Ningbo

Ningbo
宁波
—  Sub-provincial city  —
宁波市
Clockwise from top: Ningbo's Skyline, Tianyi Chamber, Port of Ningbo, Hangzhou Bay Bridge, and Tianfeng Pagoda
Ningbo (red) in Zhejiang province (orange) and China
Coordinates:
Country China
Province Zhejiang
County-level divisions 11
Township divisions 148
Government
 - CPC Ningbo Committee Secretary Bayin Chaolu (巴音朝鲁)
 - Mayor Mao Guanglie (毛光烈)
Area
 - Sub-provincial city 9,365 km2 (3,615.8 sq mi)
Elevation 150 m (488 ft)
Population (2009)[1]
 - Sub-provincial city 5,710,000
 - Density 609.7/km2 (1,579.2/sq mi)
 - Urban 2,218,000
Time zone China Standard Time (UTC+8)
Postal code 315000
Area code(s) 574
GDP 2009[1]
 - Total CNY 421.46 billion (USD 61.72 billion)
 - per capita CNY 73,998 (USD 10,836)
 - Growth increase 8.6%
Website www.ningbo.gov.cn (Chinese)
City trees
Camphor Laurel Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Sieb.)
City flowers
Camellia
Ningbo
Traditional Chinese 寧波
Simplified Chinese 宁波
Literal meaning tranquil waves

Ningbo (simplified Chinese: 宁波; traditional Chinese: 寧波; pinyin: Níngbō; Wade–Giles: Ning-po; literally "Tranquil Waves"; previous name: 明州 Mingzhou) is a seaport with sub-provincial administrative status. The city has a population of 2,201,000 and is located on the northeastern of Zhejiang province, China. Lying south of the Hangzhou Bay, and facing the East China Sea to the east, Ningbo borders Shaoxing to the west and Taizhou to the south, and is separated from Zhoushan by a narrow body of water.

Contents

Etymology

Níng (宁) - Serene; bō (波) - Waves; Together - Serene Waves. The city is abbreviated Yǒng (甬), after the Yong Hill (甬山), a prominent coastal hill near the city, just like the Yong River (甬江) that flows through Ningbo. The abbreviation Ning is used for Nanjing.

History

Ningbo is one of China's oldest cities, with a history dating back to the Hemudu culture in 4800 BC . Once known as Mingzhou (明州), Ningbo was known as a trade city on the silk road at least two thousand years ago, and then as a major port, along with Yangzhou and Guangzhou in the Tang Dynasty; thereafter, the major ports for foreign trade in the Song Dynasty. The city of Ningbo is recalled for a long time under the name of Liampó, in the Peregrination (Peregrinação) of Fernão Mendes Pinto, novel autobiographic Portuguese of the 16th century. It is in this place it seems that was installed the first Portuguese salable community of the seas of China, before Macao. There are celebrated the feats of the pirate António of Faria..Ningbo was one of the five Chinese treaty ports opened by the Treaty of Nanjing (signed in 1842) at the end of the First Opium War between Britain and China. During the war, British forces took possession of the walled city of Ningbo briefly after storming the fortified town of Zhenhai at the mouth of the Yong River on October 10, 1841. In 1864, the forces of the Taiping Rebellion held the town for six months. In March 1885, during the Sino-French War, Admiral Courbet's naval squadron blockaded several Chinese warships in Zhenhai Bay and exchanged fire with the shore defences.

Ningbo was once famed for traditional Chinese furniture production.

During World War II in 1940, Japan bombed Ningbo with fleas carrying the bubonic plague.[2] According to Daniel Barenblatt, Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda received, with Prince Mikasa, a special screening by Shiro Ishii of a film showing imperial planes loading germ bombs for bubonic dissemination over Ningbo in 1940.[3]

"It has been said of the Ningbo fishermen that, 'no people in the world apparently made so great an advance in the art of fishing; and for centuries past no people have made so little further progress.' "[4]

Geography and climate

Ningbo
Climate chart ()
J F M A M J J A S O N D
 
 
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12
4
average max. and min. temperatures in °C
precipitation totals in mm
source: Sina Weather

Administrative Structure

Ningbo currently has a Chinese Communist Party secretary of Mongol background, Bayanchuluun, serving as first-in-charge of the city.

Ningbo Local Government Offices

The sub-provincial city of Ningbo has direct jurisdiction over 6 districts (区 qu) (urban), 3 county-level cities (市 shi) and 2 Counties (县 xian):

Subdivisions of Ningbo-China.png Subdivision
Ningbo City Proper
■ Haishu-qu 海曙区
■ Jiangdong-qu 江东区
■ Jiangbei-qu 江北区
■ Zhenhai-qu 镇海区
Ningbo Suburban and Rural
■ Beilun-qu 北仑区
■ Yinzhou-qu 鄞州区
■ Yuyao-shi 余姚市
■ Cixi-shi 慈溪市
■ Fenghua-shi 奉化市
■ Ninghai-xian 宁海县
■ Xiangshan-xian 象山县

Economy

Ningbo is a very important port city and the engine of the economy on the east coast of China. The city started foreign trading in the 7th century and has since become a major exporter of electrical products, textiles, food, and industrial tools in china today.

Ningbo was geographically isolated from other major cities on the east coast of China and was separated from Shanghai by Hangzhou Bay although the barrier was eliminated in late 2008 when a 33 km cross-sea bridge was built, allowing travel to Shanghai in less than two hours.[8] The bridge is already having an impact on the local economy, according to the observations of lots of business people in Ningbo– property prices are rising dramatically. Industrial regions are now twice as big as similar regions around Shanghai in 2006. It remains to be seen what economic action will be taken to correct soaring property values and whether the correction will be hard or soft.[8]

In 2009, Ningbo's economic activity reached USD 60.8 billion, down 10.4% from 2008. The exports totalled USD 38.65 billion, down 16.6% from the previous year. In addition, Ningbo imported USD 22.16 billion of goods, up 3.1% from the previous year.[9]

Ningbo's economy grew 8.6 percent in 2009 to 421.5 billion yuan (US$61.7 billion). The city's per capita output was US$10,833, about three times the national average.[10]

Ningbo is famous for the Si Lan Nong Xiang flower. Used for dying cloth, 2008 exports were responsible for 3% of the Ningbo economic growth.

Economic and Technological Development Zones

Ningbo Economic & Technological Development Zone

Located in the north-east of Ningbo, behind Beilun Port, NETD is 27 kilometers away from the city center. With more than 20 years of great effort, NETD has already formed the general framework for large scale construction and development, and established perfect investment environment. It is situated close to the Ningbo Port and Ningbo Lishe International Airport. Major Investors include Exxon Mobile, Dupont and Dow Chemical.[11]

Ningbo National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Ningbo National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was founded in 1999 and was upgraded to a national level zone in January 2007. It is only 10 km away from Ningbo International Airport and 18 km away from Ningbo Port. The zone serves as the important technical innovation base of Yangtze River Delta. Industries encouraged include Chemicals Production and Processing, Biotechnology/Pharmaceuticals, Raw Material Processing, Research and Development.[12]

Ningbo Free Trade Zone

Ningbo Free Trade Zone is one of the 15 free trade zones authorized by the State Council of China, and is the only free trade zone in Zhejiang Province. It was established by State Council in 1992, covering the area of 2.3 square kilometers. It lies in the middle of the coastline of Mainland China, at the south of Yangtze River Delta. In 2008, its industrial output value was RMB 53.33 billion and grew at 19.8% as compared to 2007. [13]

Nordic Industrial Park

The Nordic Industrial Park Co. Ltd. (NIP) is one of the first wholly foreign-owned industrial parks in China located in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. NIP is managed and operated by a Scandinavian management team.[14]

Ningbo Port

Ningbo is not just an ordinary city – it has the same authority as provincial governments for economic administration – and has a port second only to Shanghai. Unlike Shanghai, the port is deepwater and capable of handling 300,000 tonne vessels. The port is located mainly in Beilun district and Zhenhai district. In 2006, Ningbo port started its expansion to the small island of Zhoushan for the purpose of building a even larger port with higher capacity to compete with its neighbouring ports in the region, such as Shanghai's Yangshan Deep-Water Port. The statistics in 2009 showed that cargo throughput was 570m tonnes and container throughput 10m TEUs. With bulk container breakdowns, hugely improved logistics, and massive chemical and foodstuff, processing developments, Ningbo could yet win the race with Shanghai as port of choice for servicing the Chinese east coast.[8]

Tourism

The Junjing Hall (尊经阁) located within the Tianyi Chamber
Ningbo along rivers

Notable people

The monument of victory in the Battle of Zhenhai (Sino-French War)

Many well known Chinese came from Ningbo or their ancestral home was Ningbo.

People in mainland China

People in Hong Kong

People in Taiwan

People overseas

Transportation

Zhao bao shan Bridge, Zhenhai District, Ningbo

Bridge

As there are three main rivers running through Ningbo, it is crucial to build bridges to improve the efficiency of transport network in Ningbo. The Ling Bridge which connects Haishu district and Jiangdong District is the earliest modern bridge built in Ningbo, designed by German engineers. And since the late 1980s, 16 bridges have been built on the three rivers. Currently another 27 bridges are under construction. The Hangzhou Bay Bridge, a combination cable-stayed bridge and causeway across Hangzhou Bay, opened to the public on May 1, 2008. This bridge connects the municipalities of Shanghai and Ningbo, and is considered the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world. It is the world’s second-longest bridge, after the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway in Louisiana, USA. The Jintang Bridge, linking Jintang Island of Zhoushan and the Zhenhai district, is a 27-kilometer long, 4 lane sea crossing bridge which opened on December 26, 2009.

Sea

The port of Ningbo is one of the world's busiest ports, ranked 2nd by cargo tonnage in 2008, and 7th in TEU.

Air

Ningbo Lishe International Airport connects Ningbo by air to the rest of China, with regularly scheduled domestic and international flights. In 2009, new air routes between Ningbo and Taiwan were opened.

Railway

Two railway lines intersect in Ningbo: the Hangyong Railway line (Hangzhou–Ningbo) and the Yongtaiwen Railway line (Ningbo–Wenzhou). The Hangyong railway line is a conventional railway built in 1950s, and links Ningbo to its northern neighbours, Shaoxing and Hangzhou. With the booming economy in the region, the current conventional railway cannot serve the demand for railway travel efficiently, so construction of the new high-speed railway line between Hangzhou and Ningbo started in 2009. The new railway line will be finished by 2011, and will reduce travel time between Ningbo and Hangzhou to 26 minutes. The Yongtaiwen railway line is a high-speed railway opened in September 2009. It connects Ningbo with Taizhou and Wenzhou in the south, and further connects Fuzhou in Fujian Province. The high speed train operates at the speed of 250 km/hour.

Expressway

Five expressways connect Ningbo with its surrounding cities:

The first phase of Ningbo ring expressway also opened in 2007, connecting western parts of districts around the city of Ningbo. The second phase is expected to open on 2012. Another expressway connecting Ningbo and Taizhou via Xiangshan county is currently under construction.

Subway line

Since 2009, Ningbo has been constructing its first subway line, Line 1. Phase One of the line will be completed by 2014.

In the future, there will be 6 subway lines serving in Ningbo.

Military

Ningbo is the headquarters of the East Sea Fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. Its sector of responsibility includes Taiwan.

Food

Ningbo is known for Ningbo Tangyuan, small stuffed buns which are boiled. The stuffing is usually ground sesame mixed with sugar. The stuffing is wrapped with sticky rice powder.

Universities and colleges

Ningbo has four universities. Towards the north of the city is Ningbo University, while the Ningbo Higher Education Zone (Yinzhou district) is home to Zhejiang Wanli University as well as the University of Nottingham Ningbo, China – a joint venture between the University of Nottingham and the Wanli Education Group. Affiliated to Zhejiang University, Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University, which is well known as one of most excellent independent technical colleges in China, is also located in this beautiful education zone.

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Ningbo is twinned with:

Sister cities (Chinese: 友好城市)

Cities of friendly exchanges (Chinese: 友好交流关系城市)

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "2009年宁波市经济社会发展情况" (in Simplified Chinese). Ningbo Municipal Statistic Bureau. 2010-01-26. http://www.nbstats.gov.cn/read/read.aspx?id=26262. Retrieved 2010-05-15. 
  2. ↑ Japan triggered bubonic plague outbreak, doctor claims, [1], Scaruffi, Piero (1999). "A time-line of World War II". http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/wwii.html. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  3. ↑ Daniel Barenblatt, A Plague upon Humanity, 2004, p.32.
  4. ↑ Worchester, G R G (1971). The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. pp. 174. ISBN 9780870213359. OCLC 216526. 
  5. ↑ Ningbo Foreign Affairs Office
  6. ↑ Ningbo Foreign Trade & Economic Cooperation Bureau
  7. ↑ Ningbo Govt.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 China Briefing Developing Cities: Ningbo
  9. ↑ Economic profile for Ningbo at HKTDC
  10. ↑ Chiang, Langi (2007-07-09). "Bridge to Shanghai should give Ningbo's economy a lift". International Herald Tribune (Paris: The New York Times Company). http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/09/business/bridge.php. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  11. ↑ RightSite.asia | Ningbo Economic & Technological Development Zone
  12. ↑ RightSite.asia | Ningbo National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone
  13. ↑ RightSite.asia | Ningbo Free Trade Zone
  14. ↑ RightSite.asia | Nordic Industrial Park
  15. ↑ Jintang Bridge
  16. ↑ Prefeitura.Sp - Descentralized Cooperation
  17. ↑ International Relations - São Paulo City Hall - Official Sister Cities
  18. ↑ "International Partner Cities". Nottingham City Council. http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/sitemap/business/cd_regional_international_affairs/internationalteam/twinning.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-02. 
  19. ↑ JS Online: New statues are today's mane event

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