Even the company's name is "Ningde (宁德)." CATL, the world's largest battery maker founded in 2011 in Ningde, Fujian province, the hometown of Chair Zeng Yuqun (曾毓群), attached the city's name to its corporate name. A literal translation of its Chinese name, Ningde Shidai (宁德时代), is "the era of Ningde." It was the moment when the fate of the seaside city, once famous for large yellow croaker (大黃魚) aquaculture, began to change.
Ningde has no airport, so you have to travel 150 kilometers from the nearby Fuzhou (福州) Airport to get there. Despite relatively lacking infrastructure, as the electric vehicle market grew and CATL drew attention, the number of people flowing in rose quickly. After 2015, when CATL began to expand in earnest, CATL's factories and research facilities sprang up across Ningde, and, following CATL, materials companies, equipment firms, and logistics businesses also set up in Ningde. CATL effectively pulled the battery industry ecosystem into Ningde.
As factories increased, jobs were created, and outsiders began to settle in Ningde for work. Young people flocked to Ningde, which had relied on agriculture and fisheries. A person surnamed He from Henan province in their 20s also left their hometown last year and settled in Ningde more than 1,300 kilometers away, after joining CATL. The person is currently living in company-provided housing. The person said, "Among the employees working in Ningde, most are young people who left their hometowns."
The speed at which CATL's workforce has grown suggests how many people have flocked to Ningde. According to disclosures, CATL's total headcount, including overseas branches, rose from about 110,000 in 2023 to about 180,000 last year, hiring more than 70,000 in two years. A company official also said, "Employees who join CATL around the world stay in Ningde each year for training."
A "Ningde native" taxi driver, identified as B, said, "In the past, there was hardly any chance to meet foreigners, but after CATL succeeded, I often see foreigners on business trips," adding, "I've even picked up a contact from a client in an African country." The driver added, "In the past few years, the city has clearly and noticeably developed, and there are visibly more young people." A senior CATL official also said, "Including overseas branches, the Ningde headquarters likewise has many employees from overseas," adding, "Ningde is a small city, but the density of young people and foreigners is quite high."
Actual figures back up this trend. The resident population of Dongqiao (东侨) Economic and Technological Development Zone, where new energy industries including CATL are concentrated, grew more than fourfold from under 40,000 in 2010 to over 160,000 recently. Ningde's urban area also expanded tenfold, from 6 square kilometers in 2001 to 60 square kilometers in 2020. The economy grew as well. Ningde's gross domestic product (GDP) surged over the past five years (2021–2025) from 315.1 billion yuan (about 65 trillion won) to 425.2 billion yuan (about 87 trillion won). As of last year, secondary industries, including manufacturing, accounted for 54.6% of total GDP. The rural city once led by large yellow croaker has turned into an industrial city centered on manufacturing.
As "Ningde migrants" increased, the company's concerns also changed. It broadened support to housing and living environments so employees could settle in Ningde and start families. CATL operates large-scale company housing for employees who have come from other regions. Beyond free dormitories, the company has tailored options such as apartments for key talent, welfare housing, and dorms for dual-income production workers. In fact, a look around downtown Ningde makes it easy to find apartment complexes bearing CATL's name. Near production bases, large-scale apartments that combine production hiring with housing have also gone up.
As settlers increased, education infrastructure followed. The Dongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone was initially an industrial park focused on factories without a strong residential or living character, but as residential complexes and commercial areas formed, it transformed into "a city of 160,000 people," now home to seven elementary schools and five middle schools. CATL also supported the construction of an elementary school here for employees' children. The industrial park has become a city for raising kids.
CATL goes further to support even dating and marriage for single employees. Through "Queqiao Meeting (鹊桥会)," a company-run in-house matchmaking program, it directly arranges meetings for employees who want to date. A spectacle unfolds as dozens of in-house couples hold their weddings on the same day at the same time. It's a group wedding called "Sweet Day." At last year's Sweet Day, dozens of newlywed in-house couples held a joint wedding at the headquarters campus, and more than 3,500 guests attended to congratulate them.
The employee in their 20s, identified as A, said, "CATL is a young company, with half of its employees in their 20s, but in Ningde there aren't many opportunities to go outside the company and meet peers," adding, "Rather than worrying that in-house dating will hurt productivity, the company places more emphasis on employees forming families and settling in Ningde."