An exhibition titled "Years as Songs" offers a glimpse of the remarkable changes in Ningbo, east China's Zhejiang Province, which has been transformed from a small business hub into an international port city, chronicling daily life since the founding of the People's Republic of China seven decades ago.

A teapot, a radio, a sewing machine and eight to nine pieces of wooden furniture were the must-haves for a newly married couple in Ningbo in the 20th century. But that is no longer the case, as Ningbo is now one of the four major production bases for home appliances in China.

"The home appliance manufacturing industry in Ningbo started at the early stage of reform and opening-up more than 40 years ago. Many well-known brands and products of high quality emerged. They laid a solid foundation for the development of Ningbo's manufacturing industry and the city's rise to prominence," He Yufeng, the curator of the "Years as Songs" exhibition, said.  

Since 2019, China has implemented tax reductions, cut fees and created home appliance manufacturing industry benefits from the reformation. According to China Taxation News, in the first half of 2019, there was 200 million yuan ($31.2 million) in new tax cuts in the Ningbo home appliance industry. As a result, the tax burden of enterprises decreased by 6.4 percent on average. 

Many businesses have used the dividends from tax and fee cuts for technology innovation and intelligent manufacturing. As the first pilot city of "Made in China 2025," Ningbo has attracted a large number of talents and actively promotes the development of intelligent manufacturing. It also shows stronger resilience and vitality in market competition. 

As an economic powerhouse and a major port city, Ningbo is connected to more than 600 ports in more than 190 countries and regions via over 260 shipping routes.  

The Ningbo Zhoushan Port, the world's biggest cargo port, handled more than 1.2 billion tonnes of cargo in 2020, topping worldwide port volumes for the 12th straight year. 

Ningbo has taken advantage of its role as a global port by growing its cross-border e-commerce industry. Its value in the so-called business-to-business-to-consumer model now exceeds more than 1 billion yuan. 

Meanwhile, Ningbo has also been developing its software sector. Its software and information service industry revenue surpassed 100 billion yuan for the first time in 2020. 

Last year, Ningbo had a population of over 6.1 million, and its local GDP topped more than 1.2 trillion yuan, ranking 12th among all cities on the Chinese mainland. Meanwhile, residents' per capita disposable income stood at 68,000 yuan for urban areas and 39,000 yuan for rural areas.