Chongqing---Travel In China

Chongqing (重慶/重庆; pinyin: Chóngqìng; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-ch'ing; Postal System Pinyin: Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China's four municipalities, which have provincial-level status. It is the only municipality in west of the densely populated eastern half of China. The placename literally means "Double Celebration".

The municipal abbreviation, Yu, was approved by the State Council on April 18, 1997. Yu had previously been used by the Kuomintang. It is the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing with the Yangtze.

The city centre consists of the districts of Jiangbei, Shapingba, Jiulongpo, Dadukou, and Yuzhong.

History
Chongqing is said to be the semi-mythical State of Ba that began in 11th century BC, when the Ba people began living here until they were destroyed by the State of Qin in 316 BC. The Qin emperor ordered a new city to be constructed, called Jiang and Chu Prefecture.
In 581 AD (Sui Dynasty), Chongqing was renamed to Yu Prefecture.

In 1102, the city was renamed Gong Prefecture.

In 1189, when Prince Zhao Dun of the Southern Song Dynasty was first made a king then coronated as Emperor Guangzong, he commented that it was "double/repeated happy celebration", so renamed Yu Prefecture to Chongqing Subprefecture.

In 1362 (Yuan Dynasty), Ming Yuzhen, a peasant rebel leader, established Daxia Kingdom at Chongqing for a short time.

In 1621, another short-lived kingdom of Daliang was established there.

In 1891, Chongqing became the first inland commerce port open to foreigners.

Since 1929, Chongqing was a municipality of the Republic of China. Chongqing was the provisional capital of the government of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek during World War II (Second Chinese-Japanese War).

In 1954, the municipality was reduced to a provincial city of the People's Republic.

For three years, Chongqing had been a sub-provincial city of Sichuan Province, until March 14, 1997, as decided in the Eighth National People's Congress, the original Chongqing City was merged with the neighbouring Fuling, Wanxian, and Qianjiang that had been governed by Chongqing City on behalf of the province since September of the previous year. These four prefecture-level entities were all abolished as distinct administrative divisions and formed one new Chongqing Municipality that contained 30,020,000 people in their 43 former counties (without intermediate political levels). The first official ceremony took place on June 18 of that year.

In March 14, 1997, the original Chongqing City was promoted to the status of Municipality. The municipality was formed to spearhead China's effort to develop its western regions as well as to coordinate the resettlement of refugees from the Three Gorges Dam project.

Subdivisions
The municipality is divided in to 40 county-level subdivisions (3 were abolished since 1997): 15 districts, 4 county-level cities, and 21 counties.

Geography
Geographic coordinates: 105°17'-110°11' East, 28°10'?32°13' North
Annual average temperature: 18°C
Temperature range: 6-29°C
Total annual daylight hours: 1000-1200
Annual precipitation: 1000-1400 mm
Neighbours: Hubei (east), Hunan (east), Guizhou (south), Sichuan (west), Shaanxi (north)
Located on edge of Tibetan Plateau, Chongqing is dissected by the Jialing River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze. It contains Daba Mountain in the north, Wu Mountain in the east, Wuling Mountain in the southeast, and Dalou Mountain to the south.

Economy

Chongqing is planned to be the beachhead for the development of the western part of the country. Massive public works are currently under way in the city.

The GDP per capita was ¥9038 (ca. US$1090) in 2003, ranked no. 303 among 659 Chinese cities.

Chongqing is the largest municipality located in southwest China. It is a port city in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers. With an area of 82,400 square kilometers (31, 800 square miles), Chongqing is the famous 'mountain city' sharing border with the provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Shaanxi. Besides the Han who form the majority of its total population of 28.8 million, numerous ethnic groups reside in Chongqing, including Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Qiang, You and Tujia.


Since its founding 3,000 years ago, Chongqing has been called Jiangzhou, Yuzhou, and Gongzhou, before getting its present name nearly 800 years ago. Since the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC), many dynasties have set up administrative institutions that have endowed the city with brilliant cultures. Perched beside the Yangtze, the "Golden River," Chongqing symbolizes Yangtze River civilizations and is the cradle of Bayu culture.


Today, Chongqing is a modern city, China's fourth municipality after Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. Within its borders Chongqing encompasses a wealth of water reserves, mineral resources, dense forests, and abundant flora and fauna. The focal point of the unique Yangtze Three Gorges Dam, Chongqing is a tourist attraction as well as a commercial city.



People's Liberation Monument, Chongqing


Old Street in Chongqing
Chongqing attracts visitors from home and abroad for its cultural heritage and other tourist attractions. The city is the starting point for the Yangtze River Cruise, which explores the stunning scenery of the Three Gorges. Other attractions include the Dazu Rock Carvings, valuable works of art carved during the Ninth Century, Gold Buddhist Mountain, a rich repository of diverse animals and plants; and Fishing Town, one of three ancient battlefields in China. Ancient Ci Qi Kou village lures tourists to linger in its streets to buy handicraft souvenirs. General Joseph W. Stilwell Museum, Three Gorges Museum, People's Assembly Hall and Wulong Karst are also worth a visit.
Chongqing is famous for its hot Sichuan cuisine and world-famous hotpot dishes. Street vendors as well as restaurants feature exciting spicy delicacies for the adventurers.


Servicing western China, Chongqing provides convenient water, land, and air transportation. Hundreds of star-ranked hotels provide excellent facilities and services. Chongqing is ready to be the pilot in the Western China Development to usher in more investors and visitors.