Ningbo has invested heavily in architecturally ambitious river crossings. The Siming Bridge, Jiangdong Bridge, and several pedestrian bridges over the Yong River and its tributaries form a series of contemporary engineering statements that range from the utilitarian to the spectacular. The Ningbo Pedestrian Bridge near the Laowaitan area, designed to evoke a traditional Chinese scroll painting and allowing crossing at multiple levels, is the most photographed.
Seen together from the waterfront, the bridges represent Ningbo's self-image as a forward-looking city that can accommodate both its historical architecture and contemporary ambitions in the same riverside view. The evening lighting of the bridges and the old Laowaitan buildings creates an unusual composite skyline that manages to be genuinely attractive rather than merely flashy — which, for a Chinese city that has expanded as aggressively as Ningbo, is something of an achievement.