The Laowaitan waterfront along the north bank of the Yong River is Ningbo's best-preserved section of treaty-port architecture, a stretch of late nineteenth and early twentieth century commercial buildings — customs houses, trading companies, banks, and consulates — that document the foreign presence in the city from 1844 to 1941. The buildings are a mix of neoclassical, Romanesque, and colonial styles, and their scale reflects the significance of Ningbo as a trading port before Shanghai's rise eclipsed it.
The waterfront has been restored as a pedestrian zone and cultural district, and the combination of the colonial buildings with the adjacent Qing'an Guildhall — which was deliberately built in an elaborate traditional style as a statement of Chinese commercial identity against the foreign competition — makes for an unusually legible piece of urban history. Cafes, restaurants, and arts spaces occupy many of the restored buildings, and the riverfront promenade looking south across the Yong River is particularly atmospheric at dusk.