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I. Foreword
Water makes a city delicate and dynamic. Bordering on the water, the City of Ningbo has been developed. The name of the city means “calm wave”, which shows the close relationship between the city and the water.
The Moon Lake
Ningbo is a city of culture, and a port to the world. The city motto also suggests the secrets between Ningbo and the water. Water keeps watch on Tianyi Pavilion, the oldest library in Asia. With deep water and calm wave, Ningbo Port has been listed among the top ten ports in the world.
II. History of the City
The history of Ningbo can be traced back to 7,000 years ago. The discovery of Hemudu Neolithic Culture Ruins proves that Ningbo was one of the first places in the world for cultivating rice. In Xia Dynasty (about 2,000 B.C.), Ningbo was called “Yin”. The place then covered "Mao" and "Gouzhang", which were three counties of Kuaiji Shire in Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.). In 1381, the 14th year of the period of the Emperor Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), the city got its current name “Ningbo”, which means “the calm wave”.
III. Commercial Metropolis
There is not any single market existing without a businessman from Ningbo. Ningbo has been a renowned commercial city from time immemorial. With deepening the reform and opening up and optimizing the economic structure, Ningbo, this old commercial city, displays its vigor again and is becoming a highlight in the south of the Yangtze River Delta.
In 2009, the number of local enterprises authorized to import and export reached 12927. The total volume of foreign trade was 60.81billion US$, the 3rd place among all sub-provincial level cities in China. With optimizing the structure of foreign investment Ningbo witnessed 3.42 billion US$ contractual foreign investment.
Businessmen from Ningbo dare to go global and make international market their stage. By the end of 2009, Ningbo enterprises have founded 1069 companies and institutes in 87 countries and regions worldwide. The turnover of contracts relating to labor services and project cooperation overseas hit 880 million US$.
IV. Place with Rich Culture
This is the birthplace of the first light of the 7,000-year-old Chinese civilization and Hemudu Neolithic Culture. This is the place where China’s existing oldest private library is located. This is the place where the Legend of Butterfly Lovers, cloth dragon of Fenghua City, Pingdiao Opera of Ninghai County as well as cinnabar and gold lacquer wood carving have been listed in China’s first batch of Intangible Cultural Heritage Catalog. This the Key Place of the East Zhejiang School in Ming and Qing Dynasties in China’s history of thought. This is in the forefront of modern China’s Westernization Movement Reform after the Opium War and the foreland where western and Chinese cultures combine.
We usually say that a country thrives with its people’s efforts, and a city becomes famous because of its culture. Today, on this land with a long history of culture and prosperous economy, Ningbo is writing down a splendid page on great cultural development and prosperity.
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