By continuing you agree to eChinacities's Privacy Policy .
Sign up with Google
Sign up with Facebook
Q: Which city is a nicer place to live for 2 years - Nanjing or Ningbo?
Hi,
I've been offered a good job in China and given the choice of working and living in either Nanjing or Ningbo.
I'm a bit concerned about the levels of pollution in Nanjing and would like to know your thoughts about the overall quality of life and what the outdoor environments in these places are like. Obviously, I prefer clean air and green spaces!
Without visiting first I'm finding it really difficult to make a decision and would love to hear from anyone who has been to both places.
Thank you!
David
You might wanna check with the potential employers exactly where you'll be working. I know some employers from outlying areas of cities will say the job is in the city center. Ningbo has a lot of little towns and cities around it that "belong" to Ningbo. So these employers in these little towns will often advertise themselves as being in Ningbo. Little do you know it may actually require a 50+ minute bus ride to get to the city proper.
Happened to me. But then I ended up liking my little town....so who knows, might work for you too 
As far as green space and clean air in Ningbo proper...well....it's a Chinese city. Expect the usual amount of cars and traffic and the associated pollution from them. Greenspace ain't much in the city. You've got Moon Lake (月湖) and Zhongshan Park (中山公园). This is where most of the locals go to get their escape. It's not bad, but's it definitely not like Hangzhou and West Lake. Like someone said earlier, you'd need to get outside the city if you want more outdoor type activities.
I've visited Nanjing a couple times, but only briefly on business. I just had the general feeling of more people and more cars than Ningbo...
I have been to Ningbo, and found it to be quite nice (for China). I had a good offer there, and turned it down to accept something much less in a rural area. If you are looking for clean air and green spaces, it's not in Ningbo, but they have small mountains very close where you can go for hikes.
Ningbo is not clean. When I visited I thought it was snowing. But it was thick, dark ash raining down from the polluted air.
cooter:
Wow, when was this? I've been here for the past 2.5 years, never experienced anything like that...
You might wanna check with the potential employers exactly where you'll be working. I know some employers from outlying areas of cities will say the job is in the city center. Ningbo has a lot of little towns and cities around it that "belong" to Ningbo. So these employers in these little towns will often advertise themselves as being in Ningbo. Little do you know it may actually require a 50+ minute bus ride to get to the city proper.
Happened to me. But then I ended up liking my little town....so who knows, might work for you too
As far as green space and clean air in Ningbo proper...well....it's a Chinese city. Expect the usual amount of cars and traffic and the associated pollution from them. Greenspace ain't much in the city. You've got Moon Lake (月湖) and Zhongshan Park (中山公园). This is where most of the locals go to get their escape. It's not bad, but's it definitely not like Hangzhou and West Lake. Like someone said earlier, you'd need to get outside the city if you want more outdoor type activities.
I've visited Nanjing a couple times, but only briefly on business. I just had the general feeling of more people and more cars than Ningbo...
Not been to Nanjing and only visited Ningbo briefly, but my wife lived there for a time and when I posed her the question she immediately answered "Definitely not Ningbo."
Ningbo. Nanjing is a big factory and Ningbo is a big port. Also, Ningbo has large expat community and nice eateries targeting foreigners, but Nanjing is better connected to Shanghai. Generally, people are being resettled from inland to coastal cities, so more opportunities are in coastal cities.
I have never been to Ningbo so I can't tell you anything about it. However I lived in Nanjing for about 2 years and I loved it. Yes its true that its very very hot during the summer and really cold during the winter, but I just like the city itself. Its small enough to be able to go anywhere in the city, but its big enough to be able to do many things. Now I live in Shijiazhuang (I moved there bc of boyfriend) and I definitely miss Nanjing. There's also a good number of foreigners there. For example, there's enough to make lots of friends, but there's not too too many, so you will still stand out for being a foreigner.
The thing I miss the most is the tree lined streets. In my opinion its just a beautiful city with nice parks and trees everywhere.
and I like to teach you pipa if you live in Ningbo
icnif77:
@Guillin: u mean Middleton girls? meijou SMap,
I like all 3.
I would say it's a toss up. Flip a coin if it lands on heads it's Ningbo if it lands on tails you can say it's Nanjing. Do you have a coin? Ready!??! 
I have been to Ningbo and even lived there for a little while. I would say that it is a nice city by Chinese standards, provided that you don't live too close to the centre of the city. Myself, I ended up living in the outskirts and some of these are as clean as you can get in a Chinese city. As a previous poster said you should check where in Ningbo the position would be based in though.
As for Nanjing, I haven't been there but it just seems like a bigger and noisier version of Ningbo with a lot more people.
Lived in Ningbo for a year. Not bad but I found it boring despite the expat community. Nanjing sounds more exciting.
i have only been to Nanjing and have a nice impression of the city.It's not a city quite big and doesn't have many skyscrapers,but as szj-girl said,i really like the streets there,and miss the trees.
though nanjing is one of the four furnaces in China,but you konw it is full of gosts,for Nanjing Massacre which caused by Japanese.
Kaiwen:
I bet there are many ghosts all over China brought about by other events in China's history.
Come to Hangzhou - clean and fun - best of both worlds!
I hope it's not too late for my opinion
I've lived in Ningbo for 6 months and had wonderful time there. the city is awesome - clean enough, has parks, lakes. It's also very safe and people are friendly. I love this city. If I were you, I would definitely choose Ningbo. The city is great
BTW, I have never been to Nanjing. Just Beijing, Shanghai, Urumqi and Hanzhou.
I hope it's not too late for my opinion
I've lived in Ningbo for 6 months and had wonderful time there. the city is awesome - clean enough, has parks, lakes. It's also very safe and people are friendly. I love this city. If I were you, I would definitely choose Ningbo. The city is great
BTW, I have never been to Nanjing. Just Beijing, Shanghai, Urumqi and Hanzhou.
