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Chongqing

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 to the west of the densely populated eastern half of China. The municipality of Chongqing has population of 32,355,000 (2004), most of them living outside of the urban area of Chongqing proper, over hundreds of miles of farmland. The population of the urban area of Chongqing proper was estimated at 3.4 million in 2004, ranking approximately as the 10th largest urban area of China. Including the unregistered migrants from the countryside, the population of the urban area could be as high as 7.5 million. The placename literally means "Double Celebration".

重庆市
Chóngqìng Shì
Abbreviation: 渝 (pinyin: Yú)
Chongqing is highlighted on this map
Origin of Name 重 chóng - again
庆 qìng - celebrate
put together:
double celebration
Seat of Government Yuzhong District
Area
 - Total
 - % of national
 - % water
Ranked 26th
82,300 km²
0.854%
xx%
Population
 - Total (2004)
 - % of national
 - Density
 - Urban area of Chongqing
Ranked 20th
32,355,000
2.43%
378/km²
3,400,000
GDP in RMB¥
 - Total (2002)
 - % of national
 - per capita
Ranked 23rd
197.110 billion ¥
1.92%
6360 ¥
City tree Ficus lacor
City flower Camellia
(Camellia japonica)
Administration Type Municipality
Mayor Wang Hongju
CPC Chongqing Committee Secretary Huang Zhendong
County-level subdivisions 40
Township-level subdivisions 1259
Area Code 23
Postal Code 400000 - 409900
License Plate Prefix 渝A, B, C, F, G, H
Details
ISO 3166-2 CN-50

The municipal abbreviation, Yu (渝), 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 urban area of Chongqing proper (重庆市区) consists of the district of Yuzhong (渝中区, i.e. "central Chongqing district"), the central and most densely populated district, where government offices are located, as well as the districts of Nan'an (南岸区, i.e. "southern bank district") Jiangbei (江北区, i.e. "north of the river district"), Shapingba (沙坪坝区), Jiulongpo (九龙坡区), and Dadukou (大渡口区).

Contents

History

Chongqing is said to be the semi-mythical State of Ba (巴國) that began in 11th century BC, when the Ba people began living here until they were destroyed by the State of Qin in 316 BC. The Qin emperor ordered a new city to be constructed, called Jiang (江州) and Chu Prefecture (楚州).

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

In 1102, the city was renamed Gong Prefecture.

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

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

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

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

Since 1929, Chongqing was a municipality of the Republic of China. Chongqing was the provisional capital of the government of 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.


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


Geography

Located on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, Chongqing is intersected 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.

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

Economy


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. Massive public works are currently under way in the city, including overhead and surface commuter rail lines connecting the many districts of the city.

Fairly recently, with central government policies aimed at further developing Western China, Chongqing has become a "Gateway to the west". Foreign investment in the city is growing at a fast pace.

The GDP per capita was 9038 RMB (ca. 1090 USD) in 2003, ranking no. 303 among 659 Chinese cities.

Climate


The climate is semi-tropical, with the two-season monsoonal variations typical of south asia. During World War II the frequent dense fogs were welcomed for their protection from Japanese aircraft bombing attacks.

As is true of most of China, severe air pollution is frequently present, largely as a result of the burning of coal without pollution controls, both for industrial processess and for the production of electric power.

Landmarks

  • The city is home to one of the largest public assembly buildings in China, the Great Hall of the People, built in modern times but in the classic Tang dynasty style - as a large circular building. This is adjacent to the densely populated and hilly central district, with narrow streets and pedestrian only walkways.
  • There is a museum at the World War II headquarters of General "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell. The preservation and presentation of the materials here reflect the long and historic affection between China and the U.S., despite the global frictions between their respective governments of the late 20th century.
  • A giant ferris wheel offers spectacular views of the metropolitain area.
  • A modern and well stocked zoo exhibits many national and regional animals, including the Giant Panda and the extremely rare South China Tiger .

City tree

The city's tree is the evergreen magnolia (magnolia delavayi ) abundant in street plantings, with the tulip-like shape of its mature unopened blooms repeated in street lights.

Miscellaneous topics

Professional sports teams in Chongqing include:

Colleges and Universities

[National]

[Public]

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

External links

  • Official site http://www.cq.gov.cn (in Simplified Chinese and English)
  • District map http://www.westtour.net/cq/ditu.htm / Version 2 http://www.chinacity.net/zgcs/chongqing/page3.htm (in Simplified Chinese)
  • City centre map http://www.9654.com/m/cq.htm
  • Visit Chongqing http://www.visitcq.net (in Simplified Chinese): Tourism

Province-level divisions administered by the People's Republic of China

Flag of the People's Republic of China

Provinces¹:

Anhui | Fujian | Gansu | Guangdong | Guizhou | Hainan | Hebei | Heilongjiang | Henan | Hubei | Hunan | Jiangsu | Jiangxi | Jilin | Liaoning | Qinghai | Shaanxi | Shandong | Shanxi | Sichuan | Yunnan | Zhejiang

Autonomous Regions:

Guangxi | Inner Mongolia | Ningxia | Tibet | Xinjiang

Municipalities:

Beijing | Chongqing | Shanghai | Tianjin

Special Administrative Regions:

Hong Kong | Macau

¹ See also: Political status of Taiwan


Last updated: 02-06-2005 13:25:06
Last updated: 05-06-2005 01:27:49