Ningbo officials pose for a group photo after the final judgment in Beijing. [Photo/nbwh.gov.cn]

Ningbo, a coastal city in southeast China's Zhejiang province, was crowned 2016 East Asia Cultural City on Tuesday. Established by China, Japan and South Korea, the East Asian Cultural City is an important cultural brand in the region.

Ningbo and two other cities, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province and Changsha in Hunan province , were named finalists for the honor on Sept 11. A 15 member committee comprised of officials from the Chinese Ministry of Culture and experts in the field of cultural exchanges and cooperation, intangible cultural heritage protection and inheritance and cultural service system construction named the candidates.

Final judging kicked off in Beijing on Tuesday. Municipal leaders from the three candidate cities expressed their keen desire to be the East Asian City of Culture, and made the case for their own city in turn. The committee gave the highest score to Ningbo.

Zhang Minghua, deputy mayor of Ningbo, said at the final judging that Ningbo has a series of cultural brands, numerous regional characteristics and advantages and rich experience in exchanges and cooperation with Japan and South Korea.

As part of a joint activity by neighbors and leading forces in East Asia, China, Japan and South Korea, the East Asia City of Culture program was first proposed by the cultural ministers of the three countries during the third ministerial conference in Nara,Japan in January 2011.

In the spirit of "East Asian identity, cultural exchange, and mutual appreciation", the East Asian City of Culture campaign selected one city from each of the participating countries. It aims to promote cultural diversity in East Asia, and to allow the three countries to foster mutual understanding and a sense of unity in the region.