for trans-shipment.

Ningbo, a Blessed Harbor Ningbo is a blessed harbor because it is not only adjacent to the estuary of the Yangtze River, but is also protected from typhoon, severe natural disasters in the area, by the Tiantai Mountains, which extend into East China Sea, forming what is known as Zhoushan Islands.

Ningbo, a Port Connecting the Grand Canal Ningbo port connects Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal via Zhedong Canal. Cargos unloaded from ships can be transported along the Yao River, the Tongming River and the Zhedong Canal, the Qiantang River and finally reach Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Junk Shipping, a Powerful Advantage of Ningbo   
Transporting cargos by junks made Ningbo a prosperous city in ancient China. For a long time before Shanghai Port came into being, Ningbo was the only port that cargos from the north and the south could reach by sea and get finally transported into inland China.

Assembly Hall, a Symbol of Shipping Prosperity The Anqing Assembly Hall served as a meeting place for junk owners on the north route while the Anlan Assembly Hall for those on the south route.

2. Time-Honored Business Tradition
Since Ningbo is small and densely populated, people there could not subsist on agriculture. This was why they started to make a living by doing business. As a coastal city, Ningbo had long become a logistic center in Southeast China. In the early days, some business people began to trade with merchants from outside the region and came to form their own townsmen associations. All these paved the way for later business migration.

Tax Exemption for Ningbo Merchants Ningbo businessmen enjoyed tax exemption as early as the Song Dynasty when the tradition of doing business began to take its shape. The mode of “subsidizing agriculture through doing business” drew great attention from the Song government. In 1213, the administrative department even issued a document of tax exemption for Ningbo businessmen anywhere in the country.

International Seaport and Southeast China Metropolis The shipbuilding foundation in the Northern Song Dynasty and the favorable tax policy in the Southern Song Dynasty made Ningbo an international port and a metropolis in Southeast China, where merchants from home and abroad met.

Ningbo a Logistic Centre Due to Junk Shipping Due to the advantage of maritime transport, Ningbo became a business center where herbs, timber, sugar and rice were collected and distributed. Hang was actually a wholesale firm in ancient Ningbo. Today, there are still places with Hang in their names, such as Yaohang Street, Muhang Lane, Mihang Bridge, and Tanghang Street.

Accounting System as a Creation of Ningbo Qianzhuang The fact that business could not develop without the support of finance caused the emergence of qianzhuangs (money exchanges). The present Jiangxia Street was formerly a street of finance and banking. The accounting system created in Ningbo started a new phase of the financial history in China.

Business Features Formed Ningbo business began to show its own characteristics in its development. Ningbonese did business mainly along the Yangtze River and the coastal areas in what are now Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. During this process of development, three mainstay industries, shipping, finance and local specialty, began to take shape.

Townsmen Associations Being Organized by Herbal Merchants Townsmen Associations came into being among merchants who purchased medicinal herbs outside Ningbo. In the Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty, Ningbonese founded the first assembly hall, Yinxian Assembly Hall, starting the tradition of founding townsmen associations and solidarities among Ningbo businessmen.

Ningbo Merchants Starting Business in Beijing In the Qing Dynasty, Ningbonese began doing business in Beijing. The Zhengs from Zhenhai opened a money exchange named “Si Heng Hao”, providing service to the 400, 000 people in Beijing, while Le Xianyang from Cixi set up “Tong Ren Tang” in 1669, which, well-known for some self-made medicines, provided medical service to the royal family and the government. Their successful efforts provided a direction for those Ningbonese attempting to start business in unfamiliar places.

Tailors’ Venture in Beijing Ningbo tailors started making a living everywhere in China as early as the Ming and the Qing dynasties. The famous Zheci Assembly Hall in Beijing was founded mainly by tailors from Cixi. A stele in the hall set in 1903 says that most tailors in clothes shops were from Cixi. They not only made clothes but also took apprentices from all parts of the country. Since then, many more tailors followed their steps and made a living outside Ningbo.

3. Business Migration Resulting from Land Scarcity
The sudden increase of population in the Qing Dynasty forced some Ningbonese to make a living by trading with people elsewhere. The shipping and business tradition caused Ningbonese, especially those living on seashore areas, to migrate to Shanghai for a new start, and a business migration began.

Ningbo Businessmen Venturing into Shanghai In the early 19th century, businessmen from Jiushu and Xiaogang entered Shanghai and engaged in rice and grocery trading. Later, some of them began to engage in private banking. Assembly halls of Ningbo junk owners, like Tianhou Xanadu, later renamed Zhening Assembly Hall, were built. With more rice being transported to Beijing by sea, ship owners in Ningbo became more active than ever. There sprang up a lot of big ship owners, including the Fans and the Feis from Cixi and the Lis and the Shengs from Xiaogang.

Switching from Junk Shipping to Money Exchanges Having accumulated enough funds, junk owners in Shanghai began to engage in banking based on their experience in Ningbo. The Lis and the Fangs were two successful examples. Lǔhe Money Exchange, set up by Fang Runzhai from Zhenhai, was one of the earliest money exchanges in Shanghai.

Ningbo Pagoda Marking Ningbonese Establishment in Shanghai With their success in Shanghai, Ningbonese purchased a land of 30 mu and began to build Ningbo Pagoda in 1797, a symbol showing that they had become established in the city.