Tianyi Pavilion | Four hundred years of vicissitudes, guarding a tower of book fragrance

400 years ago, during the Ming Dynasty, an official named Fan Qin, frustrated in his career, devoted himself to reading, copying, and collecting books, thus erecting a pavilion that would have a profound cultural impact on later generations. This is the oldest private library in history, one of the three oldest family libraries in the world, Tianyi Pavilion. ⛩️ Tianyi Pavilion Museum 📍 No. 10 Tianyi Street, Haishu District, Ningbo City 🎫 Ticket price: 30💰 🚗 Underground parking available 🅿️ (or Metro Line 1) 🌿 | History -Tianyi Pavilion is a private library founded by Fan Qin, a book collector from the Ming Dynasty. Initially, it was only used for storing books and has been preserved and passed down through generations of the family. After 400 years of trials and tribulations, many books are still well-preserved. The local gazetteers it holds play a significant role in the study of local histories in China, and its historical and cultural value is immeasurable. -There is a documentary called 'The Legendary Tianyi Pavilion' that talks about the history of Tianyi Pavilion. It is recommended to watch it before visiting, as it details the 400-year story of Tianyi Pavilion in just three episodes. -To truly appreciate the cultural significance of this place during a visit, one must understand Fan Qin, the collection of books, and the dramatic historical and cultural fluctuations of this building. 🌿 | Landscape A very typical Jiangnan garden landscape, the private library is hidden within a private garden, and the entire scenic area is a large mansion of the Fan family. Many attractions are standalone buildings, themed around the collection of books and the history of the Fan family. 🌿 | Transportation There is an underground parking lot, and you can also take Metro Line 1. There are many attractions nearby, such as Moon Lake, which is close by. You can also visit the Ningbo Tea Culture Museum, Moon Lake Yanyu Building, etc. We had limited time, caught a cloudy day in March, and it was too cold, so we didn't stay long. If you have the chance, you can visit nearby attractions. 🌿 | Photography Whenever I visit historical and cultural sites, I prefer to take pictures of landscapes or cultural relics rather than portraits. This is a place of cultural significance, and this family has paid a great price for the preservation of books. From a historical and cultural perspective, it is quite solemn. It would be somewhat disrespectful to use it merely as a photo check-in spot. However, if you want to conduct in-depth cultural research, leaving some photographic works is highly recommended. 🌿 | Impressions I first learned about Tianyi Pavilion because I received the well-known Zhongyuan fragrant sachets, which smelled very nice. Upon further investigation, I found out that fragrant grass can prevent bookworms, and ancient people often placed it in books, which would release the fragrance of the grass when the books were opened, what we often refer to as 'the fragrance of books.' One of the reasons why Tianyi Pavilion has been able to preserve books for 400 years is that a large amount of fragrant grass was stored in the book repository. I did a lot of research before coming and left satisfied after visiting.