Ningbo Higher Education Zone( Yinzhou District)

The Higher Education Zone is to the south of the Yinzhou Avenue with the South Qianhu Road running across. It covers an area of 4,16 square kilometers with a total investment of more than 3 billion RMB. Regular higher education, adult education, vocational training and modern long distance education are all available here in the zone. There are altogether 7 schools such as Zhejiang Wanli University, Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University and Ningbo University Hygiene Vocational School and Yinzhou Education Center, with a total enrolment of 50,000 students.

The zone is characterized by:

Open campuseso

Campuses in the zone are separated by rivers, greenspace and roads. Buildings on the campuses also vary in style and color. The whole zone is demarcated by a 30—meter wide ring road lined with a 30—meter wide greenspace. Several intersections between the ring road and the NingHeng Road and the South QianHu Road serve as the entrance and exit to these campuses. In this way, the zone is on the one hand linked to the outside world and on the other hand separated from it as well by the roads and green belts.

Shared resources

The educational resources in the zone are fully shared: teachers can teach in different institutions or colleges; students may take cross—campus courses and credits earned will be acknowledged among the colleges or institutions; labs and books and reference materials in different schools are also open to all of them. Besides, some resources from inside the zone and outside society are made available to both. At present, there is the Information Center and the stadium in the zone. The International Conference Center and Medical Treatment Center are now under construction.

Multiple functions

The zone integrates education, culture, tourism and ecology, a welcome break from the traditional single function of education. The greenspace covers more than 50% of the zone. A 2,000—meter long and 260—meter wide greenspace of about 1,000 Mu lining the thoroughfare of the zone is under discussion. Also in the blueprint are the Ningbo Celebrities’ Park, the Culture and Art Park, the Costume Museum, and the Science and Technology Center etc. When completed, they will make the zone the hot spot for tourists as well as a showcase of the development of the city.

Commercialized logistics

From the very beginning, there were plans that the students’ apartments and canteens shal class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=centerl be operated by outside investors rather than the colleges and universities in the zone. The Logistics Center was thus established. In light of the principles of the separation of enterprises from institutions and specialized managemant of special trades, the Center practices independent accounting and assumes sole responsibility for its profits or losses. Apart from that,  a smooth information highway covering the zone has been established rendering educational resources available to everyone. Furthermore, various software databases have also been set up making possible digital management in colleges and universities. More important, teachers and students alike have easy access to the internet in their dorms.

Rule by law

Centralized planning and uniform management are practiced in the zone. Regulations with regard to zone administration, construction and maintenance of public facilities and visits have been formulated to be observed by all the schools to ensure order and standardization.