Located in northwestern Jiangbei District of Ningbo, Cicheng was once the town seat of present-day Cixi, boasting unique cultural riches and enchanting architectural treasures. In 738, Fang Guan (697-763), a distant relative of Fang Xuanling (579-648), who served as a chancellor under Emperor Taizong in the early Tang dynasty (618-907), took office as the magistrate of Cicheng.

Born in Yanshi, Henan Province, Fang Guan who had no interest in seeking fame or wealth, lived in seclusion for more than ten years until the Prime Minister found him and brought him into the political realm. During his tenure, the town seat, called Gouzhang at that time, moved to the south of Fubi Hill and was renamed, where the thousand-year prosperity of Cixi began.

Fang’s talent was reflected in the town’s intricate, checkerboard-style architectural layout that originally included seven gates and a well-designed moat. The layout of streets and alleys of obvious Tang features makes Cixi a representative work in the history of town planning in China.

People today can relish the town’s cultural residues at the town’s former site of  (government office in feudal China), built in the heyday of the Tang dynasty. A must-see is a paved path leading to the main hall. Encapsulated in the brickwork, about one-meter in width, is a thousand years’ vicissitudes. The town’s city walls were torn down in the late 1930s, which is really a shame.

Fang Guan’s hard work in his years in Cicheng also includes the dredging of Derun Lake. Also called Kan Lake, the lake was originally named after Kan Ze, a master scholar in the Three Kingdoms (220-280). The man’s legacy can still be seen today in many cultural spots in the town.

The lake was renamed by Yang Jian (1141-1226), a scholar in the Southern Song dynasty, after he returned to his birthplace in Cixi for his retired years. He lived by lake and preached the philosophy of the mind. He is considered an important figure in the cultural pride of Cixi.

Fang Guan is remembered by Cixi people for the many deeds he accomplished as the town’s first magistrate during his stay there. His political life in later years as Prime Minister suffered a lot from a losing battle in Chang’an during the An Lushan Rebellion. The setback also made Fang’s close friend, Du Fu, who tried but in vain to support Fang, implicated and demoted. Today, at the main hall of the former site of the town seat government, the two men’s care-laden eyes are still closely observing the welfare of all people.

Another cultural site worth a visit is one of the former residences of Feng Jicai, located at 159, Minzhu Road. Born in a well-off family in Cicheng, Feng Jicai is not only a cultural icon of Cicheng but also an active player in the protection of village-level traditional culture across the country. The private library of the Feng family, located on Shiping Road and first built in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), is a treasure trove worth exploring. The book collection was donated by the family to present-day Xiling Seal-engraving Society based in Hangzhou. The former glory of the estate is nowhere to be seen today.

Miaoyin Vihara, located on Zhonghua Road, within walking distance west of Feng’s former estate, was once the residence of Zhang Ruzhao (1900-1970), an outstanding poet and social activist. The former chief librarian of Ningbo Library was converted to Buddhism in her later years.

In Cicheng, the aroma of culture is everywhere. The town’s long list of cultural notables also includes Qin Runqing (1877-1966), an outstanding figure in the financial circle and a philanthropist, and Ying Changqi (1917-1997), to whom the Changqi Cup Weiqi Game is dedicated.

Cicheng is also a heroic town. The original town seat, Gouzhang, was first built by Goujian, King of Yue State in the Warring States (475-221BC), as a national protective screen. The town witnessed the heroic death of Zhu Gui during the Opium War. In 1843, a memorial hall dedicated to the general was unveiled at the foot of Dabaoshan. The town’s heroic tradition can also be sensed in road names, such as Minzhu (“democracy”) Road and Minquan (“civil rights”) Road. The town was a model of Sun Yat-sen’s Three People’s Principles (Nationalism, Democracy, and the People’s Livelihood) in 1932.