May 16: We took the subway to Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station in the early morning to catch a high-speed train to Ningbo. These days, real-name authentication is mandatory for almost every activity in China. Entering/Exiting the railway station requires identification checks using either residence cards or passports for foreigners, and lines are always very long. Although we had already provided all the necessary passport information when purchasing the tickets, we still had to go through the passport verification at the station via a manual process handled by the security personnel, which surprised us. However, we found out later that the line for foreign passport verification always was the shortest. Nevertheless, after a journey of a little over two hours, we arrived safely in Ningbo.

Upon arriving in Ningbo, we immediately headed to a XiaoYang Pan-Fried Bun eatery located in a shopping mall just across the street from the train station to savor the famous pan-fried buns and a bowl of wonton soup to satiate our appetites. Then, we walked about 2 km to reach the hotel. To our surprise, the hotel we booked through Booking.com didn't accept foreign credit cards for payment. Despite the hotel not being an international brand, it had a significant market within China, with many locations nationwide. Cash was the only option for foreign guests without Alipay or WeChat Pay accounts. Luckily, we had brought enough cash to complete the check-in process.

In the afternoon, we visited Tianyi Pavilion, one of the oldest private libraries in the world. The scenic area was well-restored, but we felt like something was missing, as we didn't see any bookshelves, even in the most famous book collection building. After leaving Tianyi Pavilion, we visited Ningbo Tianning Temple, a Tang Dynasty tower. Initially, there were two pagodas, East and West, but now only the West Pagoda remains. Near Tianning Temple is the Drum Tower. Unfortunately, it was closed when we arrived so we couldn't go up. Despite this, we strolled along the vibrant pedestrian street adjacent to the Drum Tower, which brimmed with various food vendors, tempting us with different delectable treats.

Experiencing Ningbo cuisine is an essential part of our visit to Ningbo. Therefore, in the evening, we made our way to Zhuangyuanlou Restaurant to treat ourselves to an array of authentic Ningbo dishes. The restaurant not only delighted our taste buds with its delectable offerings but also impressed us with its top-notch service. It was indeed a culinary delight that left us with lasting memories of Ningbo's exquisite flavors.

Ningbo downtown was magnificent in the evening. We walked along the riverbank to the Old Bund, and coincidentally, there was a "Food Encounter" event taking place. The food festival on the riverside was bustling with people, offering various delicacies from different regions of Zhejiang and Central and Eastern European countries. Unfortunately, we were already full from dinner, so we could only enjoy the lively atmosphere. There were many street performers along the avenue, and we were especially drawn to the Yue Opera (Yueju), as it had been a long time since we last heard it. We sat nearby and listened for a long while; it was delightful.

As the night progressed, we hailed a taxi back to our hotel. The taxi driver shared that the crowd at the Old Bund would only grow more extensive and animated as the night wore on, especially after midnight. We couldn't help but feel a bit of regret for leaving the festivities earlier. However, not long after we returned to the hotel, heavy rain began to pour outside. Sometimes, as they say, quit while you're ahead. It was a memorable and eventful evening in Ningbo, filled with beautiful experiences and captivating cultural encounters.

May 17: We woke up to the gentle sound of raindrops in the morning. The rain continued throughout the day. Undeterred, we embarked on our adventure after enjoying a delicious breakfast at the hotel. We decided to take a taxi to Moon Lake Park, and perhaps due to the rainy weather, there were remarkably few visitors, creating an unusually peaceful atmosphere in the park. We strolled around the scenic Moon Lake to enjoy the beauty of a picturesque Jiangnan-style garden. Our next stop was the City God Temple, smaller and less populated than its Shanghai counterparts.

Not far from there is the modern and stunning Tianyi Square. Despite the downpour, we decided to brave the rain and explore the area further. We tried Zhoushan cuisine at a restaurant in Tianyi Shopping Center for lunch, which was quite good.

As we continued our exploration, we found Ningbo to be a city that beautifully blended modern sophistication with the captivating charm of Jiangnan cities of rich cultural heritage. Throughout the city, we were impressed by the high-quality street performances that added an artistic and vibrant touch to the ambiance. The elegant reading pavilions also gave us a glimmer of tranquility and culture, leaving a lasting and profound impression on us. Despite the rain, our day in Ningbo was filled with remarkable experiences that showcased the city's unique blend of tradition and modernity.

After we had visited some of the main attractions in downtown Ningbo, we spontaneously decided to visit the Hemudu Site, which is more than 20 kilometers outside the city. The Hemudu Site is an archaeological site dating back approximately 5,000 to 7,000 years, from the Neolithic period when our ancestors in Jiangnan started cultivating tea trees and rice. Most of the things we had seen during this trip before visiting Hemudu were replicas or restored, so witnessing authentic artifacts from 5,000 to 7,000 years ago was exhilarating. Connie's enthusiastic nephew accompanied us on the visit. After exploring the site, he attended us, walking over Langshu Bridge and visiting Qian Family Courtyard, Connie's dad's hometown, where her father spent his childhood. Although the ancestral home was now abandoned and in ruins, it still aroused our curiosity about the past. It was such an unfamiliar place for us, yet there was an inseparable connection to our existence.

Next, Connie's nephew drove us to Yuyao City, about 20 minutes away, and treated us to an authentic meal. We found the Yuyao cuisine more to our taste – fresh and not too greasy – and we had the chance to try many dishes for the first time. After bidding farewell to Connie's nephew, we took a 30-minute train back to Ningbo.

May 18: After having breakfast at the hotel, we boarded a high-speed train to leave Ningbo for Shaoxing. It took about 45 minutes to reach Shaoxing. When we checked into our hotel, we encountered the same issue of not accepting foreign credit cards. For lunch, we dined at a restaurant recommended by our taxi driver called "Xun Bao Ji," where we ordered local dishes, including "Qian Dao Rou Zheng Mei Qian Zhang," which the server warned us that this particular dish was very pungent and asked if we could handle it. We wanted to try it out since it's a famous local dish. Shaoxing rice wine is renowned for its aroma, but Shaoxing's pungent food is also well-known. The dish, "Mei Qian Zhang," is made from soybean sheet (百叶) soaked in stinkweed juice. We found it acceptable.

After the meal, we visited Lu Xun's former residence, ancestral home, memorial hall, and Sanwei Bookstore. Although the entrance to these sites was free, we had to register and make reservations through WeChat by scanning QR codes using mobile phones with real-name authentication. This process is not very user-friendly for visitors with foreign passports. Perhaps due to the large number of visitors or the smell of stinky tofu throughout the area, our impression of the Lu Xun Memorial Area was not very positive – it felt too commercialized and chaotic. We returned to the hotel for a rest after a long walk.

At night, we visited another restaurant the taxi driver recommended, "Xiao Shaoxing." The food was decent, but we felt that the "Xun Bao Ji," the restaurant we had for lunch, was better in taste and service. After dinner, we walked along the pedestrian street nearby, where there were many stinky tofu booths, but we didn't try. Instead, we had a bowl of sweet fermented rice. Wow, it was sweet and much better than what we found at Asia store back in the U.S. We also found a small coffee shop selling Latte with fermented rice, which caused our curiosity about its taste. We tried it and found it was pretty good, significantly when we added some of the sweet fermented rice we had just bought – it enhanced the flavor even more. Many coffee shops throughout the city sell Yellow Wine Coffee, like Irish Coffee but with the famous Shaoxing rice wine. Yellow Wine is a traditional Chinese fermented wine that originated in Shaoxing. But we didn't try it.

May 19: It was time for us to return to Shanghai. Perhaps because it was the weekend, getting train tickets back to Shanghai was challenging, and we could only get tickets for the 5:30 pm train. On the positive side, it gave us more time to explore Shaoxing. Early in the morning, we took a taxi to Lanting – the "Holy Land of Calligraphy" – outside Shaoxing. The park is situated at the foot of Mount Lanzhu, and alongside the scenic area, the park staff and tourists reenacted the scene of the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi and scholars drinking and composing poetry together, which was quite interesting. Of course, the "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion" by Wang Xizhi was everywhere. A short distance from the calligraphy park, inside the beautifully reconstructed Tianzhang Temple, we saw the ruins of the Song and Ming dynasties, which was a pleasant surprise. The Lanting Scenic Area is undoubtedly worth a visit.

After exploring the Lanting Scenic Area, we took a taxi to Keqiao Scenic Area. We first had a small meal at a local restaurant in Lutown, ordering braised duck and stir-fried lettuce. Lutown is a theme park in the scenic area, mainly centered around Lu Xun, one of the most influential figures in modern Chinese literature, but it's all newly constructed. It was popular with local and outside tourists.

After strolling around the town, we still had some time to spare before boarding the train, and we decided to visit the ancient Keqiao Stone Quarry from the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) nearby. It is a theme park, including the artificial giant Buddha, cliff carvings, the Puzhao Chan Temple, etc. Each destination possessed its distinct charm, and we were delighted to find that the place was not overrun with visitors, allowing us to immerse ourselves fully in its uniqueness. We were the only two people in the temple.

Our late afternoon train back to Shanghai was packed, and even the connecting spaces between the carriages were filled with people. Several earlier trains had even sold out their standing tickets. When we finally arrived at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station, we were taken aback by the large size of the crowd. The station seemed to overflow with passengers, and the usual exit checks were waived to expedite the departure process for the travelers.

5/16: 一早乘坐地铁去虹桥火车站赶高铁去宁波。现在什么事都是实名制，进出火车站的第一步就是查证件。持外国护照的乘客必需由安检人员人工核检。实际上，我们在买票时已经提供全部的护照信息，不知为什么每次进出车站都还要再次人工核检。

二个多小时后顺利达到宁波。先在车站附近的小扬生煎吃上二客生煎包和一碗小馄饨垫垫肚子，然后再去酒店入住。出人意料的是我们在国外网站上订的酒店居然不收国外信用卡。虽说酒店并非国际品牌，但在中国也不算小，遍布全国各地。对国外来的客人如果不能用外卡，又没有国内实名认证支付宝或者微信支付，就只剩现金支付了。亏得我们带了现金才办妥入住手续。

下午先去天一阁 - 世界上最古老的私人藏书楼之一。整个景区修复得不错，但总觉得缺少点什么东西，在最著名的藏书楼里连藏书架都没看到。 出了天一阁，来到中山路上的宁波天宁寺，这是一座唐代的塔，当时有东西二座塔，如今只剩西塔。天宁寺不远处便是鼓楼，只可惜刚到鼓楼就已是关门的时候了，没能上去。在鼓楼旁的步行街走一走，满街都是各种小吃。

来宁波吃宁波菜是必需的，晚上来到状元楼美餐一顿，品尝品尝宁波美食。这家饭店不仅菜做的好，服务也一流。

晚上的宁波市中心非常漂亮，我们沿着江边走到老外滩，正赶上“舌尖上的相遇”活动，沿江大道上人山人海，有来自浙江各地的美食位摊和中东欧国家的美食美酒。实在太可惜我们已酒足饭饱，只能看个热闹。在大道边，还有不少街头表演者，最吸引我们的是越剧，好久没听到越剧了。我们坐边上听了好久，真好听。坐出租车回酒店的路上听司机说老外滩那里越晚人越多，半夜过后才进入高潮，我们有点后悔是否回酒店太早了。结果到酒店后没多久，外面就下起倾盆大雨，有时还真该见好就收。

5/17: 清晨被雨声吵醒。今天一整天下雨，在酒店里用完早餐后就坐出租车去月湖公园。可能是因为下雨天，公园里游人寥寥无几，显得异常清静。公园是典型江南园林，沿着月湖转了一大圈后来到城隍庙，比起上海的城隍庙要小得多了。现代的天一广场也不远，很漂亮，我们冒着大雨去那里转了一圈。我们对宁波的印象是整洁，有现代化都市的气派又有江南水乡的风情人文。高水准的街头表演和雅致的读书亭都给我们留下了深刻的印象。

中午在天一购物中心里一家餐厅品尝了舟山菜，也不错。到此为止我们已在宁波市中心一些主要景点打了卡，我们临时决定下午去宁波城外二十多公里处的河姆渡遗址。河姆渡遗址是距今约五到七千年前，新石器时代，江南人类祖先居住的遗址。1973年才刚刚发现发掘。博物馆里展出了河姆渡和田螺山发掘出来的无数件史前的植物和陶器。六，七千年前，我们的祖先早已开始种植茶树和稻谷。这几天我们常说所看到的东西大多数都是复制的，今天能目睹了五到七千年前的真品有点兴奋。佩民热心的表侄子特意去遗址陪我们参观。看完遗址后，又带我们走过浪墅桥，走进一溪之隔的钱家大院，佩民的故乡，她爸爸的童年在那里渡过。老家虽早已人走楼空，只剩下破砖残瓦，却唤起我们对过去的好奇。对我们来说这是个多么陌生的地方，但又与我们的存在有着不可分隔的关联。

看完老家，佩民的侄子又开车带我们来到余姚请我们吃了一顿地道的余姚菜。我们觉得余姚菜更合我们的口味，鲜而不腻，品尝到不少第一。告别侄子，我们坐三十分钟的高铁回到宁波。

5/18：在酒店吃完早餐后便乘坐高铁离开宁波前往绍兴。大约45分钟左右我们就来到了绍兴。在入住旅馆时，再次遇上了不收外卡。中午在出租车司机推荐的寻宝记饭店用餐，点了本地菜，其中一道叫千刀肉蒸霉千张，服务员特地告诉我们非常臭，问我们是否能受得了。我们是闻名而来，就想试一下。绍兴的酒是香的，但绍兴的臭也很有名。臭苋菜梗是绍兴臭之最，霉千张是泡过臭苋菜梗的百页，我们觉得这菜还能接受。

饭后去参观了鲁迅故居，祖居，纪念馆和三味书屋。门票虽是免费的，但必须微信扫码登记预约，对国外来的游客来说很不方便。也许是参观的游客太多，也许是满街臭豆腐的味，对鲁迅纪念区的印象不是很好，太杂太商业化了。我们走得也很累，回旅馆小休后就去出租车司机推荐的另一家饭店-小绍兴吃晚餐，味道还行，但感觉中午的寻宝记饭店在口味，服务上很胜－筹。

饭后去附近的步行街走走，好多臭豆腐店。闻到了酒酿香，很小的一个摊位，要了一碗，非常甜。又看见一家小咖啡馆卖桂花酒酿拿铁，好奇会是什么样的口味，来上一杯，味道还真不错，尤其是我们自己又再多加了些刚买的甜酒酿，味道更好。

5/19：今天打道回府。也许因为是周末，回上海的车票一票难求，只能买到下午五点半回上海的高铁票，倒也正好让我们多些时间再看看绍兴。 一大早打车去绍兴城外的兰亭 －＂书法圣地＂。在兰渚山下，曲水流觞景点边，园区工作人员和游客们一起重现书圣王羲之和学士们饮酒作诗之景，有点意思，当然王羲之的兰亭集序到处都是。在造建优美的天章寺里，看到了宋，明朝代的遗址也算是一个惊喜。兰亭景区非常值得一去。

走完兰亭风景区后，又打车去柯岩风景区，先在鲁镇上小餐馆点上二个菜，鲁镇酱鸭和炒莴笋。鲁镇是在风景区里以鲁迅为主的主题公园，都是新建的，碰到不少旅游团队。在镇上转了一大圈后，看时间还有多，就去了边上的柯岩 - 汉朝采石遗址，人工大佛，摩崖题刻，云骨和普昭禅寺等景点都有点特色，游人也不多。

傍晚回上海的火车爆满，车厢连接处都站满了人，下午早些时候有几班火车连站票都售罄。到上海虹桥火车站时更是吓了一大跳，人山人海，车站挤满了乘客，人工检票出站通道直接免检放客了。

我们玩得开心，但没有老爸的文学造诣，我们就请ChatGPT为我们宁波、绍兴行作七律诗一首，经过几次磋商和修改，在此分享：

梦中常作绍甬游，初探风情足迹留。天一阁里览珍献，月湖烟波风拂柳。

天宁古塔耸犹在，外滩夜市灯火流。鲁家故园唤思绪，兰亭风韵泛诗愁。

河姆遗址悠远存，钱家大院驻心头。状元楼上共欢饮，珊瑚情缘永不休。