Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province recently released the Culture Development Index (CDI) of 2016, an evaluation showing the steady advancement of the city's culture industry.

The final score of Ningbo's 2016 CDI is 124.35, up by 29.53 percent year-on-year.

The index is evaluated based on six quantifiable indicators including the service, the innovation and the competitiveness of the culture sector, and two qualitative ones such as the yearly work report and people's comments.

Ningbo is determined to harness the power of culture to improve people's sense of happiness. In recent years, by organizing a series of international and domestic cultural events and promoting cultural activities to the most grassroots units, residents in the city have been increasingly enthusiastic and satisfied with the their lives.

Moreover, quite a few cultural facilities, exhibitions and bookstores such as the music harbor have settled in Ningbo. The accelerating cultural upgrades and refurbishment have made the culture industry a rising star in Ningbo's overall development.

Ningbo's performance in culture industry shows its strong presence in the entire province. The 2016 CDI of Zhejiang indicates Ningbo being on second place on the list of 11 cities.

Among the counties and districts of Ningbo, Yizhou district, Zhenhai district and Ninghai county are the top three in the growth of CDI from 2015 to 2016.

Iranian artists play traditional musical instruments at the opening ceremony of the Asia Arts Festival in Ningbo. [Photo by Huang Zongzhi/Xinhua]