Ningbo, Zhejiang province, is becoming increasingly recognized both at home and abroad after it was chosen as the filming site for a number of movies and TV shows.

Soulmate, a romantic TV drama which premiered on the online video streaming platform iQiyi in July, was filmed in the coastal city. The drama was adapted from best-selling writer Anni Baobei's eponymous novel and features Shen Yue and Cheng Duling in the lead roles.

Ningbo's depiction in the drama sparked lively discussions online."The city is so elegant," "what a captivating night view," and "the buildings look very international," are but a few examples of the praises heaped on the city by netizens. Such comments have been a common site on Weibo, China's Twitter equivalent, since the series premiered.

A number of Ningbo landmarks are included in the drama, such as Ningbo University, Zhenhai Middle School and Heming ancient town in Cixi.

Kingdom, a Japanese action film which was also filmed in Ningbo, premiered in Japan in April and saw strong box office results. Japanese audiences were not only impressed by the engaging story, but also the beautiful scenery of Xiangshan in Ningbo, where the movie was filmed.

Ningbo local authorities are seizing the opportunity by launching a series of the film-themed tourism routes. Several days ago, a delegation of travel agents from Japan paid a visit to the shooting location of Kingdom.

To date, three groups of Japanese visitors, who are the film's fans, have come to the city since a direct air route linking Ningbo and Tokyo was launched.

A scene from romantic TV drama Soulmate depicts Sanjiangkou in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]