It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the East China Sea.

This nomenclature traces its roots back to the Tang dynasty in 636 CE, reflecting the enduring history of Ningbo.

[17] As of 2020, the earliest relics of human activity discovered in Ningbo City are from the Jingtou Mountain site in Yuyao.

A large number of cultivated rice, farming tools, remains of dry fence buildings, remains of domestic livestock, and primitive religious items have been unearthed from related sites of the Hemudu culture (5000–4500 BCE), evidencing human settlement and culture in the eastern part of the Ningshao Plain, where modern-day Ningbo city is located.

In the early years of the Western Han dynasty, Kuaiji Commandery belonged to the Kingdom of Jing and Wu.

[26][27] The spelling Liampó is also attested to in the Peregrination (Peregrinação) by Fernão Mendes Pinto, a (so-called) autobiography written in Portuguese during the 16th century.

During the war, British forces briefly took possession of the walled city of Ningbo after storming the fortified town of Zhenhai at the mouth of the Yong River on October 10, 1841.

In 1861, the forces of the Taiping Kingdom took the city relatively unopposed as the defending garrison and all Ningbo residents fled except for the Jews and Persians; they 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 defenses.

Bacteriologist Huang Ketai reported that at least 109 people died from the plague in Ningbo in November and December 1940.

[36] According to Daniel Barenblatt, imperial planes loading germ bombs for bubonic dissemination over Ningbo was recorded on film in 1940.

Ningbo's city proper is sandwiched between the ocean and low-lying mountains to the southwest, with coastal plain and valleys in between.

Tidal flat ecosystems occur adjacent to the city, however, large areas have been reclaimed for agricultural purposes.

From August to October, Ningbo experiences the effects of typhoons, and is affected by an average 1.8 storms annually, though the city is not often struck directly by these systems.

A 2012 OECD study lists Ningbo among the top 20 cities worldwide most at risk of flooding due to anthropogenic climate change.

It has direct jurisdiction over the following: Ningbo is an important port city located 220 kilometers (140 mi) south of Shanghai.

Today, Ningbo is a major exporter of electrical products, textiles, food, and industrial tools.

In 2007 the Hangzhou Bay Bridge was built, cutting highway transit time between Ningbo and Shanghai from four hours to two and a half.

[53] With several important development zones established in or around Ningbo, the city has received considerable foreign investment.

[51] Located in the north-east of Ningbo, behind Beilun Port, NETD is 27 km (17 mi) 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 the perfect investment environment.

Over more than ten years of development and construction, industrial and logistical foundations have been established in the zone for the transshipment of energy, liquid chemicals and containers.

[59] Unlike other Chinese cities, Ningbo has the same authority as provincial governments for economic administration and is the largest port in the world in terms of annual cargo throughput.

Thus, with bulk container breakdowns, hugely improved logistics, and massive chemical and foodstuff, processing developments, Ningbo is outcompeting Shanghai for the preeminent Chinese east coast port.

[60][61] Ningbo is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast to the south, via Singapore towards the southern tip of India, via Mombasa to the Mediterranean, and from there via Athens to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its rail connections to Central Europe and Eastern Europe.

[62][63][64] Due to its long history and economic prosperity, Ningbo is a city with very rich tourist resources.

Ningbo serves as the headquarters of the East Sea Fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy.

Thus, the prefix "洋 yang", meaning ocean or Western, before the nouns of imported goods is a special language phenomenon of Ningbo dialect.

[73] Several schools are permitted to operate foreign educational programs as an alternative to the Chinese National curriculum and to accept international students.

5The claimed province of Taiwan no longer have any internal division announced by Ministry of Civil Affairs of PRC, due to lack of actual jurisdiction.