Ningbo - Teachers Discussion *Link*

Ningbo isn't such a bad place. You could do a lot worse for a city in China to live in...

It's near the ocean so it has good seafood and the odd ocean breeze, but don't expect beaches and stuff...a lot of the waterfront here is taken up by industry and shipping.

It has a big foreign community so you can find some comforts and some stuff to do. It's not as close to Shanghai as you might like (or as it looks; you have to travel around a big estuary...) but Shanghai is doable for a weekend. I think there's a bridge project in the works that will connect Ningbo and Shanghai by road, but not sure when that will become reality.
You're also not all that far from the very nice city of Hangzhou.

It's not the most beautiful or exciting town in China but it'll do. There is an expat website with more info available at http://www.ningboguide.com/