Sichuanese Sichuanese, Szechuanese or Szechwanese may refer to something of, from, or related to the Chinese province and region of Sichuan (Szechwan/Szechuan) (historically and culturally including Chongqing), especially:
*Sichuanese people, a subgroup of the ...
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in
Southwest China
Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China.
Geography
Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...
. The official abbreviation of the city, "" (), was approved by the
State Council State Council may refer to:
Government
* State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President
* State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
on 18 April 1997. This abbreviation is derived from the old name of a part of the
Jialing River
The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows.
The Jialing River's most notable c ...
that runs through Chongqing and feeds into the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, and
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
), and the only such municipality located deep inland. The municipality of Chongqing, roughly the size of
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, includes the city of Chongqing as well as various discontiguous cities. Due to a classification technicality, Chongqing municipality can claim to be the largest city proper in the worldthough it does not have the world's largest urban area. Chongqing is the only city in China with a permanent population of over 30 million. Chongqing is the fourth largest Chinese city by urban population, with urban population of 16.34 million as of the 2020 estimation, after Shanghai, Beijing and
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
. According to the 2010 census, Chongqing is the most populous Chinese municipality, and also the largest direct-controlled municipality in China, containing 26 districts, eight
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, and four
autonomous counties
Autonomous counties () and autonomous banners () are county-level autonomous administrative divisions of China. The two are essentially identical except in name.
There are 117 autonomous counties and three autonomous banners. The latter are fo ...
.
During the Republic of China (ROC) era, Chongqing was a municipality located within
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
Province. It served as its wartime capital during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
(1937–1945). The current municipality was separated from Sichuan province on 14 March 1997 to help develop the central and western parts of China.
Chongqing has an extensive history and a rich culture. As one of China's National Central Cities, it serves as a financial center of the
Sichuan Basin
The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributar ...
and the upstream
Yangtze
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
. It is a major manufacturing and transportation center; a July 2012 report by the
Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...
described it as one of China's "13 emerging megalopolises".
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is located in Yubei District, Chongqing, China. The airport's IATA Airport code, CKG, is derived from the city's former romanized name, Chungking. Jiangbei airport is also a 128-hour transit visa-fre ...
, a major aviation hub serving Chongqing metropolitan areas and
Western China
Western China (, or rarely ) is the west of China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers one municipality ( Chongqing), six provinces (Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai), and three autonomous re ...
, is one of the top 50 busiest airports in the world, and the city's monorails system is the world's longest and busiest monorails system with the greatest number of stations (70). Chongqing is ranked as a Beta (global second-tier) city. Chongqing is also the headquarters of the
Changan Automobile
Chang'an Automobile Co., Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned automobile manufacturer headquartered in Jiangbei, Chongqing.Big Four" car manufacturers of China, and hosts more than 10 foreign consulates, making it the fifth major city to host more foreign representatives than any other city in China after
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
,
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
and
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...
.
Chongqing is one of the top 50 cities in the world by scientific research outputs as tracked by the
Nature Index The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries and their scientific output since its introduction in November, 2014. Each year, Nature Index ranks the leading institutions (which can be companies, universities, government agen ...
Chongqing University
Chongqing University (CQU; , colloquially abbreviated as ChóngDà) is a public research university located in Chongqing, China. It is a National Key University directly funded by the central government of China as part of the Double First Class ...
,
Southwest University
Southwest University (SWU, ) is a comprehensive university in Chongqing, China. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university.
Overview
Southwest University (SWU) is a comprehensive university sponsored by the Ministry o ...
,
Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications
Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications (; abbreviation: CQUPT) is a public university in China's fourth largest municipality: Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), ...
,
Southwest University of Political Science and Law
Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL) is a national public university located in Chongqing, China.
It was founded in 1953 with the original name Southwest College of Political Science and Law. It was one of the first facultie ...
,
Chongqing Normal University Chongqing Normal University (Simplified Chinese: 重庆师范大学) is a major public research university in Chongqing, China. Founded in 1954 as East Sichuan Normal School, it is one of the institutions of higher learning in the People's Republi ...
and
Chongqing University of Technology
Chongqing University of Technology (CQUT) is a public research university in Chongqing. It was founded as Shiji Public School on 18 September 1940 by ordnance expert .
Overview
The university was established on 18 September 1940, it now has aro ...
.
History
Ancient history
Chongqing's location is historically associated with the State of Ba.
Its capital was first called Jiangzhou ().
Imperial era
Jiangzhou subsequently remained under
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...
's rule during the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
, the successor of the Qin State, as well as the rule of
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
emperors.
Jiangzhou was subsequently renamed during the
Northern and Southern dynasties
The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered a ...
to Chu Prefecture (), then again in 581 AD ( Sui dynasty) to Yu Prefecture (), and later in 1102 during
Northern Song
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a r ...
to Gong Prefecture (). The name Yu however survives to this day as an abbreviation for Chongqing, as well as for the city's historic center, where the old town once stood; its name is Yuzhong (, Central Yu). It received its current name in 1189, after Prince Zhao Dun of the Southern Song dynasty described his crowning as king and then Emperor Guangzong as a "double celebration" (, or ''chóngqìng'' in short). To mark the occasion of his enthronement, Yu Prefecture was therefore converted to Chongqing Fu.
In 1362, (
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...
),
Ming Yuzhen
Ming Yuzhen (; 2 October 1328 – 17 March 1366) was a peasant rebel leader who established the dynasty of Ming Xia during the late Yuan dynasty in China.
Ming was born in Suizhou (today Sui County, Hubei) in a farmer family. He changed the c ...
, a peasant rebel leader, established the Daxia Kingdom () at Chongqing for a short time. In 1621 (
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
), another short-lived kingdom of Daliang () was established by She Chongming () with Chongqing as its capital. In 1644, after the fall of the Ming dynasty to a rebel army, Chongqing, together with the rest of
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, was captured by
Zhang Xianzhong
Zhang Xianzhong (张献忠 or Chang Hsien-chung; 18 September 1606 – 2 January 1647), nickname Huanghu (literally 'Yellow Tiger'), was a Chinese peasant leader who led a peasant revolt from Yan'an wei, Shaanxi (today Yulin, Shaanxi province) ...
, who was said to have massacred a large number of people in Sichuan and depopulated the province, in part by causing many people to flee to safety elsewhere. The
Manchus
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
later conquered the province, and during the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
, immigration to Chongqing and Sichuan took place with the support of the Qing emperor.
In 1890, the British Consulate General was opened in Chongqing. The following year, the city became the first inland commerce port open to foreigners, with
the proviso that foreign ships should not be at liberty to trade there until Chinese-owned steamers had succeeded in ascending the river. This restriction was abolished by the
Treaty of Shimonoseki
The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the Firs ...
in 1895, which declared the city open on the same terms as other ports, although it was not until 1907 that a steamship made the journey without the help of manual haulers. From 1896 to 1904, the American, German, French, and Japanese consulates were opened in Chongqing.
Provisional wartime capital of the Republic of China
During and after the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, from Nov 1937 to May 1946, it was Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's provisional capital. After the General and remaining army had lived there for a time following their retreat in 1938 from the previous capital of
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
, it was formally declared the second capital city (, ''péi dū'') on 6 September 1940. After Britain, the United States, and other Allies entered the war in Asia in December 1941, one of the Allies' deputy commanders of operations in South East Asia (South East Asia Command SEAC),
Joseph Stilwell
Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. An early American popular hero of the war for leading a column walking o ...
, was based in the city. This made it a city of world importance in the fight against Axis powers, together with
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
and
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
The city was also visited by Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander of SEAC which was itself headquartered in Ceylon, modern day Sri Lanka. Chiang Kai Shek as Supreme Commander in China worked closely with Stilwell. From 1938 to 1943, the city suffered from continuously massive bombing campaigns of the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrend ...
and
Army Air Force
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
s; battles of which were fought entirely by the
Chinese Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...
squadrons and anti-aircraft artillery units. Many lives were saved by the air-raid shelters which took advantage of the mountainous terrain. Chongqing was acclaimed to be the "City of Heroes" due to the indomitable spirits of its people as well as their contributions and sacrifices during the War of Resistance-World War II. Many factories and universities were relocated from eastern China and ultimately to Chongqing during years of setbacks in the war, transforming this city from inland port to a heavily industrialized city. In late November 1949, the Nationalist KMT government retreated from the city.
Municipality status
File:Location of Chongqing Prefecture within Sichuan.png,
File:Location of Fuling Prefecture within Sichuan.png,
File:Location of Wanxian Prefecture within Sichuan.png,
File:Location of Qianjiang Prefecture within Sichuan.png,
On 14 March 1997, the Eighth
National People's Congress
The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China.
With 2,9 ...
Fuling
Fuling District () is a district in central Chongqing, China. The area is known for ''zha cai'', a hot pickled mustard tuber, as well as serving as the location of former U.S. Peace Corps teacher Peter Hessler's best-selling memoir '' River Town: ...
,
Wanxian
Wanzhou District () is Chongqing's second most populated urban core area on the upper reaches of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in China. It is currently governed as a district of Chongqing Municipality, bordering Sichuan to the northwest ...
, and Qianjiang prefectures that it had governed on behalf of the province since September 1996. The resulting single entity became Chongqing Municipality, containing 30,020,000 people in forty-three former
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
(without intermediate political levels). The municipality became the spearhead of China's effort to develop its western regions and to coordinate the resettlement of residents from the reservoir areas of the
Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world' ...
project. Its first official ceremony took place on 18 June 1997.
On 8 February 2010, Chongqing became one of the four National Central/Core cities, the other three are Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. The same year on June 18, the
Liangjiang New Area
Liangjiang, officially known as Liangjiang New Area (), is a state-level new area situated in the municipality of Chongqing, China. The area covers 1,205 square kilometres combining part of Jiangbei District, Yubei District, and Beibei District ...
was established in Chongqing, which was the third state-level
new area
The new areas or new districts of the People's Republic of China are new urban districts that are given special economic and development support by the Chinese Central Government or regional government. New areas are divided into two varieties ...
at the time of its establishment.
Geography
Physical geography and topography
Chongqing is situated at the transitional area between the
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the ...
and the plain on the middle and lower reaches of the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
in the
sub-tropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...
climate zone often swept by moist
monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal osci ...
s. It often rains at night in late spring and early summer, and thus the city is famous for its "night rain in the Ba Mountains", as described by poems throughout Chinese history including the famous ''Written on a Rainy Night-A Letter to the North'' by
Li Shangyin
Li Shangyin (, 813858), courtesy name Yishan (), was a Chinese poet and politician of the late Tang dynasty, born in the Henei Commandery (now Qinyang, Henan). He is noted for the imagist quality of his poems and his "no title" () style of poe ...
. The municipality reaches a maximum length of from east to west, and a maximum width of from north to south. It borders the following provinces:
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...
in the east,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
in the southeast,
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...
in the south,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
in the west and northwest, and
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...
to the north in its northeast corner.
Chongqing covers a large area crisscrossed by rivers and mountains. The
Daba Mountains
The Daba Mountains, also known by their Chinese name as the Dabashan, are a mountain range in Central China between the watersheds of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. Part of the larger Qinling mountain range, it cuts through four provinces: Si ...
stand in the north, the
Wu Mountains
Wu Gorge (), sometimes called Great Gorge (), is the second gorge of the Three Gorges system on the Yangtze River, People's Republic of China. Formed by the Wu River, it stretches from Wushan to Guandukou, and is located downstream of Qutang ...
in the east, the
Wuling Mountains
The Wuling Mountains () are a mountain range located in Central China, running from Chongqing Municipality and East Guizhou to West Hunan. They are home to many ethnic groups, including as the Tujia, Han, Miao, Dong, and Bai.
Wulingyuan
T ...
in the southeast, and the
Dalou Mountains
The Dalou Mountains (} are a range of limestone mountains running north east to south west across the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau spanning Guizhou and Sichuan Provinces, People's Republic of China. At , Mount Jinfo (金佛山) in Nanchuan District, ...
in the south. The whole area slopes down from north and south towards the
Yangtze River valley
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...
, with sharp rises and falls. The area is featured by a large geological
massif
In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...
, of mountains and hills, with large sloping areas at different heights. Typical karst landscape is common in this area, and stone forests, numerous collections of peaks,
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
caves and valleys can be found in many places. The ''Longshuixia Gap'' (), with its natural arch-bridges, has made the region a popular tourist attraction. The Yangtze River runs through the whole area from west to east, covering a course of , cutting through the Wu Mountains at three places and forming the well-known
Three Gorges
The Three Gorges () are three adjacent gorges along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, in the hinterland of the People's Republic of China. With a subtropical monsoon climate, they are known for their scenery. The "Three Gorges Scenic A ...
: the Qutang, the Wuxia and the Xiling gorges. Coming from northwest and running through "the Jialing Lesser Three Gorges" of Libi, Wentang and Guanyin, the
Jialing River
The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows.
The Jialing River's most notable c ...
joins the Yangtze in Chongqing.
The central urban area of Chongqing, or Chongqing proper, is a city of unique features. Built on mountains and partially surrounded by the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, it is known as a "mountain city" and a "city on rivers". The night scene of the city is very illuminated, with millions of lights and their reflection on the rivers. With its special
topographical
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...
features, Chongqing has the unique scenery of mountains, rivers, forests, springs, waterfalls, gorges, and caves.
Li Bai
Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...
, a famous poet of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
, was inspired by the natural scenery and wrote this epigram.
Specifically, the central urban area is located on a huge folding area. Yuzhong District,
Nan'an District
Nan'an District (), is one of the six central districts of Chongqing municipality, China. It covers an area of 262.43 km2, with 44 km2 covered with forests and woods. It has an estimated population of 891,000 in late 2017.
Geography
The ...
, Shapingba District and Jiangbei District are located right on a big syncline. And the "Southern Mountain of Chongqing" (Tongluo Mountain), along with the Zhongliang Mountain are two
anticlines
In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the l ...
next to the syncline of downtown.
Zhongliang Mountains () and Tongluo Mountains () roughly forms the eastern and western boundaries of Chongqing's urban area. The highest point in downtown is the top of Eling Hill, which is a smaller syncline hill that separates the Yangtze River and Jialing River. The elevation of Eling Hill is . The lowest point is Chaotian Gate, where the two rivers merge with each other. The altitude there is . The average height of the area is . However, there are several high mountains outside central Chongqing, such as the Wugong Ling Mountain, with the altitude of , in Jiangjin.
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Cfa''), bordering on a monsoonal humid subtropical climate (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Cwa'') and for most of the year experiences very high relative humidity, with all months above 75%. Known as one of the "
Three Furnaces
The term Three Furnaces () refers to the especially hot and oppressively humid summer weather in several major cities in the Yangtze River Valley, within China. It was coined during the ROC period of China, and refers to the following cities:
*C ...
" of the Yangtze River, along with
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
and
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, its summers are long and among the hottest and most humid in China, with highs of in July and August in the urban area. Winters are short and somewhat mild, but damp and overcast. The city's location in the
Sichuan Basin
The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributar ...
causes it to have one of the lowest annual sunshine totals nationally, at only 1,055 hours, lower than much of Northern Europe; the monthly percent possible sunshine in the city proper ranges from a mere 8% in December and January to 48% in August. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from on 15 December 1975 (unofficial record of was set on 8 February 1943) to on 18 and 19 August 2022 (unofficial record of was set on 8 and 9 August 1933).
Chongqing, with over 100 days of fog per year, is known as the "Fog City" (); this is because in the spring and fall, a thick layer of fog enshrouds it for 68 days per year. During the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, this special weather possibly played a role in protecting the city from being overrun by the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
.
As exemplified by Youyang County below, conditions are often cooler in the southeast part of the municipality due to the higher elevations there.
Cityscape
File:Jiangbeizui CBD.jpg, Jiangbeizui CBD from above, taken in 2018
File:Chaotianmen Bridge, Nan'an District of Chongqing.jpg,
Chaotianmen Bridge
The Chaotianmen Bridge (), is a road-rail bridge over the Yangtze River in the city of Chongqing, China. The bridge, which opened on 29 April 2009, is the world's longest through arch bridge.
The continuous steel truss arch bridge with tie girder ...
Nan'an District
Nan'an District (), is one of the six central districts of Chongqing municipality, China. It covers an area of 262.43 km2, with 44 km2 covered with forests and woods. It has an estimated population of 891,000 in late 2017.
Geography
The ...
of Chongqing, taken in 2018
File:Jiefangbei.jpg, Jiefangbei () is a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
victory monument
File:Raffles City Chongqing 2019-9.jpg, Raffles City Chongqing, sitting in the confluence of Yangtze and Jialing River
Politics
Chongqing has been, since 1997, a
direct-controlled municipality
A direct-controlled municipality is the highest level classification for cities used by unitary states, with status equal to that of the provinces in the respective countries. A direct-controlled municipality is similar to, but not the same as, ...
in the Chinese administrative structure, making it a provincial-level division with commensurate political importance. The municipality's top leader is the secretary of the municipal committee of the Chinese Communist Party ("party chief"), which, since 2007, has also held a seat on the
Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party
The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and known as the Central Bureau before 1927, is the decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ...
, the country's second highest governing council. Under the Soviet-inspired nomenklatura system of appointments, individuals are appointed to the position by the central leadership of the Communist Party, and bestowed to an official based on seniority and adherence to party orthodoxy, usually given to an individual with prior regional experience elsewhere in China and nearly never a native of Chongqing. Notable individuals who have held the municipal Party Secretary position include
He Guoqiang
He Guoqiang (; born October 1. 1943) is a retired senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Between 2007 and 2012, He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), China's highest ruling council, and the Secretary of the Cent ...
Bo Xilai
Bo Xilai (; born 3 July 1949) is a Chinese former politician who was convicted on bribery and embezzlement charges. He came to prominence through his tenures as Mayor of Dalian and then the governor of Liaoning. From 2004 to November 2007, ...
,
Zhang Dejiang
Zhang Dejiang (; born 4 November 1946) is a Chinese retired politician. He served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress, roughly the equivalent of a speaker of parliament in other countries between ...
, and Sun Zhengcai, the latter three were Politburo members during their term as party chief. The party chief heads the municipal
party standing committee
Members of the standing committees of the Chinese Communist Party provincial-level committees, commonly referred to as ''Shengwei Changwei'' (), make up the top ranks of the provincial-level organizations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I ...
, the ''de facto'' top governing council of the municipality. The standing committee is typically composed of 13 individuals which includes the party chiefs of important subdivisions and other leading figures in the local party and government organization, as well as one military representative.
The municipal People's Government serves as the day-to-day administrative authority, and is headed by the mayor, who is assisted by numerous vice mayors and mayoral assistants. Each vice mayor is given jurisdiction over specific municipal departments. The mayor is the second-highest-ranking official in the municipality. The mayor usually represents the city when foreign guests visit.
The municipality also has a People's Congress, theoretically elected by lower level People's Congresses. The People's Congress nominally appoints the mayor and approves the nominations of other government officials. The People's Congress, like those of other provincial jurisdictions, is generally seen as a symbolic body. It convenes in full once a year to approve party-sponsored resolutions and local regulations and duly confirm party-approved appointments. On occasion the People's Congress can be venues of discussion on municipal issues, although this is dependent on the actions of individual delegates. The municipal People's Congress is headed by a former municipal official, usually in their late fifties or sixties, with a lengthy prior political career in Chongqing. The municipal Political Consultative Conference (''zhengxie'') meets at around the same time as the People's Congress. Its role is to advise on political issues. The ''zhengxie'' is headed by a leader who is typically a former municipal or regional official with a lengthy career in the party and government bureaucracy.
Military
Chongqing was the wartime capital of China during the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
(i.e., World War II), and from 1938 to 1946, the seat of administration for the Republic of China's government before its departure to
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
and then
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. After the eventual defeat at the Battle of Wuhan General Chiang-Kai Shek and the army were forced to use it as base of resistance from 1938 onwards. It also contains a military museum named after the Chinese
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
Chengdu Military Region
The Chengdu Military Region was one of seven military districts and is located in the southwest of the People's Republic of China, covering Chongqing, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and the Xizang/Tibet Autonomous Region. It includes some of the area ...
, which in 2016 was re-organized into the
Western Theater Command
The Western Theater Command ()is one of the five theater commands of the People's Liberation Army, founded on 1 February 2016.
Its jurisdiction includes Sichuan, Tibet, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Shaanxi, Yunnan, Chongqing. Guizhou ...
.
Administrative divisions
Chongqing is the largest of the four direct-controlled municipalities of the People's Republic of China. The municipality is divided into 38 subdivisions (3 were abolished in 1997, and Wansheng and Shuangqiao districts were abolished in October 2011), consisting of 26 districts, 8 counties, and 4 autonomous counties. The boundaries of Chongqing municipality reach much farther into the city's hinterland than the boundaries of the other three provincial level municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai and
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
), and much of its administrative area, which spans over , is rural. At the end of year 2018, the total population is 31.02 million.
Urban areas
Central Chongqing
The main urban area of Chongqing city () spans approximately , and includes the following nine districts:
* Yuzhong District (, literally "Central Chongqing District"), the central and most densely populated district, where government and international business offices and the city's best shopping are located in the district's
Jiefangbei CBD
Jiefangbei CBD (), also known as Jiefangbei Business Walking Street (), is the ultra-dense, urbanized downtown core and one of several central business districts of Chongqing, China. It is anchored by a large pedestrian mall with a landmark monum ...
area. Yuzhong is located on the peninsula surrounded by Eling Hill, Yangtze River and Jialing River.
* Jiangbei District (, literally "North of the River District"), located to the north of Jialing River.
* Shapingba District (), roughly located between Jialing River and Zhongliang Mountain.
*
Jiulongpo District
Jiulongpo () is a district forming part of the western part of the Chongqing urban core (). Its total population is around 675,000, while its urban city population is nearly 650,000 (2005).
Location
Jiulongpo is one of the main districts in Ch ...
(), roughly located between Yangtze River and Zhongliang Mountain.
*
Nan'an District
Nan'an District (), is one of the six central districts of Chongqing municipality, China. It covers an area of 262.43 km2, with 44 km2 covered with forests and woods. It has an estimated population of 891,000 in late 2017.
Geography
The ...
(, literally "Southern Bank District"), located on the south side of Yangtze River.
*
Dadukou District
Dadukou District () is a district of Chongqing municipality in China. Dadukou is an industrialised district where the Chongqing Iron & Steel Company Limited ("Chong Gang" or ) is based. Most of the facilities, including school, hospitals, shoppi ...
()
* Banan District (, literally "Southern of Ba District"). Previously called Ba County, and changed to the current name in 1994.
*
Yubei District
Yubei District (), literally meaning ''the north of Yu'' (with ''Yu'' being an abbreviation for Chongqing), is a district of Chongqing municipality, bordering Sichuan province to the north. Lianglu, which is a town administered by Yubei District, ...
(, or "Northern Chongqing District"). Previously called Jiangbei County, and changed into the current name in 1994.
*
Beibei District
Beibei District () is a district in the Chongqing municipality, People's Republic of China. A satellite town in the north of central Chongqing, Beibei got its name because of the huge rock that extends to the middle of Jialing River, and is k ...
(), a satellite district northwest of Chongqing.
Demographics
Population
According to a July 2010 article from the official Xinhua news agency, the municipality has a population of 32.8 million, including 23.3 million farmers. Among them, 8.4 million farmers have become migrant workers, including 3.9 million working and living in urban areas of Chongqing.
, the metropolitan area encompassing the central urban area was estimated by the
OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
to have, a population of 17 million.
This would mean that the locally registered farmers who work in other jurisdictions number 4.5 million, reducing the local, year-round population of Chongqing in 2010 to 28.3 million, plus those who are registered in other jurisdictions but live and work in Chongqing. According to China's 2005 statistical yearbook, of a total population of 30.55 million, those with residence registered in other jurisdictions but residing in the Chongqing enumeration area numbered 1.4 million, including 46,000 who resided in Chongqing "for less than half-year". An additional 83,000 had registered in Chongqing, but not yet settled there.
The 2005 statistical yearbook also lists 15.22 million (49.82%) males and 15.33 million (50.18%) females.
In terms of age distribution in 2004, of the 30.55 million total population, 6.4 million (20.88%) were age 0–14, 20.7 million (67.69%) were 15–64, and 3.5 million (11.46%) were 65 and over.
Of a total 10,470,000 households (2004), 1,360,000 consisted of one person, 2,940,000 two-person, 3,190,000 three-person, 1,790,000 four-person, 783,000 five-person, 270,000 six-person, 89,000 seven-person, 28,000 eight-person, 6,000 nine-person, and 10,000 households of 10 or more persons per household.
Religion
The predominant religions in Chongqing are
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
Chinese Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...
. According to surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, 26.63% of the population believes and is involved in cults of ancestors, while 1.05% of the population identifies as Christian (see also Christianity in Sichuan).
The reports did not give figures for other types of religion; 72.32% of the population may be either irreligious or involved in worship of nature deities, Buddhism,
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
in Chongqing.
Economy
Chongqing is facing rapid
urbanization
Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
. For instance, statistics suggest that new construction added approximately daily of usable floor space to satisfy demands for residential, commercial and factory space. Thus, Chongqing was separated from Sichuan province and made into a municipality in its own right on 14 March 1997 in order to accelerate its development and subsequently China's relatively poorer western areas (see
China Western Development
China Western Development (), also Great Western Development Strategy or the Open Up the West Program, is a policy adopted for the Western China.
The policy covers 6 provinces ( Gansu, Guizhou, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Yunnan), 5 au ...
strategy). An important industrial area in western China,
, the economy of Chongqing was China's 16th largest economy with a
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
$439 billion in (nominal), which is equivalent to the GDP of Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa. However, its overall economic performance is still lagging behind coastal cities such as
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
,
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
and
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
. For example, its GDP per capita was 87,000 yuan (
USD
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
13,400 $), which is around the national average. Nevertheless, there is a massive government push to transform Chongqing into the region's economic, trade, and financial center and use the municipality as a platform to open up the country's western interior to further development.
Compared to a country, it would be the 33rd-largest economy and the 45th most populous with the total perminant population of 32.05 millions as of 2021.
Chongqing has been identified by the
Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...
in the November 2010 Access China White Paper as a member of the CHAMPS (Chongqing, Hefei, Anshan, Maanshan, Pingdingshan and Shenyang), an economic profile of the top 20 emerging cities in China.
Traditionally, due to its geographic inaccessibility, Chongqing and
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
have both been important military bases in weapons research and development. Even though Chongqing's industries are diversified, unlike eastern China, its export sector is small due to its relatively disadvantageous inland location. Instead, factories producing local-oriented consumer goods such as processed food, cars, chemicals, textiles, machinery, sports equipment and electronics are common.
Chongqing is China's third largest motor vehicle production center and the largest for motorcycles. In 2007, it had an annual output capacity of 1 million cars and 8.6 million motorcycles. Leading makers of cars and motorbikes includes China's fourth biggest automaker; Changan Automotive Corp and Lifan Hongda Enterprise, as well as
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
, with the US car giant having 3 plants in Chongqing. The municipality is also one of China's nine largest iron and steel producers in China as well as one of its three major aluminum producers. Important manufacturers include Chongqing Iron and Steel Company (重庆钢铁股份有限公司) and Southwest Aluminum (西南鋁業), which is Asia's largest aluminum plant. Agriculture remains significant. Rice and fruits, especially oranges, are the area's main produce. Natural resources are also abundant with large deposits of coal, natural gas, and more than 40 kinds of minerals such as strontium and manganese. Coal reserves total approximately . Chuandong Natural Gas Field is China's largest inland gas field with deposits of around 270 billion m3 – more than 1/5 of China's total. Has China's largest reserve of strontium (China has the world's 2nd biggest strontium deposit). Manganese is mined in the Xiushan area. Although the mining sector has been denounced as heavily polluting and unsafe. Chongqing is also planned to be the site of a 10 million ton capacity refinery operated by China National Petroleum Corporation, CNPC (parent company of PetroChina) to process imported crude oil from the Sino-Burma pipelines. The pipeline itself, though not yet finished, will eventually run from Sittwe (in Myanmar's western coast) through Kunming in Yunnan before reaching Chongqing and it will provide China with fuels sourced from Myanmar, the Middle East and Africa. Recently, there has been a drive to move up the value chain by shifting towards high technology and knowledge intensive industries resulting in new development zones such as the Chongqing New North Zone (CNNZ). Chongqing's local government is hoping through the promotion of favorable economic policies for the electronics and information technology sectors, that it can create a 400 billion RMB high technology manufacturing hub which will surpass its car industry and account for 25% of its exports.
The city has also invested heavily in infrastructure to attract investment. The network of roads and railways connecting Chongqing to the rest of China has been expanded and upgraded reducing Logistics, logistical costs. Furthermore, the nearby
Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world' ...
which is the world's largest, supplies Chongqing with power and allows oceangoing ships to reach Chongqing's
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
port. These infrastructure improvements have led to the arrivals of numerous foreign direct investors (FDI) in industries ranging from Automobile, car to finance and retailing; such as Ford Motor Company, Ford, Mazda, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, ANZ Bank, Scotiabank, Wal-Mart, Metro AG and Carrefour, among other multinational corporations.
Economic and technological development zones
The city includes a number of economic and technological development zones:
* Chongqing Chemical Industrial Park
* Chongqing Economic & Technological Development Zone
* Chongqing Hi-Tech Industry Development Zone
* New North Zone, Chongqing New North Zone (CNNZ)
* Chongqing Export Processing Zone
* Jianqiao Industrial Park (located in Dadukou District)
* Liangjiang New Area
* Liangjiang Cloud Computing Center (the largest of its kind in China)
Chongqing itself is part of the West Triangle Economic Zone, along with
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...
and Xi'an.
Education
As of 2022, Chongqing hosts 70 institutions of higher education (excluding adult colleges), making it the fourth city with most higher education institutions nationwide and the first city in
Southwest China
Southwest China () is a region in the south of the People's Republic of China.
Geography
Southwest China is a rugged and mountainous region, transitioning between the Tibetan Plateau to the west and the Chinese coastal hills (东南丘陵) and ...
, which comprises Chongqing, Sichuan, Sichuan Province, Guizhou, Guizhou Province, Yunnan, Yunnan Province, and Tibet Autonomous Region with a combination of more than 180 million population.
Colleges and universities
*
Chongqing University
Chongqing University (CQU; , colloquially abbreviated as ChóngDà) is a public research university located in Chongqing, China. It is a National Key University directly funded by the central government of China as part of the Double First Class ...
()
*
Southwest University
Southwest University (SWU, ) is a comprehensive university in Chongqing, China. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university.
Overview
Southwest University (SWU) is a comprehensive university sponsored by the Ministry o ...
()
*Chongqing University of Science and Technology ()
*
Southwest University of Political Science and Law
Southwest University of Political Science and Law (SWUPL) is a national public university located in Chongqing, China.
It was founded in 1953 with the original name Southwest College of Political Science and Law. It was one of the first facultie ...
()
*Third Military Medical University ()
*
Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications
Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications (; abbreviation: CQUPT) is a public university in China's fourth largest municipality: Chongqing
Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), ...
()
*
Chongqing University of Technology
Chongqing University of Technology (CQUT) is a public research university in Chongqing. It was founded as Shiji Public School on 18 September 1940 by ordnance expert .
Overview
The university was established on 18 September 1940, it now has aro ...
()
*Chongqing Jiaotong University ()
*Chongqing Medical University ()
*
Chongqing Normal University Chongqing Normal University (Simplified Chinese: 重庆师范大学) is a major public research university in Chongqing, China. Founded in 1954 as East Sichuan Normal School, it is one of the institutions of higher learning in the People's Republi ...
()
*Chongqing Technology and Business University ()
*Chongqing Three Gorges University ()
*Chongqing Telecommunication Institute ()
*Sichuan Fine Arts Institute ()
*Sichuan International Studies University ()
*University of Logistics ()
*Chongqing University of Arts and Science ()
*Yangtze Normal University ()
* Chongqing University of Education ()
Notable high schools
* Fuling Experimental High School ()
* Chongqing No.1 Secondary School ()
* Chongqing Nankai Secondary School ()
* Chongqing No.8 Secondary School ()
* Bashu Secondary School ()
* Chongqing Railway High School ()
* Chongqing Yucai Secondary School ()
* Chongqing Foreign Language School (The High School Affiliated to Sichuan International Studies University )
* Verakin High School of Chongqing (The 2nd Chongqing Foreign Language School, )
* Chongqing Qiujing High School ()
* High School Affiliated to Southwest University ()
* Chongqing NO.18 Secondary School ()
International schools
* Yew Chung International School of Chongqing ()
* KL International School of Chongqing Bashu ()
Transport
Since its elevation to national-level municipality in 1997, the city has dramatically expanded its transportation infrastructure. With the construction of railways and expressways to the east and southeast, Chongqing is a major transportation hub in southwestern China.
, the municipality had Yangtze River bridges and tunnels, 31 bridges across the Yangtze River including over a dozen in the city's urban core. Aside from the city's first two Yangtze River bridges, which were built, respectively, in 1960 and 1977, all of the other bridges were completed since 1995.
Public transit
Chongqing Rail Transit
Public transport in Chongqing consists of rapid transit, metro, intercity railway, a ubiquitous bus system and the world's largest monorail network.
According to the Chongqing Municipal Government's ambitious plan in May 2007, Chongqing is investing 150 billion RMB over 13 years to finish a system that combines underground rapid transit, metro lines with heavy monorail.
, four metro lines, the long CRT Line 1, Chongqing Rail Transit, Line 1, a conventional subway, and the long heavy monorail CRT Line 2, Chongqing Rail Transit, Line 2 (through Phase II), Line 3, Chongqing Rail Transit, Line 3, a heavy monorail connects the airport and the southern part of downtown. Line 6, Chongqing Rail Transit, Line 6, runs between Beibei District, Beibei, a district in the city's far north to downtown. Line 5, Chongqing Rail Transit, Line 5 opened in late 2017.
By 2020 CRT will consist of 6 lines and 1 loop line resulting in of road and railway to the existing transportation infrastructure and 93 new metro stations will be added to the 111 stations that are already in place.
By 2050, Chongqing will have as many as 18 lines that are planned to be in operation.
Aerial tramway
Chongqing is the only Chinese city that keeps public aerial tramways. Historically there were three aerial tramways in Chongqing: the Yangtze River Tramway, the Jialing River Tramway and the South Mountain Tramway. Currently, only Yangtze River Tramway is still operating and it is Class 4A Tourist Attractions in China. The -long tramway connects the southern and northern banks of Yangtze River; its daily passenger volume is about 10,000.
Railways
Major railway stations in Chongqing:
*Chongqing railway station in Yuzhong, accessible via Metro Lines 1 & 3 (Lianglukou station, Lianglukou Metro station), is the city's oldest railway station and located near the
Jiefangbei CBD
Jiefangbei CBD (), also known as Jiefangbei Business Walking Street (), is the ultra-dense, urbanized downtown core and one of several central business districts of Chongqing, China. It is anchored by a large pedestrian mall with a landmark monum ...
in the city center. The station handles mostly long-distance trains. There are plans for a major renovation and overhaul of this station, thus many services have been transferred to Chongqing North railway station.
*Chongqing North railway station is a station handling many long-distance services and high-speed rail services to Chengdu, Beijing and other cities. It was completed in 2006 and is connected to Metro Line.
*Chongqing West railway station is in Shapingba, a station handling many long-distance services and high-speed rail services to many cities. It was completed in 2018.
*Shapingba railway station is in Shapingba, near Shapingba CBD, accessible via Shapingba station, Shapingba metro station on Lines 1, 9 and the Loop line. It handles many local and regional train services. It was completed in 2018.
*Another railway station, Chongqing East railway station, Chongqing East, is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in 2025.
Chongqing is a major freight destination for rail with continued development with improved handling facilities. Due to subsidies and incentives, the relocation and construction of many factories in Chongqing has seen a huge increase in rail traffic.
Chongqing is a major rail hub regionally.
*Chengdu–Chongqing railway (to
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
Province)
*Sichuan–Guizhou railway (to Guiyang,
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...
Province)
*Xiangyang–Chongqing railway (to
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...
Province)
*Chongqing–Huaihua railway (to
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
Province)
*Suining–Chongqing railway (to
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
Province)
*Chongqing–Lichuan railway (to
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...
Chongqing is one of the most important inland ports in China. There are numerous luxury cruise ships that terminate at Chongqing, cruising downstream along the
Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
to Yichang,
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city an ...
,
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
or even Shanghai. In the recent past, this provided virtually the only transportation option along the river. However, improved rail, expressways and air travel have seen this ferry traffic reduced or cancelled altogether. Most of the river ferry traffic consists of leisure cruises for tourists rather than local needs. Improved access by larger cargo vessels has been made due to the construction of the
Three Gorges Dam
The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping, in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, central China, downstream of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges Dam has been the world' ...
. This allows bulk transport of goods along the Yangtze River. Coal, raw minerals and containerized goods provide the majority of traffic plying this section of the river. Several port handling facilities exist throughout the city, including many impromptu river bank sites.
Highways
Traditionally, the road network in Chongqing has been narrow, winding and limited to smaller vehicles because of the natural terrain, large rivers and the huge population demands on the area, especially in the Yuzhong District. In other places, such as Jiangbei District, Chongqing, Jiangbei, large areas of homes and buildings have recently been cleared to improve the road network and create better urban planning; thus, several ring roads have also been constructed. This has seen many tunnels and large bridges needing to be built across the city. The construction of many expressways have connected Chongqing to its neighbors. The natural mountainous terrain that Chongqing is built on makes many road projects difficult to construct, including for example some of the world's highest road bridges.
Unlike many other Chinese cities, it is rare for motorbikes, electric scooters or bicycles to be seen on Chongqing's Roads. This is due to the extremely hilly and mountainous nature of Chongqing's roads and streets. However, despite this, Chongqing is a manufacturing center for these types of vehicles.
* Chongqing-Chengdu Expressway
* Chongqing-Chengdu 2nd Expressway (under construction)
* Chongqing-Wanzhou-Yichang Highway (Wanzhou-Yichang section under construction)
* Chongqing-Guiyang Highway
* Chongqing-Changsha Expressway (Xiushan-Changsha section under construction)
* Chongqing-Dazhou-Xi'a Highway (Dazhou-Xi'an section under construction)
* Chongqing-Suining Expressway
* Chongqing-Nanchong Expressway
* China National Highway 210
* China National Highway 212
Bridges
With so many bridges crossing the Yangtze and Jialing rivers in the urban area, Chongqing is sometimes known as the 'Bridge Capital of China'. The first important bridge in urban Chongqing was the Niujiaotuo Jialing River Bridge, built in 1958. The first bridge over the Yangtze, Yangtze river was the Shibanpo Yangtze River Bridge (or Chongqing Yangtze River Bridge) built in 1977.
, within the area of the 9 districts, there were 20 bridges on the Yangtze, Yangtze river and 28 bridges on the Jialing river. The bridges in Chongqing exhibit a variety of shapes and structures, making Chongqing a showcase for bridge design.
Airports
The major airport of Chongqing is
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport is located in Yubei District, Chongqing, China. The airport's IATA Airport code, CKG, is derived from the city's former romanized name, Chungking. Jiangbei airport is also a 128-hour transit visa-fre ...
(IATA: CKG, ICAO: ZUCK). It is located in
Yubei District
Yubei District (), literally meaning ''the north of Yu'' (with ''Yu'' being an abbreviation for Chongqing), is a district of Chongqing municipality, bordering Sichuan province to the north. Lianglu, which is a town administered by Yubei District, ...
. The airport offers a growing network of direct flights to China, South East Asia, the Middle East, North America, and Europe. It is located north of the Jiefangbei CBD, city center of Chongqing and serves as an important aviation hub for south-western China. Jiangbei airport is a hub for China Southern Airlines, Chongqing Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, China Express Airlines, Shandong Airlines and Hainan Airlines's new China West Air. Chongqing also is a focus city of Air China, therefore it is very well connected with Star Alliance and Skyteam's international network. The airport currently has three parallel runways in operation. It serves domestic routes to most other Chinese cities, as well as international routes to Auckland, New York City,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, Los Angeles,
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, Doha, Dubai, Seoul, Bangkok, Phuket, Osaka, Singapore, Chiang Mai, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Malé, Bali, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Batam, Rome and Helsinki. , Jiangbei Airport was the List of the busiest airports in the People's Republic of China, 4th busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic in mainland China.
Currently, Jiangbei airport has three terminals. Chongqing Airport has metro access (Line 3 (Chongqing Rail Transit), CRT Line 3 and Line 10 (Chongqing Rail Transit), Line 10) to its central city, and two runways in normal use.
There are four other airports in Chongqing Municipality: Qianjiang Wulingshan Airport, Wanzhou Wuqiao Airport, Chongqing Xiannüshan Airport, and Chongqing Wushan Airport. They are all class 4C airports and serve passenger flights to domestic destinations including Beijing, Shanghai and Kunming.
Culture
Language
The language native to Chongqing is Southwestern Mandarin. More precisely, the great majority of the municipality, save for Xiushan, speak Sichuanese Mandarin, Sichuanese, including the primary Chengdu-Chongqing dialect and Minjiang dialect spoken in Jiangjin and Qijiang. There are also a few speakers of Xiang Chinese, Xiang and Hakka Chinese, Hakka in the municipality, due to the great immigration wave to the Sichuan region () during the Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties. In addition, in parts of southeastern Chongqing, the Miao languages, Miao and Tujia languages are also used by some Miao people, Miao and Tujia people.
Tourism
As the provisional Capital of China for almost ten years (1937 to 1945), the city was also known as one of the three headquarters of the Allies during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, as well as being a strategic center of many other wars throughout China's history. Chongqing has many historic war-time buildings or sites, some of which have since been destroyed. These sites include the People's Liberation Monument, located in the center of Chongqing city. It used to be the highest building in the area, but is now surrounded and dwarfed by numerous shopping centers. Originally named the ''Monument for the Victory over Axis Armies'', it is the only building in China for that purpose. Today, the monument serves as a symbol for the city. The General Joseph W. Stilwell Museum, dedicated to Joseph Stilwell, General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, a World War II general. the air force cemetery in the Nanshan area, in memory of those air force personnel killed during the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), and the Red Rock Village Museum, a diplomatic site for the Chinese Communist Party, Communist Party in Chongqing led by Zhou Enlai during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and Guiyuan, Cassia Garden, where Mao Zedong signed the "Double 10 (10 October) Peace Agreement" with the Kuomintang in 1945.
* The Baiheliang Underwater Museum, China's first underwater museum,
* The Memorial of Great Tunnel Massacre, a former air-raid shelter where a major massacre occurred during World War II.
* The Great Hall of the People (Chongqing), Great Hall of the People in Chongqing is based on the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. This is one of the largest public assembly buildings in China which, though built in modern times, emulates traditional architectural styles. It is adjacent to the densely populated and hilly central district, with narrow streets and pedestrian only walkways,
* The large domed Three Gorges Museum presents the history, culture, and environment of the Three Gorges area and Chongqing.
* Chongqing Art Museum is known for striking architecture.
* Chongqing Science and Technology Museum has an IMAX Theater (structure), theater.
* Luohan Si, a
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
temple,
* Huangguan Escalator, the second longest escalator in Asia.
* Former sites for embassies of major countries during the 1940s. As the capital at that time, Chongqing had many residential and other buildings for these officials.
* Wuxi County, noted as a major tourism area of Chongqing,
* The Dazu Rock Carvings, in Dazu county, are a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings, dating back as far as the 7th century A.D., depicting and influenced by Buddhism, Buddhist, Confucianism, Confucian and Taoism, Taoist beliefs. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Dazu Rock Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues, with over 100,000 Chinese characters forming inscriptions and epigraphs.,
* The Three Natural Bridges and Furong Cave in Wulong Karst, Wulong Karst National Geology Park, Wulong County are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the South China Karst,
* Ciqikou, Chongqing, Ciqikou is a 1000-year-old town in the Shapingba District of Chongqing. It is also known as "Little Chongqing". The town, located next to the lower reaches of the
Jialing River
The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows.
The Jialing River's most notable c ...
, was at one time an important source of china-ware and used to be a busy commercial dock during the Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties,
* Fishing Town or Fishing City is one of the three great ancient battlefields of China. It is noted for its resistance to the Mongol armies during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) and the location where the Mongol leader Möngke Khan died in 1259,
* Xueyu Cave in Fengdu County is the only example of a pure-white, jade-like karst cave in China,
* Fengdu Ghost City in Fengdu County is the Gate of the Hell in traditional Chinese literature and culture.
* Snowy Jade Cave, see Xueyu Cave (above).
* Baidi Cheng, a peninsula in Yangtze River, known due to a famous poem by
Li Bai
Li Bai (, 701–762), also pronounced as Li Bo, courtesy name Taibai (), was a Chinese poet, acclaimed from his own time to the present as a brilliant and romantic figure who took traditional poetic forms to new heights. He and his friend Du F ...
.
* The Chongqing Zoo, a zoo that exhibits many rare species including the giant panda, the extremely rare South China tiger, and the African elephant.
* Chongqing Amusement Park.
* Chongqing Grand Theatre, Chongqing Grand Theater, a performing arts center.
* Foreigners' Street was an amusement park, including the Porcelain Palace, the world's largest toilet. Also the location of the abortive Love Land (China), Love Land development in 2009.
* The Black Mountain Valley (''Heishangu'').
* Hongya Cave (aka Hongya Dong), a pier stilt house fortress that served as one of the 17 city gates of Ancient Chongqing is a popular tourist attraction for its architecture.
Cuisine
Chongqing food is part of
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
cuisine. Chongqing is known for its spicy food. Its food is normally considered numbing because of the use of Sichuan pepper, also known as Sichuan peppercorn, containing hydroxy alpha sanshool. Chongqing's Jiefangbei CBD, city center has many restaurants and food stalls where meals often cost less than Renminbi, RMB10. Local specialties here include dumplings and Pickling, pickled vegetables and, different from many other Chinese cuisines, Chongqing dishes are suitable for the solo diner as they are often served in small individual sized portions. Among the delicacies and local specialties are these dishes:
* Chongqing hot pot– Chongqing's local culinary specialty which was originally from Northern China. Tables in hot pot restaurants usually have a central pot, where food ordered by the customers is boiled in a spicy broth, items such as beef, pork, tripe, kidney slices, pork aorta and goose intestine are often consumed.
* Chongqing noodles, Chongqing Xiao Mian – a common lamian noodle dish tossed with chili oil and rich mixtures of spices and ingredients
* Jiangtuan fish – since Chongqing is located along
Jialing River
The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows.
The Jialing River's most notable c ...
, visitors have a good opportunity to sample varieties of Aquaculture, aquatic products. Among them, is a fish local to the region, Jiangtuan fish: ''Hypophthalmichthys nobilis'' although more commonly known as bighead carp. The fish is often served steamed or baked.Wanzhou district is famous for baking Jiangtuan fish.
* Suan La Fen (Sour and Spicy Sweet-Potato Noodles) – Thick, transparent noodles of rubbery texture in a spicy vinegar soup.
* Laziji, Lazi Ji (Spicy Chicken) – A stir-fried dish consists of marinated then deep-fried pieces of chicken, dried Sichuan chili peppers, Sichuan peppers, garlic, and ginger, originated near Geleshan in Chongqing.
* Quanshui Ji (Spring Water Chicken) – Quanshui Ji is cooked with the natural spring water in the Southern Mountain of Chongqing.
* Pork leg cooked with rock sugar – A common household dish of Chongqing, the tender, reddish finished dish, has been described as having strong and sweet aftertaste.
* Qianzhang (skimmed soy bean cream) – Qianzhang is the cream skimmed from soybean milk. In order to create this, several steps must be followed very carefully. First, soybeans are soaked in water, ground, strained, boiled, restrained several times and spread over gauze until delicate, snow-white cream is formed. The paste can also be hardened, cut into slivers and seasoned with sesame oil, garlic and chili oil. Another variation is to bake the cream and fry it with bacon, which is described as soft and sweet.
Media
The Chongqing People's Broadcast Station is Chongqing's largest radio station. The only municipal-level TV network is Chongqing TV, claimed to be the 4th largest television station in China. Chongqing TV broadcasts many local-oriented channels, and can be viewed on many TV sets throughout China.
Sports and recreation
Basketball
Chongqing Soaring Dragons became the 20th team playing in Chinese Basketball Association in 2013. They play at Datianwan Arena, in the same sporting complex as Datianwan Stadium. The team moved to Beijing in 2015 and is currently known as Beijing Royal Fighters.
Soccer
Professional soccer teams in Chongqing include:
* Chongqing Lifan (Chinese Super League)
* Chongqing F.C., ''folded''
Chongqing Lifan is a professional Chinese soccer club that currently plays in the Chinese Super League. They are owned by the Chongqing-based Lifan Group, which manufactures motorcycles, cars and spare parts. Originally called ''Qianwei (Vanguard) Wuhan'', the club formed in 1995 to take part in the recently developed, fully professional Chinese football league system, Chinese Soccer League. They would quickly rise to top tier of the system and experience their greatest achievement in winning the 2000 Chinese FA Cup, and coming in fourth within the league. However, since then they have struggled to replicate the same success, and have twice been relegated from the top tier.
Chongqing FC was a soccer club located in the city that competed in China League One, the country's second-tier soccer division, before being relegated to the China League Two, and dissolved due to a resultant lack of funds.
Sport venues
Sport venues in Chongqing include:
* The Chongqing Olympic Sports Center is a multipurpose stadium. It is currently used mostly for soccer matches, as it has a grass surface, and can hold 58,680. It was built in 2002 and was one of main venues for the 2004 AFC Asian Cup.
* Yanghe Stadium is a multiuse stadium that is currently used mostly for soccer matches. The stadium holds 32,000 people, and is the home of Chongqing Lifan in the Chinese Super League. The stadium was purchased by the Lifan Group in 2001 for renminbi, RMB80 million and immediately replaced Datianwan Stadium as the home of Chongqing Lifan.
* Datianwan Stadium is a multipurpose stadium that is currently used mostly for soccer matches. The stadium has a capacity 32,000 people, and up until 2001 was the home of Chongqing Lifan.
Cloud Valley
At the end of 2020, a collaboration between a Danish architecture firm and a Chinese tech company Terminus was announced, taking the form of an Artificial intelligence, AI-controlled campus. The project is named Cloud Valley and aims to use sensors and WiFi-controlled devices to collect data on the city's residents and atmosphere, including weather and eating and sleeping habits. The AI will adapt devices to work in a way that fits the gathered information and improves residents' lives.
Notable people
* Ba Manzi: a legendary hero of Ba (state), Ba kingdom in Zhou dynasty
* Ba Qing, the Widow: the earliest known female merchant in Chinese history who provided huge financial aid to
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...
to construct the Great Wall
* Gan Ning: a general serving under warlord Sun Quan in the last years of
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
* Yan Yan (Three Kingdoms), Yan Yan: a loyal general during Three Kingdoms period
* Lanxi Daolong: a famous Buddhism monk and philosopher in Song dynasty who went to Japan and established the Kenchō-ji
* Qin Liangyu: a popular heroine in
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
who fought against
Manchus
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
* Nie Rongzhen: marshal of the People's Liberation Army of China
* Liu Bocheng: an early leader of Chinese communist party during Second Sino-Japanese War, Anti-Japanese War
* Lu Zuofu: a notable patriotic industrialist and businessman who was a member of Tongmenghui, Chinese United League and a leader of Railway Protection Movement, established the
Beibei District
Beibei District () is a district in the Chongqing municipality, People's Republic of China. A satellite town in the north of central Chongqing, Beibei got its name because of the huge rock that extends to the middle of Jialing River, and is k ...
, Chongqing Natural History Museum, Jianshan High School, the Northern Hot Spring Park of Chongqing and Beibei Library, and served as the chief official of Food Bureau during Republic of China period.
* Liu Yongqing: wife of the former president and Party general secretary Hu Jintao
* Zhonghua Pang: a well-known calligrapher and geologist born in Sichuan but raised and lived in Chongqing
* Liu Xiaoqing: an actress
* Xia Peisu: Chinese computer scientist
* Chen Kun: Chinese actor and singer
* Huang Qian: Chess player
* Tian Liang: Olympic diving gold medalist
* Li Yundi: a pianist
* Karry Wang: A member of the pop band TFBoys and an actor
* Roy Wang: a singer-songwriter and member of TFBoys, also an actor and TV host
* Huang Junjie : an actor
* Jiang Qinqin: an actress
* Li Hua (artist, born 1980), Li Hua: artist who studied in Europe
* An Qi: singer, a member of the pop band THE9
* Xiao Zhan: actor, singer, and member of the boy group X Nine
* Pan Wenhua: born in Renshou County, Sichuan Province, was a famous military general who was regarded as a born military prodigy
* Zhou Zhennan: a leader of C-pop group R1SE
* Yao Chen : a member of C-pop group R1SE
* Zhang Yanqi : a member of C-pop group R1SE
* Shi Tingmao: Olympic diving gold medalist
* Chen Zihan : Actress
* Xia Li: Professional wrestler signed with WWE
* Feng Timo : Singer, pop-star and internet personality
* Meng Fei (host), Meng Fei : Prime time television host
* Li Ying (footballer, born 1993): First Chinese Soccer Player to come out as Lesbian
* Domee Shi: Chinese-Canadian animator, director and screenwriter
International relations
Consulates
Twin towns – sister cities
Chongqing has Sister cities, sister city relationships with many cities of the world including:
* Toulouse, France (1982)
* Seattle, United States (1983)
* Toronto, Canada (1986)
* Hiroshima, Japan (1986)
* Leicester, United Kingdom (1993)
* Voronezh, Russia (1993)
* Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine (2002)
* Mpumalanga, South Africa (2002)
* Sliven, Bulgaria (2002)
* Düsseldorf, Germany (2004)
* Brisbane, Australia (2005)
* Shiraz, Iran (2005)
* Aswan, Egypt (2005)
* Busan, South Korea (2007)
* Sør-Trøndelag, Norway (2007)
* Chiang Mai Province, Thailand (2008)
* Córdoba, Argentina, Córdoba, Argentina (2010)
* Budapest, Hungary (2010)
* Bangkok, Thailand (2005)
* Antwerp, Belgium (2011)
* Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (2011)
* Chennai, India (2015)
* Maribor, Slovenia (2017)
* Telde, Spain (2018)
See also
* List of cities in China by population and built-up area
* List of twin towns and sister cities in China
* Major national historical and cultural sites (Chongqing), Major national historical and cultural sites in Chongqing
Chongqing Jushen Sports website
{{Authority control
Chongqing,
5th-century BC establishments in China
Metropolitan areas of China
Municipalities of China
Populated places established in the 5th century BC
Populated places on the Yangtze River
Port cities and towns in China
Province-level divisions of China
States and territories established in 1997
Western China