Ningbo

', formerly written Ningpo', is a sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province in China. It comprises the urban districts of Ningbo proper, three satellite cities, and a number of rural counties including islands in Hangzhou Bay and the East China Sea. Its port, spread across several locations, is among the busiest in the world and the municipality possesses a separate state-planning status. As of the 2010 census, the entire administrated area had a population of 7.6 million, with 3.5 million in the six urban districts of Ningbo proper. To the north, Hangzhou Bay separates Ningbo from Shanghai; to the east lies Zhoushan in the East China Sea; on the west and south, Ningbo borders Shaoxing and Taizhou respectively.EtymologyThe first character in the city's name ning means "serene", while its second character bo translates to "waves". The city is abbreviated Yǒng, after the Yong Hill, a prominent coastal hill near the city, like the Yong River that flows through Ningbo. (The abbreviation Ning is used more commonly for Nanjing.)