Ink and color on silk
This map adopts the blue-and-green landscape painting style, oriented with north at the top and south at the bottom. The borders indicate directional coordinates and distances to adjacent prefectures and counties. The map depicts the natural geography of Ningpo Prefecture including mountains, seas, lakes, rivers, and offshore islands. In terms of cultural geography, the map illustrates administrative regions such as prefectures, counties, garrisons, stations, and inspection offices. Prefectures and counties are rendered in a top-down perspective to realistically portray city walls (complete with gates and towers) and interior structures (such as pagodas and temples) in elevation view. Garrisons and stations are depicted as square city walls in plan view, with a single building rendered in elevation at the center. Other cultural features, such as bridges, temples, barracks, and beacon towers, are also represented with symbolic elevation-view icons. In addition to general geographical elements, the map is notable for its 82 red paper labels (containing a total of more than 7,000 characters) affixed near the elements. Based on the content of these labels and the human geography depicted, the map likely represents events between 1646 and 1661. Its purpose was probably to allow Ningpo Prefecture officials to report military intelligence to the Qing court through annotated mapping. The military arrangements suggested on the map were intended to defend Ningpo regions from maritime threats, such as remnants of the late Ming resistance forces including those of Zheng Chenggong (1624–1662). Judging by the map’s style and historical references, its production likely predates the end of Emperor Kangxi’s reign.