Chongqing is a municipality directly under the central government of the People’s Republic of China. It is abbreviated as Yu. Chongqing is located in southwestern China, to the southeast of the Three Gorges Dam and the Sichuan Basin. Hubei and Hunan provinces are its neighbors to the east, Guizhou lies to its south, Sichuan is to the west, and Sichuan and Shaanxi touch its northern border. Under its jurisdiction, there are twenty-one districts, thirteen counties, and four autonomous counties. It has an area of eighty-two thousand square kilometers and a population of 28.85 million (2010). There are fifty recognized ethnic groups in Chongqing including the Han, Hui, Yi, Mongols, Manchu, Zhuang, Dong, Bouyei and Tibetans.
History
Chongqing is a city with a long history and rich culture. In the eleventh century BCE, the Ba people made it the capital of their Ba state. The Qin dynasty established a Ba commandery there after its conquest of Ba. It later became the Chu commandery in 550. In 583, it became known as the Yu region, hence Chongqing’s modern abbreviation Yu. Still later, in 1102, during the Northern Song dynasty, it was again changed to the Gong superior prefecture. In 1190, it became Chongqing prefecture. In the Yuan Dynasty, it was called Chongqing route. In 1890, Chongqing became a port open to foreign trade. The area was called Chongqing circuit in 1913, and it became Chongqing city in 1929. In 1937 when the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, the Guomindang government moved to Chongqing and made it its secondary capital. In 1939, the Guomindang government promoted Chongqing to the status of a Special City, directly under the administration of the Legislative Yuan (parliament). In 1949, Chongqing People’s Government was founded and became the seat of the Southwest Military and Political Commission directly under the Central Government of the People’s Republic of China. In 1950 when the Central Government established Sichuan province, Chongqing became East Sichuan Special Administrative Region. In 1953, it became a municipality directly under the jurisdiction of the Central Government of the People’s Republic of China. In 1954 it was demoted to the status of city under the direct administration of the Sichuan provincial government. In March 1997, Chongqing was once again placed under the direct administration of the Central Government.
Natural Conditions
Chongqing has special geological features. It spans two major geological masses, the Qinling geosyncline (on its southern edge) and the Yangzihuai Terrace. Chongqing is crisscrossed by rivers. The main branch of the Yangtze, into which over 189 tributary rivers flow and produce a drainage area of over one thousand square kilometers, runs southwest to northeast across Chongqing. These rivers, along with the Yangtze, create the complex radial-shaped river system of Chongqing. Chongqing has a subtropical monsoon-influenced climate featuring four distinct seasons. It has warm winters, hot summers, and long autumns. Its annual temperatures average 14.8 to 18.8℃ and annual precipitation ranges from 814.8 to 1,500 millimeters, 70percent to 90 percent of which is concentrated in the period from April to September. Chongqing is rich in fauna and flora. It is a large producer of grain, oil, vegetables, tobacco, oranges, silkworm mulberry, tung trees, Chinese tallow trees, lacquer trees, falsenettle nivea, goldthread, asiabell, tall gastrodia tuber, wormwood, eucommia, amur corktree, officinal magnolia, and others. Precious native plants include the spinulose tree, fern, dawn redwood, Chinese dove tree, arborvitae, Cathay silver fir, and andiantum. The Chongqing region is also home to over six hundred species of animals, nearly one hundred of which are under state protection, some even under A-level state protection, such as golden monkeys, langurs, slow loris, South China tigers, and spotted deer. Over seventy types of domesticated animals are kept in Chongqing as well, the most famous of which are Rongchang pigs and Shizhu long-haired rabbits. The area is rich in mineral resources, which have large proven reserves, relatively high concentration, high quality, and potential for utilization. Coal and natural gas are two major fossil fuels that are abundant in Chongqing. Chongqing’s reserves of manganese rank fourth in China and reserves of bauxite rank fifth. Chongqing is also rich in strontium. It has a large mercury mine the likes of which are rarely found in China. The region has large rock salt mines as well.
Economy
Chongqing is the largest comprehensive industrial base, the largest regional economy, and the major hub for river, land, and air transport in southwestern China. Chongqing is the one of the few cities in southwestern China that developed early. In the Ming dynasty, handicraft industries like textiles, silk reeling, and wine brewing emerged, and these began to thrive on a relatively large scale by the Qing dynasty. In 1876, Chongqing opened to foreign trade. Along with the increase in foreign trade came technology which enabled Chongqing’s development of modern industry, transport, commerce, and finance. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, factories that were originally in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were moved to Chongqing. Thus Chongqing, previously a distribution center for raw materials, evolved into an important industrial city. With the emergence of heavy industry, its industrial structure has undergone change. Chongqing’s industrial development has gained momentum since the 1950s, and reached new highs after the Reforms and Opening Up of the late 1970s and 1997 when Chongqing was placed directly under the administration of the Central Government. The mechanical, chemical, and metallurgical industries are Chongqing’s three pillar industries. The mechanical industry consists mainly of auto and motorcycle manufacture, while natural gas and pharmaceutical chemical industries take the lead in the second pillar industry. High quality steel and aluminum are the major products of the metallurgical industry. These three pillar industries also help foster the development of other industries, such as mechanical equipment manufacture, electronics and telecommunication, construction material manufacture, glassware and pottery production, and the household chemical industry.
Chongqing’s rural area is large and its rural population is sizeable, so agriculture plays an important role in its economy. In fact, about 65 percent of its counties have an agriculture-based economy. Staple crops include paddy rice, corn, wheat, sweet potatoes, potatoes, beans, rape, peanuts, sesame, tobacco, vegetables, fruits, silkworm mulberry, and tea. Cash crops grown in Chongqing include tung trees, raw lacquer, tallowtree and falsenettle, herbs, and some other local specialties. Livestock farmers in Chongqing mainly raise pigs, cattle, sheep, rabbits, and poultry.
Chongqing’s transportation routes have developed quickly. It has fostered an integrated network of transportation by railway, road, water, and air. The railway network consists mainly of the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway that is linked with several other lines. Road routes mainly include the Shanghai-Chengdu National Highway and five other national roads. Three major shipping routes in Chongqing run on the Yangtze, Jialing, and Wu Rivers. Chongqing is the largest hub of river-land transport in the upper reaches of the Yangtze and the southwestern region of China. Railway lines are connected with Chongqing Port for the purpose of transporting goods. Jiangbei International Airport, which lies in the northeastern part of Chongqing, connects the city with over fifty major cities in China and many other countries. New flight destinations include Nagoya, Bangkok, Munich, Seattle, Kuala Lumpur, Katmandu, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Macao.
Culture, Education, and Sports
Chongqing has a long history that has been especially influenced by Bayu culture, Three Gorges culture, and the Second Sino-Japanese War. There are a multitude of historic sites and unique folk arts in the region. Chongqing’s education system is highly developed, featuring a highly integrated system of higher education consisting of multiple disciplines. Chongqing Library was founded in 1947. It features a rich collection of publications from between 1912 and 1949, rare books from antiquity, and United Nation documents. It also houses most of the publications from the Second Sino-Japanese War. Datianwan Stadium, built in 1953 in the Central District of Chongqing, claims to have a capacity of one hundred thousand spectators.
Places of Interest
Chongqing is one of China’s historic and cultural highlights. It has multiple scenic spots, such as the Three Gorges, Wujiang Gallery, Jinyun Mountain, Simian Mountain, and Golden Buddha Mountain, all of which are under state protection. The Dazu Rock Carvings are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other tourist destinations include the Fengdu Ghost City on Ming Mountain, Furong Cave, the Small Three Gorges along the Daning River, Goddess Peak on the Wu Gorge, Fengjie Heavenly Pit and Earthly Crack, Lingwu Cave of Wuxi, the Fish Carvings of White Crane Ridge in Fuling, Baidi City in Fengjie, Zhang Fei Temple of Yunyang, the Stone Treasure Fortress of Zhong county, Taibai Cave of Wanzhou, Shuangguitang Temple of Liangping, and the South and North Hot Springs. Chongqing also has a number of historic sites among which are the Site of Sino-US Cooperation, the Martyrs’ Cemetery, Hongyan Village, and the Liberation Monument.