 As the sea often encroached upon the prefecture via the Qiantangjiang River, the area was renamed Haining Prefecture in 1329 in the hope of calming the waves (in Chinese, “hai” means sea and “ning” to calm or pacify), and it remains so today.Following the founding the PRC, the area became Haining County, and then Haining City in November 1986 with the approval of the State Council.Haining has developed as a city well known for its quality leather products and textiles.