Ningbo - Etymology

Etymology

The first character in the city's name (宁 or 寧) means "serene", while its second character (波) translates to "waves". Together, the name literally means "Serene Waves". The city is abbreviated Yǒng (甬), after the Yong Hill (甬山), a prominent coastal hill near the city, like the Yong River (甬江) that flows through Ningbo. The abbreviation Ning is used more commonly for Nanjing.

It was once named "明州" (Míngzhōu). The character Ming (明) was composed by two parts, representing two lakes inside the city wall, i.e., the Sun Lake (日湖) and the Moon Lake (月湖), but only Moon Lake remains.

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