In 1999, Ningbo National Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone was established in the eastern part of Ningbo city, Zhejiang province. In 2007, it was upgraded as a national high-tech industry development zone with the approval of the State Council.

Six years later in 2013, the New Material Technology City was built within the hi-tech zone, covering 55 square kilometers.

Nearly one-third of the city's major technology development institutes, half of the public technology service platforms and two-thirds of Ningbo’s testing and certification centers are now settled in the zone, with the aim of making it a world-class new materials technology center and an innovation hub. 

New materials, modern services and hi-tech manufacturing are the main industrial orientations of the zone. 

The zone possesses significant regional advantages. It can reach many cities in the Yangtze River Delta area within three hours' drive, including Hangzhou, Shanghai and Suzhou. The Jiangnan and Tongtu roads connect the zone with downtown Ningbo and Ningbo Port. 

Nignbo's advanced transport system also helps to strengthen its industrial communication with other major cities in southeastern China.

In 2016, the zone achieved a gross regional domestic output of 13.8 billion yuan ($2.01 billion), increasing by 4.2 percent year-on-year. Its fiscal revenue amounted to 6.2 billion yuan, with year-on-year growth of 11.6 percent. Also, the import and export trade volume totaled $2.8 billion.

The industrial value-added of high-tech industry contributed 82 percent of the zone's total value-added industries above designated size. The number of enterprises with an operating income of more than 100 million yuan increased to 140.