Ancient Site of Baiyun Villa

Ancient Site of Baiyun Villa

The ancient site of Baiyun Villa is a cultural tourism attraction.

The ancient site of Baiyun Villa is located in Miaojia'ao, Simingshan Village, Jishigang Town, Haishu District, Ningbo City. The above-ground structures have been destroyed. The main part of the site faces east and is situated to the west. It consists only of four terraces that are narrow at the front and wider at the back, with a height difference of up to 2 meters. The site covers an area of 1,882 square meters. The original main building was located on the third terrace and had a layout higher in the north and lower in the south. Today, only the front eaves and the terrace stone slabs of the courtyard are relatively well preserved, with the longest slab measuring 4.50 meters and the shortest 1.37 meters.

“From Wan Bin to Wan Wen, three generations produced four loyalists.” A family of soldiers, Wan Bangfu (1544–1628), under the guidance of his father Wan Dafu, later inherited the hereditary military position and served as the Commandant of Ningbo Guard, eventually rising to the rank of Deputy General. His son, Wan Tai (1598–1657), was the first to “abandon the generations-long legacy of weapons, replacing it with literary and historical studies.” He pioneered the literary culture of Ningbo in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, “refusing social engagements and personally teaching his eight sons,” namely educating the eight — “Sinián, Chéng, Zhēn, Chāng, Xuǎn, Dà, Bèi, Tóng” — who were collectively known as the “Eight Dragons.” With the transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty, and following the death of Wan Tai, the mountain-located Baiyun Villa gradually fell into decline.

The discovery of the ancient site of Baiyun Villa has enriched the cultural significance of Baiyun Villa and provided firsthand physical evidence for the study of its evolution, making it of high historical value. In September 2010, it was designated as a cultural relics protection site at the Yinzhou District level. In 2016, it was placed under the jurisdiction of Haishu District following the adjustment of Ningbo’s administrative divisions.