The Night View of Laowaitan./老外灘夜景。 [Photo by Shen Guofeng]沈國峰攝
By Gou Wen
Laowaitan has been a busy port since the Tang and Song dynasties a thousand years ago. It officially received its name and opened up to global trade in 1884. The Laowaitan area covers 48,000m^2, with 80,000m^2 of built spaces. There are many protected cultural and historical sites here.
1844年開埠的老外灘，自唐宋以來就是最繁華的港口之一。這里總占地面積4.8萬平方米，建筑面積8萬平方米，分布有多處文物保護單位。
Laowaitan was once one of Ningbo's passenger ports. At its peak, over 10,000 passengers embarked and disembarked daily.
曾經，這里是寧波港的一個港區，以客運為主，日客流量可達上萬人。
Now, it is a popular tourist destination. Here you will find a Catholic Church, built in 1872, and the former building of the Ningbo Post Office, built in 1927.
如今，這里依舊人流如織，人們可以看到建于1872年的天主教堂、建于1927年的寧波郵政局舊址……
Laowaitan is also a bustling nightlife district with many bars and shops. More than 140 businesses and companies are based here. Recently, Laowaitan was named as one of China's first "national nighttime leisure consumption districts".
除此之外，老外灘也是酒吧林立、燈火繁華的商業街區，已有140余家商家和企業入駐。在不久前，這里還入選了首批國家級夜間文旅消費集聚區。