Thanks again
I'll be in ningbo for mid January, then off on leave again for 3 weeks, then I settle in from Feb. This may sound familiar to you Fozz and answer your IM questions. While I see Hangzhou as a nice weekend option, I'm still looking forward to Ningbo. The consensus seems to be it's nice, as opposed to horrible or fantastic, which is just fine for me.
One more note, how long would it take to get from Ningbo to Shanghai Pudong? I need to get to Pudong for a 10pm flight on the night of the 20th. This is so I won't miss my flight from Ho Chi Minh City tp Bangkok the following morning. I know this is all far, far away in the future but what can I say? I just hate paying crazy flight prices for last minute bookings, especially around that time of year..