File photo of Ningbo city.

Quanzhou in Fujian province and Qingdao in Shandong province were elected as the East Asian City of Culture in 2014 and 2015. Both cities used the honor to their best advantage, driving up urban culture development, stimulating the vitality of the city and expanding their own international popularity and reputation.

Representing China, Ningbo has 23 national level intangible cultural heritages, such as the Yue Kiln technique, Fenghua cloth dragon dance and Ninghai painted lacquer arts. And as an important part of the Silk Road near the sea, the city has long been steeped in cultural diversity.