Ningbo is located at the middle part of China's coastline and on the eastern part of Ning-shao Plain in Zhejiang Province, i.e., east longitude from 120°55' to 122°16' and north latitude 28°51' to 30°33'. With Zhoushan Archipelago as its natural barrier in the east, bordering Hangzhou Bay in the north and Sanmen Bay in the south, adjacent to Shaoxing city in the west and connecting with Taizhou city, Ningbo covers a total area of 9,672 sq.km including the urban area of 2,634 sq.km.

Ningbo possesses two main mountain ranges within its boundaries, Siming Mountain and Tiantai Mountain. As one of the eight river systems of Zhejiang province, Ningbo is rich in water resources for occupying Yuyao river, Fenghua River, Yongjiang River etc. Ningbo has a long coastline, with tortuous harbors and scattered islands. Ningbo occupies a total sea area of 9758 sq.km and a total coastline of 1562 km including 788 km of mainland coastline and 774 km of island coastline, which takes one third of the coastline of Zhejiang province. The number of islands in Ningbo amounts to 531 with a total area of 524.07 sq.km. There are two bays and one harbor, i.e., Sanmen Bay, Hangzhou Bay and Xiangshan Harbor. Containing a great deal of nourishing substance flowed in with Qiantang River, Yongjiang River and many streams, these bays provide with rich nourishment for organism in the beach area.

The coastal tide in Ningbo belongs to unregular half-day period. There are two high tides and two low tides in a day. The average high tide is 3.14 over Wusong zero point with the highest record of 4.86 m, and the average low tide is 1.47 m with the lowest record of 0.31 m.

Ningbo enjoys subtropical monsoon climate featuring mild temperature, moderate humidity and distinctive seasons. Its average annual temperature is 16.2°C, July being the hottest month (average temp. 28.8°C)and January the coldest (average temp. 4.2°C). As the frost-free period lasts about 230-240 days and the crop growth period 300 days, it is suitable for the growth of grain, cotton and oil plant, etc. The annual precipitation averages 1,300-1,400 mm. The precipitation from May to September takes 60 percent of the year's total.