Regional Location of Ningbo

Ningbo, adjoining Hangzhou and Shanghai, is located in the eastern part of Zhejiang province, in the southern flank of the Yangtze River Delta and at the center of China¡¯s coastline. Under its jurisdiction are 11 counties, county-level cities and districts. It covers a total area of 9,816 sq. km., including the 2,462 sq. km. city proper; and a population of 5.646 million, 2.182 million of whom live in the 6 urban districts of Haishu, Jiangdong, Jiangbei, Zhenhai, Beilun and Yinzhou.

Status of Ningbo

Ningbo is a sub-provincial city firstly opened up to the outside world, an independently-planning city authorized with the same economic rights as those of a province. Ningbo is also the economic center in the southern flank of the Yangtze River Delta and an important seaport city in East China. Ningbo was assessed by the United Nations as a most promising city, ranked 8th among the Forbes 2007 Best Commercial Cities in Mainlan China, and 5th in the 2007 Horizon Survey on the Living Worthiness of Chines Cities.

Ningbo is gifted with one of the four largest international deep-sea ports in China¡ªthe Beilun Port, which is vast and peaceful, free of frozen earth or silt. In 2007, the cargo throughput of Ningbo Port reached over 345 million tons, ranking the second among seaports of mainland China in the fifth year in a row, and the fifth among global seaports; the container throughput of the port came to 9.35 million TEU, ranking the fourth in mainland China; of the 191 productive berths, 39 are deep-water berths with over 10,000-ton capacity.

Ningbo is a famous historic city with rich cultural heritages. It is the birthplace of the Hemudu Culture dating back 7000 years ago and the starting port of the Silk Road at Sea. There are many famous scenic spots and historic sites like the Tianyi Pavilion, Moon Lake, Baoguo Temple, Xikouthe¡ªthe former residence of Chiang Kai-shek, Tiantong Temple, and Dongqian Lake in the city.

Economic and Social Development Reviw

The comprehensive social and economic strength of Ningbo increases rapidly. In 2007, Ningbo¡¯s GDP totaled 343.31 billion RMB yuan, for the first time ranking one of the 13 cities which are not municipalities directly under the Central Government but have a GDP surpassing 300 billion yuan. The per capita GDP amounted to US$ 8,026, and the total retail sales volume of consumer goods was 103.55 billion yuan, with its increase rate ranking first in Zhejiang Province. The per capita disposable income of urban dwellers averaged 22,037 Yuan. The import and export volume of Ningbo¡¯s local companies reached US$ 56.5 billion, up by 33.9%, of which, the export volume was US$38.26 billion, up by 33.0%, and the import volume was US$ 18.24 billion, up by 35.7%. The fiscal revenue of 2007 reached 72.39 billion yuan, increased by 29.0%. By the end of 2007, Ningbo has newly authorized a foreign investment of US$ 4.5 billion and an actual utilization of US$ 2.51 billion.

Ningbo ranked 6th among China¡¯s major cities in city competitiveness for three consecutive years from 2004 to 2006, and ranked 8th in the overall city brand in 2007.

Ningbo has been appraised as The City of Brands for two consecutive years and awarded the titles of Stationery Capital, Mould Capital and Plastic Machinery Capital in China successively.

The City of Ningbo has been awarded the titles of The Excellent Exhibition City of China, Top Ten Exhibition Cities of China, and Top Ten Festival Cities of China, so its status as a famous exhibition city is well established.

In the following five years, Ningbo is to be built into an international deep-sea hub port, a renowned foreign trade port in China, a crucial manufacturing base and a modern logistic center in East China.