Chongqing 重庆 |
|
---|---|
— Municipality — | |
Municipality of Chongqing • 重庆市 | |
From top:Yuzhong Skyline , CRT Line 2 Monorail, Chaotianmen Bridge, and Great Hall of the People | |
Location of Chongqing Municipality within China | |
Coordinates: | |
Country | People's Republic of China |
Settled | ca. 316 BCE |
Divisions - County-level - Township-level |
19 districts, 19 counties 1259 towns, townships, and subdistricts |
Government | |
• Type | Municipality |
• CPC Ctte Secretary | Bo Xilai |
• Mayor | Huang Qifan |
Area | |
• Municipality | 82,401 km2 (31,815.2 sq mi) |
Elevation | 237 m (778 ft) |
Population (2010)[1] | |
• Municipality | 28,846,170 |
• Density | 350.1/km2 (906.7/sq mi) |
Demonym | Chongqinger |
Time zone | China standard time (UTC+8) |
Postal code | 4000 00 - 4099 00 |
Area code(s) | 23 |
GDP | 2010 |
- Total | CNY 789.4 billion US$ 122.5 billion (23rd) |
- Per capita | CNY 27,596 US$ 4,077 (14th) |
HDI (2008) | 0.783 (18th) — medium |
Licence plate prefixes | 渝 A, B, C, F, G, H |
ISO 3166-2 | CN-50 |
City flower | Camellia |
City tree | Ficus lacor |
Website | (Chinese) www.cq.gov.cn (English) english.cq.gov.cn/ |
Chongqing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Simplified Chinese | 重庆 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 重慶 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hanyu Pinyin | Chóngqìng | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sichuanese Pinyin | Cong2qin4 ([tsʰoŋ˨˩tɕʰin˨˩˦]) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | double celebration or celebrate again | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Chongqing (Chinese: 重庆; Chinese Postal Map Romanization: Chungking) is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities (the other three are Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin), and the only such municipality in inland China.
The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the sub-provincial city administration that was part of Sichuan Province. As of November 2010, the municipality had a population of 28,846,200.[1] It has jurisdiction over 19 districts, 15 counties, and 4 autonomous counties. With an area of 82,401 km² (31,800 mi²), it is the largest direct-controlled municipality, larger even than one province and an autonomous region, as well as Taiwan.[2] It is possibly the world's largest municipality by population and one of the largest by area.
The official abbreviation, 渝 (Yú), was approved by the State Council on 18 April 1997. Chongqing was also a municipality of the Republic of China administration, serving as its wartime capital during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Its abbreviated name is derived from the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds the Yangtze River.
Chongqing is one of the most notable cities for history and culture in China (历史文化名城), and serves as the economic centre of the upstream Yangtze area. It is the major manufacturing centre and a transportation hub for Southwest China.
Contents |
Tradition associates Chongqing with the semi-legendary State of Ba that the Ba people supposedly established during the eleventh century BCE. By 316 BCE, however, it had been overrun by the State of Qin. The Qin emperor ordered a new city to be constructed, which was called Jiang (江州) and Chu Prefecture (楚州).
Chongqing was subsequently renamed in 581 CE (Sui Dynasty) and later 1102, to Yu Prefecture (渝州) and then Gong Prefecture (恭州). It received its current name in 1189, after Prince Zhao Dun of the Southern Song Dynasty described his crowning as king and then Emperor Guangzong as a "double celebration" (simplified Chinese: 双重喜庆; traditional Chinese: 雙重喜慶; pinyin: shuāngchóng xǐqìng). Hence, Yu Prefecture became Chongqing subprefecture to mark the occasion.
In 1362, (Yuan Dynasty), Ming Yuzhen, a peasant rebelling leader, established the Daxia Kingdom (大夏) at Chongqing for a short time.
In 1621 (Ming Dynasty), another short-lived kingdom of Daliang (大梁) was established by She Chongming (奢崇明) with Chongqing as its capital.
Between 1627–1645, with the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Chongqing, together with the rest of Sichuan, were captured by the Revolts who overthrew the Ming Dynasty across the nation. Later during the Qing Dynasty, immigration to Chongqing and Sichuan took place with the support of Qing emperor.
From 1929, Chongqing became a municipality of the Republic of China. During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), it was Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's provisional capital. More than 50 embassies moved to Chongqing with the KMT government at that time, and by now, some of which are still well protected. At that time, the Allies set up the Chinese Anti-fascist headquarters in Chongqing, which was responsible for directing the allied army of China, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma,and Malaysia and was under the direction of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and General Joseph Stilwell. The Japanese Air Force bombed it heavily. Due to its mountainous environment, many people were saved from the bombing. And because of the brave people, their contribution and sacrifice during WWII, Chongqing is also called a City of Heroes. Many factories and universities were moved from eastern China to Chongqing during WWII, transforming this city from inland port to a heavily industrialized city. In late November 1949 the Nationalist KMT government fled the city.
In the name of the people of the United States of America. I present this scroll to the city of Chungking as a symbol of our admiration for its brave men, women and children. Under blasts of terror from the air, even in the days before the world at large had known this horror. Chungking and its people held our firm and unconquered. They proved gloriously that terrorism cannot destroy the spirit of a people determined to be free. Their fidelity to the cause of freedom will inspire the hearts of all future generations.
In 1949, when the Peoples' Republic of China was established, Chongqing was still a municipality
In 1954, the municipality was demoted to a sub-provincial city within Sichuan Province of the People's Republic of China.
On 14 March 1997, the Eighth National People's Congress decided to merge the city with the neighbouring Fuling, Wanxian, and Qianjiang prefecture-level districts that it had governed on behalf of the province since September 1996. The resulting single division was the Chongqing Municipality, containing 30,020,000 people in forty-three former counties (without intermediate political levels). The municipality became the spearhead of China's effort to develop its western regions and to coordinate the resettlement of residents from the reservoir areas of the Three Gorges Dam project. Its first official ceremony took place on 18 June 1997.
On 8 February 2010, Chongqing became one of the five National Central/Core cities, the other four are Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin.
On 18 June 2010, Liangjiang New Area was established in Chongqing, which is one of the 3 National New Areas, the formmer 2 are Pudong new area in Shanghai and Binhai new area in Tianjin.
Located at the northern end of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the eastern limits of the Sichuan Basin, Chongqing is intersected by the Jialing River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze. It contains the Daba Mountains in the north, the Wu Mountains in the east, the Wuling Mountains in the southeast, and the Dalou Mountains in the south.
The city is very hilly and as a result is unusual in China for its lack of significant numbers of bicycles.
All climatic data listed below comes from the central parts of the city.
Chongqing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Climate chart (explanation) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Chongqing has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa), and for most of the year experiences very humid conditions. Known as one of the "Three Furnaces" of the Yangtze River, along with Wuhan and Nanjing, its summers are long and among the hottest and most humid in China, with highs of 33 to 34 °C (91 to 93 °F) in July and August in the urban area. Winters are short and somewhat mild, but damp and overcast. The city's location in the Sichuan Basin causes it to have one of the lowest sunshine totals annually in China, at only 1055 hours.
Chongqing, with over 100 days of fog per year,[8] is also known as the "Fog City" (雾都), and a thick layer of fog shrouds it for 68 days per year during the spring and autumn.[9] During the Second Sino-Japanese War, this special weather possibly played a role in protecting the city from being overrun by the Imperial Japanese Army. In recent years, the strong industrial development has degraded the air quality further, and the municipal government has been aggressively trying to improve the city's air quality in recent years. The so-called "blue sky days" (days with air quality within or better than slight pollution) number have been on the rise.
Conditions are cooler in the southeast part of the municipality due to the higher elevations there.
Climate data for Chongqing (Shapingba District, 1971–2000) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average high °C (°F) | 10.3 (50.5) |
12.5 (54.5) |
17.4 (63.3) |
22.9 (73.2) |
26.9 (80.4) |
29.4 (84.9) |
32.8 (91.0) |
33.6 (92.5) |
27.7 (81.9) |
21.9 (71.4) |
16.9 (62.4) |
11.6 (52.9) |
22.0 (71.6) |
Average low °C (°F) | 6.0 (42.8) |
7.5 (45.5) |
11.0 (51.8) |
15.3 (59.5) |
19.1 (66.4) |
22.0 (71.6) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.7 (76.5) |
20.8 (69.4) |
16.4 (61.5) |
12.0 (53.6) |
7.6 (45.7) |
15.6 (60.1) |
Precipitation mm (inches) | 19.5 (0.768) |
20.6 (0.811) |
36.2 (1.425) |
104.6 (4.118) |
151.7 (5.972) |
171.2 (6.74) |
175.4 (6.906) |
134.4 (5.291) |
127.6 (5.024) |
92.4 (3.638) |
45.9 (1.807) |
24.9 (0.98) |
1,104.4 (43.48) |
% humidity | 83 | 80 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 80 | 76 | 73 | 80 | 84 | 84 | 85 | 79.7 |
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 10.2 | 9.9 | 11.3 | 14.9 | 15.6 | 15.7 | 12.4 | 10.5 | 14.4 | 15.4 | 12.2 | 9.5 | 152.0 |
Sunshine hours | 27.3 | 34.1 | 67.4 | 98.0 | 108.5 | 109.7 | 180.1 | 196.0 | 102.4 | 62.5 | 43.1 | 25.8 | 1,054.9 |
Source: China Meteorological Administration [6] |
Chongqing is the largest of the four direct-controlled municipalities of the People's Republic of China. The municipality is divided into 38 subdivisions (3 were abolished in 1997, and Wansheng and Shuangqiao districts were abolished in October 2011[10]), consisting of 19 districts, 15 counties, and 4 autonomous counties. The boundaries of Chongqing municipality reach much farther into the city's hinterland than the boundaries of the other three provincial level municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin), and much of its administrative area, which spans over 80,000 square kilometres (30,900 sq mi), is rural.
|
|
Pinyin name | Hanzi | Previous associationa |
---|---|---|
Pengshui Miao and Tujia | 彭水苗族土家族自治县 | Qianjiang |
Shizhu Tujia | 石柱土家族自治县 | |
Xiushan Tujia and Miao | 秀山土家族苗族自治县 | |
Youyang Tujia and Miao | 酉阳土家族苗族自治县 |
a Indicates with which district the division was associated below prior to the merging of Chongqing, Fuling, Wanxian (now Wanzhou) and Qianjiang in 1997.
The urban area of Chongqing Municipality (重庆主城区市区) includes the following districts:
Historical populations | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Pop. | ±% |
1949 | 1,003,000 | — |
1979 | 6,301,000 | +528.2% |
1983 | 13,890,000 | +120.4% |
1996 | 15,297,000 | +10.1% |
1997** | 30,220,000 | +97.6% |
2000 | 30,512,763 | +1.0% |
2004 | 30,550,000 | +0.1% |
2010 | 28,846,170 | −5.6% |
**Population size in 1997 was affected by expansion of administrative divisions. |
According to a July 2010 article from the official Xinhua news agency, the municipality has a population of 32.8 million, including 23.3 million farmers. Among them, 8.4 million farmers have become migrant workers, including 3.9 million working and living in urban areas of Chongqing.[11]
This would mean that the locally registered farmers who work in other jurisdictions number 4.5 million, reducing the local, year-round population of Chongqing in 2010 to 28.3 million, plus those who are registered in other jurisdictions but live and work in Chongqing. According to China's 2005 statistical yearbook, of a total population of 30.55 million, those with residence registered in other jurisdictions but residing in the Chongqing enumeration area numbered 1.4 million, including 46,000 who resided in Chongqing "for less than half year". An additional 83,000 had registered in Chongqing, but not yet settled there.[12]
The 2005 statistical yearbook also lists 15.22 million (49.82%) males and 15.33 million (50.18%) females.[12]
It terms of age distribution in 2004, of the 30.55 million total population, 6.4 million (20.88%) were age 0-14, 20.7 million (67.69%) were 15-64, and 3.5 million (11.46%) were 65 and over.[13]
Of a total 10,470,000 households (2004), 1,360,000 consisted of one person, 2,940,000 2-person, 3,190,000 3-person, 1,790,000 4-person, 783,000 5-person, 270,000 6-person, 89,000 7-person, 28,000 8-person, 6,000 9-person, and 10,000 households of 10 or more persons per household.[14]
The politics of Chongqing is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in the People's Republic of China.
The Mayor of Chongqing is the highest ranking official in the People's Government of Chongqing. Since Chongqing is a centrally administered municipality, the mayor occupies the same level in the order of precedence as provincial governors. However, in the city's dual party-government governing system, the mayor has less power than the Chongqing Communist Party of China Municipal Committee Secretary, colloquially termed the "Chongqing CPC Party Chief".
Chongqing also has the distinction of having been the wartime capital of China during the Second Sino-Japanese war, and, for a brief period, being the seat of administration for the Republic of China government before its departure to Taiwan.
Preceded by Nanjing |
Capital of China 1937-1945 |
Succeeded by Nanjing |
Chongqing is headquarters of the 13th Group Army of the People's Liberation Army, one of the two group armies that comprise the Chengdu Military Region responsible for the defence of China's southwestern borders with India and Myanmar, as well as security in Tibet.
Five Chongqing city developing program, which contains "Healthy Chongqing program", "Safe Chongqing Program", "Livable Chongqing Program", "Accessible Chongqing Program" and "Forest Chongqing Program" was first raised on 20th, August, 2008 and becoming the goal of the development of this city.Chongqing government is trying its best to achieve this goal in the coming years
Chongqing was separated from Sichuan province and made into a municipality in its own right in March 1997[15] in order to accelerate its development and subsequently China's relatively poorer western areas (see China Western Development strategy).[16] An important industrial area in western China,[17] Chongqing is also rapidly urbanising. For instance, statistics[18] suggest that new construction added approximately 137,000 square meters (1.5 million square feet) daily of usable floor space to satisfy demands for residential, commercial and factory space. In addition, more than 1,300 people moved into the city daily, adding almost 100 million yuan (US$15 million) to the local economy.
Traditionally, due to its geographical remoteness, Chongqing and neighbouring Sichuan have been important military bases in weapons research and development.[19] Chongqing's industries have now diversified but unlike eastern China, its export sector is small due to its inland location. Instead, factories producing local-oriented consumer goods such as processed food, autos, chemicals, textiles, machinery and electronics are common.
Chongqing is China's third largest centre for motor vehicle production and the largest for motorcycles. In 2007, it had an annual output capacity of 1 million automobiles and 8.6 million motorcycles.[20] Leading makers of cars and motor bikes includes China's fourth biggest automaker; Changan Automotive Corp and Lifan Hongda Enterprise. The municipality is also one of the nine largest iron and steel centres in China and one of the three major aluminium producers. Important manufacturers include Chongqing Iron and Steel Company and South West Aluminium which is Asia's largest aluminum plant.[21] Agriculture remains significant. Rice and fruits (especially oranges) are the area's main produce. Natural resources are also abundant with large deposits of coal, natural gas, and more than 40 kinds of minerals such as strontium and manganese,[22] although the mining sector has been criticised for being wasteful, heavily-polluting, and unsafe.[23] Chongqing is also planned to be the site of a 10 million ton capacity refinery operated by CNPC (parent company of PetroChina) to process imported crude oil from the Sino-Burma pipelines. The pipeline itself, though not yet finished, will eventually run from Sittwe (in Myanmar's western coast) through Kunming in Yunnan province before reaching Chongqing[24] and it will provide China with fuels sourced from Myanmar, the Middle East, and Africa. Recently, there has been a drive to move up the value chain by shifting towards high technology and knowledge intensive industries resulting in new development zones such as the Chongqing New North Zone (CNNZ).[25] Chongqing's local government is hoping through the promotion of favorable economic policies for the electronics and information technology sectors, that it can create a 400 billion RMB high technology manufacturing hub which will surpass its auto industry and account for 25% of its exports.[26]
The city has also invested heavily in infrastructure to attract investment.[20][27] The network of roads and railways connecting Chongqing to the rest of China has been expanded and upgraded reducing logistical costs. Furthermore, the nearby Three Gorges Dam which is the world's largest, will not only supply Chongqing with power once completed but also allows ocean going ships to reach Chongqing's Yangtze River port.[28] These infrastructure improvements have led to the arrivals of numerous foreign direct investors (FDI) in industries ranging from auto to finance and retailing; such as Ford, Mazda, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, ANZ Bank, Scotiabank, Wal-Mart, Metro AG and Carrefour among other multinational corporations.[29]
Chongqing's nominal GDP in 2009 reached 652.8 billion yuan (US$95.5 billion) while registering an annual growth of 14.3%. However, its overall economic performance is still lagging behind eastern coastal cities such as Shanghai. For instance, its per capita GDP was 22,909 yuan (US$3,301) which is below the national average. Nevertheless, there is a massive government support to transform Chongqing into the region's economic, trade, and financial centre and use the municipality as a platform to open up the country's western interior to further development.[30]
Chongqing has been identified by the Economist Intelligence Unit in the November 2010 Access China White Paper as a member of the CHAMPS (Chongqing, Hefei, Anshan, Maanshan, Pingdingshan and Shenyang), an economic profile of the top 20 emerging cities in China.[31]
In the first decade of the 21st century, the city became notorious for organised crime and corruption. Gangsters oversaw businesses involving billions of yuan and the corruption reached into the law-enforcement and justice systems. In 2009, city authorities under the auspices of municipal Communist Party secretary Bo Xilai undertook a massive crackdown, arresting 4,893 suspected gangsters, 'outlaws' and corrupt cadres, leading to optimism that the period of gangsterism was over.[32]
However, local media later highlighted the apparent reliance by the authorities on torture to extract confessions upon which convictions were based. In December 2009, one defence lawyer was controversially arrested and sentenced to 18 months in prison for "coaching his client to make false claims of torture" and in July 2010, another lawyer released videotapes of his client describing the torture in detail.[33][34]
The city includes a number of economic and technological development zones:
Since its elevation to national-level municipality in 1997, the city has dramatically expanded its transportation infrastructure. With the construction of railways and expressways to the east and southeast, Chongqing is a major transportation hub in southwestern China. The municipality now has 25 bridges across the Yangtze River including half a dozen in the city's urban core.
Chongqing is the biggest inland river port in western China. Historically, most of its transportation, especially to eastern China, is via the Yangtze River. In recent years the amount of trading has increased because of the huge reserviour created behind The Three Gorges Dam.
Chongqing is a major rail hub in south central China.
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport, located in Yubei district, north of Chongqing city, provides links to all parts of China, many South East Asian countries and soon the Middle East (November 2011) and Europe (March 2012). In year 2010, the airport reported close to 16 million people in passenger volume, which ranked it as the 10th in importance in China. Currently, it's the only airport in central and western China which has railway (lite-rail) city transportation access under construction, (CRT Line 3) and two runways in normal use.
The three main forms of public transport in Chongqing are CRT metro, intercity railway, and the ubiquitous bus system.
According to the Chongqing Municipal Government's ambitious plan in May 2007, Chongqing is going to invest 150 billion RMB over 13 years to finish a system that combines underground metro lines with light rail (heavy monorail). By 2020 this network will consist of 6 straight lines and 1 circular line; Line 1 and Line 6 will be underground metro while Lines 2 and 3 will be High Capacity light rail. These improvements will add 363.5 kilometers of road and railway to the existing transportation infrastructure and 93 new train stations will be added to the 111 stations that are already in place.
As of 2011[update] two metro lines, the 14 km long CRT Line 1, a conventional subway, and the 19 km long heavy monorail CRT Line 2 (through Phase II), had been opened. Total track mileage is 35.55 km. Line 3, a new heavy monorail currently in trials is expected to open later in 2011. A new subway, Line 6, is under construction and is expected to open in 2012.
By 2050 Chongqing was planned to have ten railway lines, totaling 513 kilometres, with 270 stations.,[35] although more recent reports have now indicated as many as 18 lines are planned or proposed.
The language native to Chongqing is Southwestern Mandarin. More precisely, the great majority of the municipality, save for Xiushan, speak Sichuanese, including the primary Chengdu-Chongqing dialect and Minjiang dialect spoken in Jiangjin and Qijiang.[36] There are also a few speakers of Xiang and Hakka in the municipality, due to the great immigration wave to the Sichuan region (湖广填四川) during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In addition, in parts of southeastern Chongqing, the Miao and Tujia languages are also used by some Miao and Tujia people.[37]
As the provisional Capital of China for almost ten years (1937 to 1945), the city was also known as one of the three headquarters of the Allies. Chongqing has many historical World War II buildings or sites (some of which have since been destroyed):
Besides these historical sites, Chongqing also has the following attractions:
Chongqing is served by the Chongqing People's Broadcast Station as the largest radio station. The only municipal-level TV network is Chongqing TV station, claimed to be the 4th largest television station. Chongqing Daily is the largest newspaper group, controlling more than 10 newspapers and one website.
One distinct trait of Chongqing cuisine is that it is spicy and numbing (麻辣), as opposed to the spicy and fragrant (香辣) flavours of Chengdu cuisine.
Professional sports teams in Chongqing include:
Arhat Temple is a Buddhist temple, which includes monks. The Dazu Rock Carvings are religious sculptures, which present a World Heritage Site. A large Buddha sculpture is outside Shuangjiang. Laitan has a Buddha Temple. Though the Christian population is small, a Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chongqing exists.
Consulate | Date | Consular District |
Canada Consulate Chongqing[38] | 05.1998 | Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan |
United Kingdom Consulate General Chongqing[38] | 03.2000 | Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan |
Cambodia Consulate General Chongqing[38] | 12.2004 | Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi |
Japan Consulate General Chongqing[38] | 01.2005 | Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan |
Denmark Consulate Chongqing[38] | 07.2005 | Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan |
Philippines Consulate General Chongqing[38] | 12.2008 | Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan |
Hungary Consulate General Chongqing[38] | 02.2010 | Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Gansu |
Ethiopia Consulate General Chongqing[38] | 11.2011 | Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan |
Chongqing is twinned with:
Africa
Asia
Europe
|
North America
Oceania
South America |
In June 2007, a twinning agreement between Chongqing and Sør-Trøndelag was signed.[41]
Shaanxi | ||||
Sichuan | Hubei | |||
Chongqing | ||||
Guizhou | Hunan |