Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province is designated a national model city for information consumption in 2020. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province was recently listed as a national model cities for information consumption in 2020, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Information consumption has gained momentum in the city since 2014 when it was designated a national pilot city for information consumption.

Presently, Ningbo's main urban areas, key port areas and industrial parks have 5G coverage. The city is ranked fourth in the nation in terms of 5G network construction.

It also leads the nation in the construction of a video monitoring network and narrow-band Internet of Things. The number of video monitors interconnected in the city is ranked first in Zhejiang province.

Due to its advanced network infrastructure, Ningbo's online consumption has also been growing.

Online retail sales in the city have grown at an average annual rate of 29 percent, rising from 70.4 billion yuan ($10.83 billion) in 2015 to 193.5 billion yuan in 2019.

In the same period, the online spending of local residents grew at an average annual rate of 26 percent, from 58.7 billion yuan to 147.8 billion yuan. Meanwhile, the per capita express delivery volume surged from 39 to 112.

In 2019, the value of bonded imports from cross-border e-commerce platforms in Ningbo was ranked the first in China. The city's cross-border e-commerce import and export volume reached 128.2 billion yuan, a near 20-fold increase from five years ago.

The city has also witnessed fast growth in sectors such as integrated circuits, optical electronics, automotive electronics, industrial software, artificial intelligence and blockchain.

It has developed 23 industrial Internet platforms, and the pilot model of "5G+ industrial internet" has been promoted in more than 100 cities across the country.

The city is now planning to accelerate the in-depth integration between next-generation information technology with the real economy and promote information consumption upgrading, said a local official.