Chongqing
Chongqing (;
Postal System Pinyin:
Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the
People's Republic of China's four
provincial-level
municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half of China. The municipality of Chongqing has a registered population of 31,442,300 (
2005), most of them living outside the urban area of Chongqing proper, over hundreds of square kilometres of farmland. The population of the urban area of Chongqing proper was 12.057 million in
2005, ranking it as the 3rd largest city in China in terms of population.
The municipal abbreviation - Yú (渝) - was approved by the
State Council on April 18, 1997. Chongqing was also a municipality of the old
Republic of China. Its abbreviated name is derived from the old name of a part of the
Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds the
Yangtze.
The urban area of Chongqing proper (重庆市区) includes the district of
Yuzhong (渝中区, or "Central Chongqing District"), the central and most densely populated district, where government offices are located. Other districts are
Nan'an (南岸区, or "Southern Bank District")
Jiangbei (江北区, or "North of the River District"),
Shapingba (沙坪坝区),
Jiulongpo (九龙坡区), and
Dadukou (大渡口区).
Chongqing is said to be the semi-mythical
State of Ba that began in 11th century BC, when the Ba people began living here until they were destroyed by the
State of Qin in
316 BC. The Qin emperor ordered a new city to be constructed, called Jiang (江州) and Chu Prefecture (楚州).
In
581 AD (
Sui Dynasty), Chongqing was renamed to Yu Prefecture (渝州).
In
1102, the city was renamed Gong Prefecture.
In
1189, when Prince
Zhao Dun of the
Southern Song Dynasty was first made a king then crowned as Emperor Guangzong, he commented that it was "double/repeated happy celebration" (雙重喜慶), so renamed Yu Prefecture to Chongqing
Subprefecture.
In
1362 (
Yuan Dynasty), Ming Yuzhen, a peasant rebel leader, established Daxia Kingdom at Chongqing for a short time.
In
1621, another short-lived kingdom of Daliang was established there.
In
1891, Chongqing became the first inland commerce port open to foreigners.
Since
1929, Chongqing was a municipality of the
Republic of China. Chongqing was the provisional
capital of the government of
Chiang Kai-shek during the
Second Chinese-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945 and was heavily bombed by the
Japanese
Air Force, called "
Bombing of Chongqing". It holds the distinction of being the most bombed city in history. During the war a lot of factories and universities from eastern China were moved to Chongqing and surrounding areas, transforming it from an inland port to a heavy-industrial city.
In
1954, the municipality was reduced to a
provincial city of the People's Republic.
For three years, Chongqing had been a
sub-provincial city of
Sichuan Province, until
March 14,
1997, as decided in the Eighth
National People's Congress, the original Chongqing City was merged with the neighbouring
Fuling,
Wanxian, and
Qianjiang that had been governed by Chongqing City on behalf of the province since September of the previous year. These four prefecture-level entities were all abolished as distinct administrative divisions and formed one new Chongqing Municipality that contained 30,020,000 people in their 43 former counties (without intermediate political levels), to spearhead China's effort to develop its western regions as well as to coordinate the resettlement of refugees from the
Three Gorges Dam project. The first official ceremony took place on June 18 of that year.
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High Rises for Commercial Uses around People's Liberation Monument. |
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Modern Buildings of Chongqing. |
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Hydrofoil running on Yangtze within Chongqing Territory (Probably at Fengjie County). |
The municipality is divided in to 40 county-level subdivisions (3 were abolished since 1997): 15 districts, 4 county-level cities, and 21 counties.
The origin column indicates which city the entity belonged to prior to the 1997 conglomeration of Chongqing with Fuling, Wanxian (now Wanzhou), and Qianjiang.
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Modern Chongqing skyscrapers |
*
Geographic coordinates: 105°17'-110°11' East, 28°10'－32°13' North
* Annual average
temperature: 18
°C (64
°F)
* Temperature range: 0 to 47 °C
* Total annual hours of sunshine: 1000-1200
* Annual
precipitation: 1000-1400 mm
* Neighbours:
Hubei (east),
Hunan (east),
Guizhou (south),
Sichuan (west),
Shaanxi (north)
Located on the edge of the
Yungui Plateau, Chongqing is intersected by the
Jialing River and the upper reaches of the
Yangtze. It contains
Daba Shan in the north,
Wu Shan in the east,
Wuling Shan in the southeast, and
Dalou Mountain to the south.
The city is very hilly and is the only major metropolitan area in China without significant numbers of bicycles.
Historically, Chongqing has been a major trading inland port, transporting goods from the southwestern provinces to eastern China. During the
Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), Chongqing was transformed into a heavy industrial city, especially the military industry which continued to thrive for decades after 1949. Since the 1980s, many of these military industry enterprises have undergone reforms and turned from producing military goods to mostly civilian products for survival and growth. [
1]
 |
Chongqing waterfront on the Jialing. See the funicular article for some details. |
Chongqing is rich in natural resources, with more than 40 kinds of minerals. Its coal reserves are estimated to be 4.8 billion tonnes. The Chuandong Natural Gas Field in Chongqing is China's largest inland production base of natural gas, with deposits of 270 billion m³, accounting for more than one-fifth of China's total. Chongqing also contains China's largest reserve of strontium, and China has the 2nd largest reserve of the mineral in the world. Important industries in Chongqing include mining, iron, steel, aluminum, military, auto, motorcycle, chemical, textiles, machinery, electronics, building materials, food processing, retail, and tourism [
2] [
3]. Chongqing is also home to Asia's largest aluminum plant -
South West Aluminium - which rolled out 213,000 tonnes of finished products in 2004 - for companies engaged in building materials, printing, electrical appliances, aerospace, packaging, and vehicle production [
4]. Chongqing's agricultural sector still employs a significant portion of the population. Other than rice, fruits especially oranges are important sources of income for the farmers. In the past 25 years, surplus labor resulted a huge number of farmers to migrate to the relatively more developed industrial centers of southern and eastern China for employment opportunities, thus making Chongqing one of the biggest labor export areas in China.
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A close-up on the People's Liberation Monument |
The central government has recently embarked on an economic policy that is aimed to develop western China -
China Western Development strategy. As part of this new plan, the central government has heavily invested in Chongqing's infrastructure and has made a plan for Chongqing to become the "Gateway to the West". Located at the head of the reservoir behind the
Three Gorges Dam, Chongqing is planned to be the beachhead for the development of the western part of the country. With the completion of the Three Gorges project, its reservoir will bring ocean going ships to the quays of Chongqing. By some counts already the world's biggest city, Chongqing and its population of 32 million are busy reinventing themselves. The hope is that this gritty fogbound megalopolis can do for China what
Chicago did for the
United States in the 19th century: open up the interior, shift the country's centre of gravity west, and kick-start an economic superpower. Massive public works are currently under way in the city, including overhead and surface commuter rail lines connecting the many districts of the city. Foreign investment in the city is growing at a fast pace. Chongqing is enlarging its commercial sector. New development zones such as the Chongqing New North Zone (CNNZ) located north of the downtown district have been established to form Chongqing's modern 21st century industrial base. [
5]
In 2005, the nominal GDP of Chongqing municipality was 310 billion yuan (US$38.75 billion), a rise of 11.5% year-on-year. Its per capita GDP was 11,068 yuan (US$1,383). The primary, secondary, and tertiary industries of Chongqing were worth 46.342 billion yuan, 125.832 billion yuan, and 134.736 billion yuan respectively. [
6]
Chongqing is the biggest inland river port in western China. Historically, most of its transportation, especially to the eastern China is through the Yangtze river. Now Chongqing is linked to other parts of the country through several railways and highways, including: Chongqing-
Chengdu (
Sichuan province) railway, Chongqing-
Guiyang (
Guizhou province) railway, Chongqing-
Xiangfan (
Hubei province) railway, Chongqing-Huaihua (
Hunan province) railway, Chongqing-Suining (
Sichuan province) express railway, Wanzhou-
Yichang (
Hubei province) railway (under construction), Chongqing-
Lanzhou (
Gansu province) railway (under construction), Chongqing-Chengdu highway, Chongqing-Wanxian highway, Chongqing-Guiyang highway.
Also,
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, located north of Chongqing provides links to most parts of China and to other countries and regions such as Hong Kong, Japan, and Thailand.
Meanwhile, the transportation system in the metropolitan area is also being developed to modern standards. Due to its hilly geography and Yangtze and Jialing rivers which run through it, ground transportation in the city requires an unusual number of bridges and tunnels, which increases cost dramatically. However, the highway network around the city and to nearby satellite towns is almost completed. One unique form of transportation in the city are the cable cars which are suspended over the rivers. Recently, the
Chongqing metro system was completed and entered service in June 2005.
The climate is semi-tropical, with the two-season
monsoonal variations typical of South Asia. It has hot summers, and the temperature can be as high as 40 C (102F). It is known as one of the "three furnaces" of China, the other two being
Wuhan and
Nanjing. In the winter, it is wet and warm. While it seldom snows, most days are foggy. During
World War II, the frequent dense fogs were welcomed for their protection from Japanese bombing attacks.
As is true of most of China, the city often experiences severe
air pollution, largely as a result of the burning of
coal without pollution controls. Coal is burned both for industrial processess and for the production of
electric power. Also, due to the surrounding mountains, a lack of wind makes the air pollution in the city even worse.
Chongqing and surrounding areas are full of tourism resources. The most famous is the
Three Gorges, a scenic area along
Yangtze river. The 200-km long area is the most visited canyon in China. Besides its gorgeous natural scene, it is also a culturally rich area. Other tourism sites include
Dazu Stone Carvings, mainly Buddhist themes, it was carved from the
Tang Dynasty, now belongs to
UNESCO World Heritage.City sightseeing is also a famous part of Chongqing tourism. Historical sites in
World War II are located in the metropolitan area. In the surrounding areas,
Fishing town is an important battlefield event in world history. In 1243, Mongol prince
Mongke Khan was defeated and died here and it stopped the Mongols' expansion in Europe and Africa because of turmoil after his death.
Astronomical phenomena
The previous total
solar eclipse as seen from Chongqing (downtown) was
Solar eclipse of 1824-Jun-26 (
June 27,
1824).
The next total
solar eclipse as seen from Chongqing (downtown) will be
Solar eclipse of 2009-Jul-22 (
July 22,
2009).
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The Great Hall of the People in Chongqing |
* The city is home to one of the largest public assembly buildings in China, the Great Hall of the People, built in modern times but in the classic
Tang Dynasty style - as a large circular building. This is adjacent to the densely populated and hilly central district, with narrow streets and pedestrian only walkways.
* There is a museum at the
World War II headquarters of
General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell. The preservation and presentation of the materials here reflect the long and historic affection between China and the U.S., despite the global frictions between their respective governments of the late 20th century.
* A giant
ferris wheel offers spectacular views of the metropolitan area, although it is currently out of action.
* A modern and well stocked
zoo exhibits many national and regional animals, including the
Giant Panda and the extremely rare
South China Tiger.
*
Düsseldorf,
Germany*
Seattle,
USA*
Hiroshima,
Japan*
Toronto,
Canada*
Brisbane,
Australia*
Toulouse,
France*
Leicester,
EnglandThe city's tree is the evergreen
magnolia (
magnolia delavayi) abundant in street plantings, with the tulip-like shape of its mature unopened blooms repeated in street lights.
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Chongqing Institute of Technology (重庆工学院)
*
Chongqing Jiaotong University (重庆交通学院)
*
Chongqing Normal University (重庆师范大学)
*
Chongqing Technology and Business University (重庆工商大学)
*
Chongqing Three Gorges University (重庆三峡学院)
*
Chongqing University (重庆大学) (founded in 1929)
*
Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications (重庆邮"学院)
*
Fuling Teachers College (涪陵师范学院)
*
Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (四川美术学院)
*
Sichuan International Studies University (四川外语学院)
*
Southwest Agricultural University (西南农业大学)
*
Southwest China Normal University (西南师范大学) (founded in 1906)
*
Southwest University of Political Science and Law (西南"法大学)
*
Third Military Medical University (第三军医大学)
*
Western Chongqing University (渝西学院)
Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
Professional sports teams in Chongqing include:
*
Chinese Football Association Super League**
Chongqing Lifan*
Chinese Basketball Association** None
*
City centre map*
District map /
Version 2 (in Simplified Chinese)
* Megalopolis: 24 hours in Chongqing
(Channel 4 News)*
The Guardian,
15 March 2006,
"Invisible city"*
Large map of Chongqing region*
Google map satellite image*
Official site (in
Simplified Chinese and English)
*
Hotels in Chongqing
