Walk the pedestrian road in the evening and the smell of hot oil and grilled skewers drifts out of the Korean restaurants, while upstairs a movie screen flickers and a foot-massage parlour takes its first customers of the night. Cixi is a city that runs on leisure: you come here to eat, soak, steam, swim and sleep it off, not to tick off monuments.
It suits travellers passing through Ningbo who want a comfortable, unhurried stop with genuinely good spa and massage facilities, and anyone curious about the Butterfly Lovers story at its reputed home. This guide covers the sights and experiences the sources actually document, in the order worth doing them.
Top things to do in Cixi
1. Shui Mu Nian Hua (水木年华)
A five-floor bathhouse and massage complex, open around the clock. The first floor holds reception and the shower area with a large heated jacuzzi and pools; the second is a lounge with computers and a gym; the third is the massage area; the fourth and fifth floors are mahjong rooms.
Go late. If you take an oil massage after 01:00 you can sleep overnight in the massage room at no extra cost, which makes this a practical alternative to a hotel. Admission is waived when you book an oil massage.
2. Water Cube (慈溪水立方大浴场)
A bathhouse within walking distance of Phebe, closing at 02:00. The draw beyond the baths is a show on the third floor every night from 21:00 to 23:00 with singers and dancers, and there is a hotel in the same building if you would rather not travel afterwards.
Time your visit so you are settled before the show starts at 21:00, and treat the performance as the main event rather than an afterthought.
3. Da Wei Ying International Hydrotherapy Hotel (大卫营国际水疗度酒店)
The largest spa in Cixi, on the side of Oriental Pearl. It has a theatre with performers, including a transvestite act from Thailand, a resting area and private hotel rooms.
A massage in the lounge includes the admission fee, so it works out cheaper than paying for entry and treatment separately. It sits near Cixi Perfect Healthy Club, so the two can be combined in one outing.
4. Butterfly Temple (梁山伯庙)
The temple associated with the Butterfly Lovers story, a legend that spread widely and has been popular since the Northern Song Dynasty. Several places claim the story, but the temple here is tied to the tradition that the real events were tested at Ningbo bridge township.
This is the one genuinely historical stop in the city, so give it the daylight hours rather than squeezing it between evening baths. Read up on the legend beforehand, as the site rewards context.
5. Zhishan Park
A city park and the most straightforward place to spend an unhurried hour outdoors. It pairs naturally with the Butterfly Temple if you want a morning of sightseeing before an afternoon of spa treatments.
Come earlier in the day, before the heat builds, and use it as the calm counterweight to Cixi's evening entertainment.
6. Tera Wellness Club (一兆韦德健身启明运动馆)
A three-floor health club with a heated pool, plus golf, bowling, a restaurant, table tennis, badminton, weights, pole dancing, yoga and a spin room. It closes at 22:00.
If you want a full active afternoon rather than a passive one, this is the place to book. Arrive with enough time to use more than one facility.
7. Cixi Perfect Healthy Club (慈溪市帕菲克健身俱乐部)
A gym with an Olympic-size swimming pool, dance classes, yoga, table tennis and weights. It is near Da Wei Ying, so it slots easily into a day that ends at the spa.
Swim first, then walk over to the hydrotherapy hotel for the evening.
8. Cixi Shidai Movies World (慈溪时代电影大世界)
A cinema on the pedestrian road, above a Korean restaurant. An easy way to fill a rainy evening or a gap before a late massage.
Combine it with dinner in the same building, then walk the pedestrian road afterwards.
9. Ge Jue Yin Yue Tai Qiu Ju Le Bu (各爵音乐台球俱乐部)
A pool and music hall on the second floor of Yangming Restaurant. A low-key option if you want an hour of something other than eating and soaking.
It sits on the same stretch as several of the foot-massage places, so it fits neatly before a late treatment.
10. Fu Ying Yang Sheng Zu Dao (富盈誊养生足道)
A foot-massage and wellness centre on Kaifa Avenue, beside Danshan Pond. One of the more conveniently placed treatment rooms if you are staying on that side of the city.
Book ahead in the evening, when the local crowd finishes work.
11. ShijiHuangJiaZuDaoHuiGuang (世记皇家之道会馆)
A legitimate foot-massage place on Huchong Highway, within walking distance of Kingsport. Worth knowing about if you want a straightforward treatment without the bathhouse circuit.
Hai Na Bai Chuan is on the same road and also within walking distance of Kingsport, so you can compare the two before deciding.
12. Jindao Zuyu (金岛足浴)
A foot-massage room on the third floor of the Jindao Hotel on Niaoshan South Road, sharing its floor with a KTV. It closes at 01:00.
Useful for a late finish, and the KTV on the same floor makes it easy to extend the night without moving far.
13. Dong Fang Gan Xi (东方干洗)
A laundry service on North Qingshaonian Gong Road that will collect your dirty laundry from your hotel and deliver it back. It closes at 21:00.
Handy on a longer trip through the region. Ask your hotel to arrange the pickup rather than carrying bags across town.
14. Joyhe (嘉和数码体验站)
One of the few Apple authorised dealers in Cixi, on Ciyong Road in Hushan. Worth noting if you need a charger, cable or repair mid-trip.
There is a second phone shop near the pedestrian road on Jiefang Middle Street if this one cannot help.
If you only have one day
Morning. Start at Zhishan Park while it is still cool, then continue to Butterfly Temple to read up on the Butterfly Lovers legend at the site tied to it.
Afternoon. Move to Tera Wellness Club for a swim and a workout, or Cixi Perfect Healthy Club if you would rather swim in an Olympic-size pool. Either way, finish the afternoon near Da Wei Ying International Hydrotherapy Hotel.
Evening. Take a massage at Da Wei Ying International Hydrotherapy Hotel, where the treatment includes admission, then head to the pedestrian road for dinner and a film at Cixi Shidai Movies World. If you want to keep going, Shui Mu Nian Hua is open around the clock and will let you sleep overnight in the massage room after a late oil massage.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sleep at a bathhouse in Cixi instead of booking a hotel?
Yes. At Shui Mu Nian Hua, an oil massage taken after 01:00 includes overnight use of the massage room at no extra charge, and Water Cube has a hotel in the same building.
What is there to see in Cixi besides spas?
Zhishan Park and Butterfly Temple are the two documented sights, and the Butterfly Temple is the one tied to a specific story, the Butterfly Lovers legend.
Is there anything to do in Cixi in the evening?
Several options. Water Cube runs a show with singers and dancers from 21:00 to 23:00, Da Wei Ying International Hydrotherapy Hotel has a theatre with performers, and Cixi Shidai Movies World shows films on the pedestrian road.
Can I get laundry done while I am in Cixi?
Yes. Dong Fang Gan Xi will pick up your laundry from your hotel and deliver it back, and it closes at 21:00.
Decide how many evenings you want to give to the bathhouses, then start planning the rest of your Cixi trip around them.