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Chongqing
is a port city with the largest municipal area and population in China.
It is situated in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River at the
confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers in southwest China. With
an area of 82,400 square kilometers (31, 800 square miles), Chongqing
shares borders with the provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan,
and Shaanxi. Besides the Han who form the majority of its total
population of 30.9 million, numerous ethnic groups reside in Chongqing,
including Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Qiang, You and Tujia.
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.
Tourist
Attractions
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.
Chongqing
and surrounding areas are full of tourism resources. The most famous is
the Three Gorges, a scenic area along Yangtze river. The 200-km long
area is the most visited canyon in China. Besides its gorgeous natural
scene, it is also a culturally rich area. Other tourism sites include
Dazu Rock Carvings, mainly Buddhist themes, it was carved from the Tang
Dynasty, now belongs to UNESCO World Heritage. City sightseeing is also
a famous part of Chongqing tourism. Historical sites in World War II
are located in the metropolitan area. In the surrounding areas, Fishing
town is an important battlefield event in world history. In 1243,
Mongol prince Mongke Khan was defeated and died here and it stopped the
Mongols' expansion in Europe and Africa because of turmoil after his
death.
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.
Development
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.
Transportation
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. One unique form of
transportation in the city are the cable cars which are suspended over
the rivers. Recently, the Chongqing metro system was completed and
entered service in June 2005.
Resource
Historically,
Chongqing has been a major trading inland port, transporting goods from
the southwestern provinces to eastern China. During the Sino-Japanese
War (1937-1945), Chongqing was transformed into a heavy industrial
city, especially the military industry which continued to thrive for
decades after 1949. Since the 1980s, many of these military industry
enterprises have undergone reforms and turned from producing military
goods to mostly civilian products for survival and growth.
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.
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. 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.
Geography
and Climate
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.
The city is very hilly and is the only major metropolitan area in China
without significant numbers of bicycles.
The
typically severe fogs were protective during World War II as the city
was periodically bombarded by japanese aircraft — their aircrew were
unable to effectively target their bombs using optical bombsights. The
prevalent black tile roofs of buildings would also tend to blend into
the ground colors and so became an effective form of camouflage.
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 processes 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.
Links
http://english.cq.gov.cn
http://www.chongqing.org/
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