Chongqing

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重庆市
Chóngqìng Shì

Abbreviation: 渝 (pinyin: Yú)
Origin of name	重 chóng - again 庆 qìng - celebrate "double celebration"
Administration type	Municipality
Seat of government	Yuzhong Qu 渝中区
CPC Chongqing Committee Secretary	Wang Yang 汪洋
Mayor	Wang Hongju 王鸿举
Area	82,300 km² (26th)
Population (2005)  - Metropolitan area  - Density	31,220,000 (20th) approx. 4 million 379/km² (10th)
GDP (2005)  - per capita	CNY 310 billion (24th) CNY 8540 (20th)
HDI (2005)	0.745 (18th) — medium
Major nationalities (2000)	Han - 94% Tujia - 5% Miao - 2%
City tree	Ficus lacor
City flower	Camellia (Camellia japonica)
County-level divisions	40
Township-level divisions	1259
Postal code	400000 - 409900
Area code	23
License plate prefixes	渝A, B, C, F, G, H Details
ISO 3166-2	CN-50
Official website: [www.chongqing.gov.cn] (Simplified Chinese) [www.cq.gov.cn/english] (English)

The municipal abbreviation - Yú (渝) - was approved by the State Council on April 18, 1997. Chongqing was also a municipality of the old Republic of China. Its abbreviated name is derived from the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds the Yangtze.

The urban area of Chongqing proper (重庆市区) includes the district of Yuzhong (渝中区, or "Central Chongqing District"), the central and most densely populated district, where government offices are located. Other districts are Nan'an (南岸区, or "Southern Bank District") Jiangbei (江北区, or "North of the River District"), Shapingba (沙坪坝区), Jiulongpo (九龙坡区), and Dadukou (大渡口区).

History

In 581 AD (Sui Dynasty), Chongqing was renamed to Yu Prefecture (渝州).

In 1102, the city was renamed Gong Prefecture.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Subdivisions

High Rises for Commercial Uses around People's Liberation Monument.

Modern Buildings of Chongqing.

The confluence of the Jialing River and Yangtze River, as seen from Chongqing.

Hydrofoil running on Yangtze within Chongqing Territory (Probably at Fengjie County).

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

The origin column indicates which city the entity belonged to prior to the 1997 conglomeration of Chongqing with Fuling, Wanxian (now Wanzhou), and Qianjiang.

Pinyin	Hanzi	Origin
Districts:
Banan District	巴南区	Chongqing
Beibei District	北碚区	Chongqing
Changshou District	长寿区	Chongqing
Dadukou District	大渡口区	Chongqing
Fuling District	涪陵区	Fuling
Jiangbei District	江北区	Chongqing
Jiulongpo District	九龙坡区	Chongqing
Nan'an District	南岸区	Chongqing
Qianjiang District	黔江区	Qianjiang
Shapingba District	沙坪坝区	Chongqing
Shuangqiao District	双桥区	Chongqing
Wansheng District	万盛区	Chongqing
Wanzhou District	万州区	Wanxian
Yubei District	渝北区	Chongqing
Yuzhong District	渝中区	Chongqing
County-level cities:
Hechuan	合川市	Chongqing
Jiangjin	江津市	Chongqing
Yongchuan	永川市	Chongqing
Nanchuan	南川市	Fuling
Counties:
Bishan County	璧山县	Chongqing
Chengkou County	城口县	Wanxian
Dazu County	大足县	Chongqing
Dianjiang County	垫江县	Fuling
Fengdu County	丰都县	Fuling
Fengjie County	奉节县	Wanxian
Kai County	开县	Wanxian
Liangping County	梁平县	Wanxian
Qijiang County	綦江县	Chongqing
Rongchang County	荣昌县	Chongqing
Tongliang County	铜梁县	Chongqing
Tongnan County	潼南县	Chongqing
Wulong County	武隆县	Fuling
Wushan County	巫山县	Wanxian
Wuxi County	巫溪县	Wanxian
Yunyang County	云阳县	Wanxian
Zhong County	忠县	Wanxian
Autonomous counties:
Pengshui Miao and Tujia Autonomous County	彭水苗族土家族自治县	Qianjiang
Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County	石柱土家族自治县	Qianjiang
Xiushan Tujia Autonomous County	秀山土家族自治县	Qianjiang
Youyang Tujia and Miao Autonomous County	酉阳土家族苗族自治县	Qianjiang

Geography

Modern Chongqing skyscrapers

• Geographic coordinates: 105°17'-110°11' East, 28°10'－32°13' North
• Annual average temperature: 18 °C (64 °F)
• Temperature range: 0 to 47 °C
• Total annual hours of sunshine: 1000-1200
• Annual precipitation: 1000-1400 mm
• Neighbours: Hubei (east), Hunan (east), Guizhou (south), Sichuan (west), Shaanxi (north)

The city is very hilly and is the only major metropolitan area in China without significant numbers of bicycles.

Economy

Chongqing waterfront on the Jialing. See the funicular article for some details.

Chongqing is rich in natural resources, with more than 40 kinds of minerals. Its coal reserves are estimated to be 4.8 billion tonnes. The Chuandong Natural Gas Field in Chongqing is China's largest inland production base of natural gas, with deposits of 270 billion m³, accounting for more than one-fifth of China's total. Chongqing also contains China’s largest reserve of strontium, and China has the 2nd largest reserve of the mineral in the world. Important industries in Chongqing include mining, iron, steel, aluminum, military, auto, motorcycle, chemical, textiles, machinery, electronics, building materials, food processing, retail, and tourism [link] [link]. Chongqing is also home to Asia's largest aluminum plant - South West Aluminium - which rolled out 213,000 tonnes of finished products in 2004 - for companies engaged in building materials, printing, electrical appliances, aerospace, packaging, and vehicle production [link]. Chongqing's agricultural sector still employs a significant portion of the population. Other than rice, fruits especially oranges are important sources of income for the farmers. In the past 25 years, surplus labor resulted a huge number of farmers to migrate to the relatively more developed industrial centers of southern and eastern China for employment opportunities, thus making Chongqing one of the biggest labor export areas in China.

A close-up on the People's Liberation Monument

The central government has recently embarked on an economic policy that is aimed to develop western China - China Western Development strategy. As part of this new plan, the central government has heavily invested in Chongqing's infrastructure and has made a plan for Chongqing to become the "Gateway to the West". Located at the head of the reservoir behind the Three Gorges Dam, Chongqing is planned to be the beachhead for the development of the western part of the country. With the completion of the Three Gorges project, its reservoir will bring ocean going ships to the quays of Chongqing. By some counts already the world's biggest city, Chongqing and its population of 32 million are busy reinventing themselves. The hope is that this gritty fogbound megalopolis can do for China what Chicago did for the United States in the 19th century: open up the interior, shift the country's centre of gravity west, and kick-start an economic superpower. Massive public works are currently under way in the city, including overhead and surface commuter rail lines connecting the many districts of the city. Foreign investment in the city is growing at a fast pace. Chongqing is enlarging its commercial sector. New development zones such as the Chongqing New North Zone (CNNZ) located north of the downtown district have been established to form Chongqing's modern 21st century industrial base. [link]

In 2005, the nominal GDP of Chongqing municipality was 310 billion yuan (US$38.75 billion), a rise of 11.5% year-on-year. Its per capita GDP was 11,068 yuan (US$1,383). The primary, secondary, and tertiary industries of Chongqing were worth 46.342 billion yuan, 125.832 billion yuan, and 134.736 billion yuan respectively. [link]

Transportation

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Meanwhile, the transportation system in the metropolitan area is also being developed to modern standards. Due to its hilly geography and Yangtze and Jialing rivers which run through it, ground transportation in the city requires an unusual number of bridges and tunnels, which increases cost dramatically. However, the highway network around the city and to nearby satellite towns is almost completed.

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Climate

Magnolia bloom street lights in Chongqing

The climate is semi-tropical, with the two-season monsoonal variations typical of South Asia. It has hot summers, and the temperature can be as high as 40 C (102F). It is known as one of the "three furnaces" of China, the other two being Wuhan and Nanjing. In the winter, it is wet and warm. While it seldom snows, most days are foggy. During World War II, the frequent dense fogs were welcomed for their protection from Japanese bombing attacks.

As is true of most of China, the city often experiences severe air pollution, largely as a result of the burning of coal without pollution controls. Coal is burned both for industrial processess and for the production of electric power. Also, due to the surrounding mountains, a lack of wind makes the air pollution in the city even worse.

Tourism

Astronomical phenomena

The next total solar eclipse as seen from Chongqing (downtown) will be Solar eclipse of 2009-Jul-22 (July 22, 2009).

Landmarks

The Great Hall of the People in Chongqing

• The city is home to one of the largest public assembly buildings in China, the Great Hall of the People, built in modern times but in the classic Tang Dynasty style - as a large circular building. This is adjacent to the densely populated and hilly central district, with narrow streets and pedestrian only walkways.

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• There is a museum at the World War II headquarters of General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell. The preservation and presentation of the materials here reflect the long and historic affection between China and the U.S., despite the global frictions between their respective governments of the late 20th century.

• A giant ferris wheel offers spectacular views of the metropolitan area, although it is currently out of action.

• A modern and well stocked zoo exhibits many national and regional animals, including the Giant Panda and the extremely rare South China Tiger.

Sister cities

• Düsseldorf, Germany
• Seattle, USA
• Hiroshima, Japan
• Toronto, Canada
• Brisbane, Australia
• Toulouse, France
• Leicester, England

City tree

Colleges and universities

• Chongqing Institute of Technology (重庆工学院)
• Chongqing Jiaotong University (重庆交通学院)
• Chongqing Normal University (重庆师范大学)
• Chongqing Technology and Business University (重庆工商大学)
• Chongqing Three Gorges University (重庆三峡学院)
• Chongqing University (重庆大学) (founded in 1929)
• Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications (重庆邮电学院)
• Fuling Teachers College (涪陵师范学院)
• Sichuan Fine Arts Institute (四川美术学院)
• Sichuan International Studies University (四川外语学院)
• Southwest Agricultural University (西南农业大学)
• Southwest China Normal University (西南师范大学) (founded in 1906)
• Southwest University of Political Science and Law (西南政法大学)
• Third Military Medical University (第三军医大学)
• Western Chongqing University (渝西学院)

Miscellaneous

Sports

• Chinese Football Association Super League
• * Chongqing Lifan
• Chinese Basketball Association
• * None

External links

• [City centre map]
• [District map] / [Version 2] (in Simplified Chinese)
• Megalopolis: 24 hours in Chongqing [(Channel 4 News)]
• The Guardian, 15 March 2006, ["Invisible city"]
• [Large map of Chongqing region]
• [Google map satellite image]
• [Official site] (in Simplified Chinese and English)
• [Visit Chongqing] (in Simplified Chinese): Tourism

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