Ningbo strives to be fashion capital of the East

Foreign merchants attend the 2021 Ningbo Fashion Festival & 25th Ningbo International Fashion Fair held in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/Ningbo Evening News]

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province has put forward the goal of developing itself into a coastal fashion capital in five years at the 14th CPC Ningbo Municipal Congress which commenced on Feb 23.

The goal is considered achievable given the city's economic prowess and status as a national garment manufacturing hub in China.

In 2021, Ningbo's gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to 1.4595 trillion yuan ($224.5 billion), ranking 12th in China, while the city's per capital GDP reached 153,900 yuan, the seventh highest in the nation.

Its fiscal revenue in the previous year hit 326.4 billion yuan, of which revenue in the general public budget totaled 172.3 billion yuan, ranking 10th in the country.

In addition, the influence of Ningbo's fashion industry has been growing. The city has held the Ningbo Fashion Festival for 25 years in a row.

A total of 265 brands including Youngor, Hazzys, Only, and Veromoda participated in the offline exhibitions of the 2021 Ningbo Fashion Festival & 25th Ningbo International Fashion Fair held last October.

Ningbo is the largest garment manufacturing base in China. The annual output value of garment enterprises above designated size in the city exceeds 100 billion yuan, official statistics show.