Ningbo is one of the cities opening up to the outside world, an independently planning-city enjoying the same rights as those of a provincial government in economic management, "a large city" entitled to formulate local laws and regulations, and a famous historic city with rich cultural heritage. It covers an area of 9,816 sq.km and has a population of 9.618 million(2022).

Ningbo governs six districts, two counties, and two county-level cities — Haishu district, Jiangbei district, Zhenhai district, Beilun district, Yinzhou district, Fenghua district, Ninghai county, Xiangshan county, Yuyao city, and Cixi city.Ningbo boasts a long history.

It is the birthplace of the "Neolithic Hemudu Culture" dating back more than 7,000 years. Ningbo has been a well-known key port for foreign trade ever since ancient time. Ningbo ranked with Yangzhou and Guangzhou as the three biggest ports for foreign trade in Tang Dynasty and with Guangzhou and Quanzhou in Song Dynasty. After the First Opium War, Ningbo had been one of the five commercial ports opened to the Western countries. Ningbo port has become one of the important ports in China. Ningbo-Zhoushan Port achieved a cargo throughput of 1.22 billion tons in 2021, up by 4.4% over the previous year, ranking No.1 in the world for the 13th consecutive year. Among others, Ningbo Port area achieved a cargo throughput of 620 million tons, an increase of 3.7%. The container throughput of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in the year reached 31.079 million TEUs, up by 8.2%, helping to consolidate its position as the third largest container port in the world.

Enjoying sound conditions for economic development, the social economy of Ningbo has been developed rapidly since opening up to the outside world.The Gross Domestic Product of Ningbo totaled 1.57043 trillion yuan in 2022, up by 3.5% over the previous year, calculated at comparable prices.The per capital GDP of Ningbo stood at 163,911 yuan (equivalent to US$24,369 at the annual exchange rate), calculated according to the permanent resident population.

In 2022, the per capital disposable income of residents reached 68,348 yuan, up by 4.5% over the previous year, with the per capital disposable income of urban residents standing at 76,690 yuan, an increase of 3.8%, and the per capital disposable income of rural residents standing at 45,487 yuan, an increase of 5.9%.

Nowadays, Ningbo has become an important industrial city and foreign trade port in east China, a key city and chemical industrial base in Yangtze Delta and an economic center of Zhejiang Province.

Ningbo enjoys subtropical monsoon climate featuring mild temperature, moderate humidity and distinctive seasons. The city is an ideal tourist place with culture monuments and historical sites.