A view of Ninghai county, Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]

Jingcheng Ninghai in Ningbo was recently listed among Zhejiang provincial demonstration intellectual properties (IP) in the cultural and tourism sectors.

Jingcheng literally means "quiet city" in Chinese, while Ninghai is a county administered by Ningbo. Jingcheng Ninghai is the official tourism image for the county set by local tourism authorities.

The IP, which is created based on the county's rich natural and cultural resources, caters to current market consumption demand.

The county is the starting point for Xu Xiake's journey around China and the birthplace of the nation's national tourism day.

Xu, a famous Chinese explorer during the 17th century who was regarded as the Chinese Marco Polo, started his 28-year journey around China on May 19, 1613, from Ninghai. His travel journal was one of the most important records of ancient China.

In 2011, May 19 was designated as China's national tourism day. 

A total of 15 cultural and tourism IPs, including Liangzhu culture, made the list. The IP campaign comes as part of the provincial government's efforts to promote the integrated development of culture and tourism, as well as enhance brand building.