Ningbo is set to hold the city's second Talent Day around Grain Rain, a solar term of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar that lasts from April 20 to May 5. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574] 

Ningbo is set to hold its second Talent Day around Grain Rain, a solar term of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar that lasts from April 20 to May 5. The special day, first held in 2019, is meant to attract worldwide talent. 

This year, around 33 activities will be held across Ningbo to showcase the city's development prospects and attractiveness to talent.

A song and short video clip to promote Talent Day will also debut on social media platforms such as WeChat and Douyin.

Ningbo has made significant progress expanding its talent pool in recent years, helping fuel its vibrant economic growth. 

The city reported a yearly uptick of 340,000 permanent residents in 2019, ranking fourth nationwide, behind only Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. 

Ningbo ranked second in the country in terms of the net inflow of talent and first in terms of talent in the manufacturing industry. 

It also ranked first in Zhejiang in terms of the number of R&D personnel. Out of every 10,000 employees in Ningbo, around 168.8 were involved in R&D.

The city also led the province in terms of the number of human resource agencies in 2019.

Ningbo ranks first in Zhejinang in terms of both total number of innovative start-ups and total number of high-tech small and medium-sized enterprises.

In 2019, the city attracted 137,000 college graduates and 59,000 highly-skilled professionals, registering a growth of 65.2 percent and 17.7 percent, respectively – both new records for the city.

In addition, 28 people in the city were named "national key professionals" and eight full-time academicians settled in the city, bringing the total number to 19. 

Ningbo's gross domestic product (GDP) totaled 1.1985 trillion yuan ($173.69 billion) in 2019, climbing to 12th place among cities on the Chinese mainland.