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Chongqing
Chongqing (simplified Chinese: ÖØÇì; traditional Chinese: ÖØ‘c; pinyin: Ch¨®ngq¨¬ng; Postal map spelling: Chungking; Wade-Giles: Ch'ung-ch'ing) is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China's four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western region of China. Formerly (until 14 March 1997) a sub-provincial city within Sichuan Province, the municipality of Chongqing has a registered population of 31,442,300 (2005) [1]. The boundaries of Chongqing municipality reach much further into the city's hinterland than the boundaries of the other three provincial level municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin), and much of the municipality, which spans over 80 000 km², is rural. The population of the urban area of Chongqing proper was 5.09 million
The municipal abbreviation, Óå (Y¨²), was approved by the State Council on 18 April 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 River.
Geography
Modern Chongqing skyscrapers
Geographic coordinates
105¡ã17'-110¡ã11' East, 28¡ã10'£32¡ã13' North
Annual average temperature
64¡ãF (18¡ãC)
Temperature range
32¡ãF - 109¡ãF (0¡ãC - 43¡ãC)
Total annual hours of sunshine
1000 to 1200
Annual precipitation
39 in - 47 in (1000 to 1400 mm)
Neighboring provinces
Hubei (east), Hunan (east), Guizhou (south), Sichuan (west), Shaanxi (north)
Located on the edge of the Yungui Plateau, Chongqing is intersected by the Jialing River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze. It contains Daba Shan in the north, Wu Shan in the east, Wuling Shan in the southeast, and Dalou Mountain to the south.
The city is very hilly and is the only major metropolitan area in China without a significant numbers of bicycles.
Economy
Chongqing is home to Asia's largest aluminum plant, South West Aluminium, which rolled out 234,792 tons (213,000 metric tons) of finished products in 2004 for companies engaged in building materials, printing, electrical appliances, aerospace, packaging, and vehicle production. Manganese mining is the most important industry in the Xiushan area, but has been criticized for wasting resources, ruining the local environment and causing industrial accidents. A survey in 2005 by China¡¯s State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) found 13 firms in the manganese triangle had breached targets on the release of hexavalent chromium and ammonia-nitrogen ¨C in the worst case, by a factor of 180. The clean-up ordered by SEPA resulted in firms closing and the expenditure of 280 million yuan ($37.3044 million USD).
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 has forced huge numbers 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.
Close-up view of the People's Liberation Monument.
The central government has recently embarked on an economic policy aimed at developing western China: the China Western Development strategy. As part of this new plan, the central government has invested heavily 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 as the beachhead for the development of the western part of the country. With the completion of the Three Gorges project, its reservoir will bring oceangoing ships to the harbors of Chongqing. The hope is that this gritty fogbound megalopolis may become a Chinese Chicago, opening up the interior, shifting the country's center of gravity west, and kick-starting the economy ¨C as Chicago did for the United States in the nineteenth century. 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 twenty-first century industrial base.
In 2005, the nominal GDP of Chongqing municipality was 310 billion yuan ($38.75 billion USD), a rise of 11.5% year-on-year. Its per capita GDP was 11,068 yuan ($1,383 USD). The primary, secondary, and tertiary industries of Chongqing were worth 46.342 billion yuan ($5.8 billion USD), 125.832 billion yuan ($15.7 billion USD), and 134.736 billion yuan ($16.8 billion USD), respectively
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