Ningbo
City is located in the eastern part of Zhejiang, neighboring Taizhou and
Shaoxing to the south and southwest, linking Jiaxing and Shanghai to the north,
and Zhoushan to the Northeast. The total
land area is 9365 square kilometers; The area of arable land in 1997 is 216.35
thousand hectares. The sea area under its jurisdiction goes from northeast to
southwest, covering 9758 square kilometers. The terrain is high in the south and
low in the north. The southern part, which is full of hills and low mountains,
belongs to the hilly area of eastern Zhejiang. The mountain ranges of Tiantai
and Siming face each other from southeast to northwest; The northern part, which
is plain and rich in lakes and rivers, belongs to the eastern part of Ningshao
Plain; The most north point links with the Hangzhou Bay, the south goes till
Sanmen Bay, the east faces the Eastern China Sea, surrounded by the vast sea to
three direction; With total length of 788 kilometers, the coastal line is
winding and located in the middle part of the continental coast; With numerous
sea bays which go deep into the continent, the off-shore sea area possesses
excellent deep water conditions, forming natural ports resources with deep water
courses.
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As
early as 7000 thousand years ago in the new stone age period, there were human
activities of hunting and agricultural economy. In the 25th year of emperor
Qinshihuang ( 222 B.C. ), 4 counties namely Yin, Juzhang and Yuyao ( established
in Xihan Dynasty according to another document ) were set up under Kuaiji city
at the present site. In the 4th year of emperor Wude of Tang Dynasty ( 621 ),
Yin City was established with administration site in Sanjiangkou District of
today’s
urban area. In the 26th year of emperor Kaiyuan ( 738 ), Mingzhou City, which
was named after Siming Mountain, was set up, with administration site in Xiaoxi
( Yinjiang town of Yin county of today ) and jurisdiction over 4 counties namely
Cixi, Fenghua and Wongshan. In the 1st year of emperor Changqing ( 821 ), the
administration site was moved to Sanjiangkou, and the Zhuzi city was
constructed, which symbolized the beginning of the construction of the city. In
the 1st year of Qianning ( 898 ), the Luo city was constructed, which was the
primary shape of the old urban area. In the 5th year of Shaoxi of Southern Sogn
Dynasty ( 1195 ), Mingzhou was upgraded to Qingyuan city, which was called
Qingyuanlu in the Yuan Dynasty. In the 14th year of Hongwu of Ming Dynasty (
1381 ), in order to avoid words as taboo, the name was changed from Mingzhou to
Ningbo, which means quiet sea with smooth waves. The name remained Ningbo in
Qing Dynasty, with jurisdiction over 5 counties namely Yin, Cixi, Zhenghai,
Fenghua and Xiangshan. In the period of the Republic of China, the city
administration was changed to county administration. At that time, the urban
area of Yin County was defined to be Ningbo City during the 16th to 20th year of
the republic of China ( 1927-1931 ). In the 21st year of the Republic of China (
1932 ), the 7th Administrative Inspection Zone was established with the office
of the commissioner in Ningbo City. After May, 1949, Ningbo Special
Administration Office was established with Jinxian, Yuyao, Cixi, Zhenghai,
Fenghua, Xiangshan and Dinghai counties under its jurisdiction, and Ningbo City
under the jurisdiction of the province. In 1983, Ningbo
Special
Administration Office was abolished, the 6 counties was then transformed to the
jurisdiction of Ningbo City. In 1994, Ninnbo City was approved as a city with
vice-governor level. By the end of 1997, there were 5 districts of
Haishu,Jiangdong, Jiangbei, Zhenghai and Beilun, and 6 counties of Jinxian, Cixi,
Yuyao, Fenghua, Ninghai, Xiangshan, 120 towns, 29 villages, 16 residential
districts, 754 neighborhood communities, 5021 villagers?committee under its
jurisdiction, The population of the city is 5.33 million.
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After
20 years of reform and open up, Ningbo people had been holding high the great
flag of Deng Xiaoping’s Theory, adhering to the basic line of the party,
taking the opportunity, pioneering and innovating, further reform and broadening
the scale of reform, so as to constantly advance the great undertaking of the
construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As a result, these have
laid the solid base for Ningbo to strive towards the new century and realization
of?further development.