The early workshop of Hefeng Textile Factory. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

Hefeng Textile Factory in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province and witnessed the development of modern industry in the city, was recently listed as a national industrial heritage.

It is the first national industrial heritage in the city, according to a list released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Nov 16.

According to the ministry, an industrial heritage is something that helps preserve the history of Chinese industrial development, and has borne witness the evolution of the country and its industries.

Hefeng Textile Factory was built on the banks of the Yongjiang River in 1907, covering an area of more than 53,000 square meters. It was equipped with railway tracks directly linking it with the wharf on the river bank.

In 1913, the factory became one of the best textile factories in Zhejiang province.

The factory was absorbed by Ningbo Veken Group and other textile companies in 1998 due to a large-scale restructuring of the city's textile industry.

The structure is still preserved to this day and has become the largest extant old-style factory in the city. The local government built Hefeng Innovative Plaza around the factory.

The plaza has become one of the most important manufacturing innovative platforms in the country, where more than 120 renowned industrial design and culture and innovation companies from countries such as Italy, Spain and Germany are located and more than 3,000 designers have gathered.