port of Ningbo–Zhoushan, spread across several locations, is the world's busiest port by cargo tonnage and world's third-busiest container port since 2010. Etymology The first character in the city's name ning ( or ) means "serene", while its second character bo () translates to "wave". The city is abbreviated "" () for the eponymous "Yong Hill" (), a prominent coastal hill near the city, and the Yong River that flows through Ningbo city. Ningbo was once named Mingzhou (). The first character () is composed of two parts, representing two lakes inside the city wall: the Sun Lake () and the Moon Lake (), dating back to the Tang dynasty in 636 AD. The old Sun Lake dried up in the 19th century, but was re-built in 2002 by the Ningbo government as one of the city parks. History Ningbo is one of China's oldest cities, with a history dating to the Jingtou Mountain Culture in 6300 BC and Hemudu culture in 4800 BC. Ningbo was known as a trade city on the silk road at least two thousand years ago, and later as a major port for foreign trade. Ancient to Sui dynasty As of 2020, the earliest relics of human activity discovered in Ningbo City are from the Jingtou Mountain site in Yuyao. These relics date back to 6300 BC, evidencing early human consumption of seafood and rice. A large number of cultivated rice, farming tools, remains of dry fence buildings, remains of domestic livestock, and primitive religious items have been unearthed from related sites of the Hemudu culture (5000–4500 BC), evidencing human settlement and culture in the eastern part of the Ningshao Plain, where modern-day Ningbo city is located. Before the Han dynasty, the area where Ningbo City is located today was sparsely populated. In the Xia dynasty, the location of Ningbo was called "Yin". In the Spring and Autumn Period, the area where Ningbo belonged was the Yue State. At that time, the Yue King Goujian built Juzhang City in the present-day Cicheng Town, which became the earliest city in Ningbo. In the latter half of the Warring States period, the area of Ningbo became the jurisdiction of Chu State. In 221 BC, Qin unified the six states and the Ningbo area was delegated to Kuaiji Commandery, with three counties of Yin, Yin, and Juzhang (some studies assert there were four counties of Yin, Yin, Juzhang,