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Chongqing -
a south-west province
of China.
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| In
Brief |
Chongqing
is a modern city, with an ancient history spanning more than 3,000
years.
It is the China's fourth municipality after Beijing, Shanghai and
Tianjin.
The city is very hilly and is the only major metropolitan area in
China without significant numbers of bicycles. |
| Location: |
Situated
in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River - at the confluence of Yangtze
and Jialing Rivers, in Southwest China, Chongqing is a port
city with the largest area and population in China. It has an area
of 82,400 square kilometers (31, 800 square miles) and share
borders with the provinces of Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan and
Shaanxi. Beside the Han people that forms the majority of its
total population, there are numerous ethnic groups residing in
Chongqing, such as Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Qiang, You and Tujia.
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| Ethnic
Groups: |
Han,
Yi, Tibetan , Miao, Qiang, You & Tujia |
| Population: |
30.9
millions (as of March 2001) |
Tourist
Attractions: |
The
city is the starting point of the Yangtze River Cruise,
which is expected to explore the wonderful scenery of the Three
Gorges.
Other attractions include Dazu Grottoes, carved during the ninth
century, which are valuable works of art and not to be missed is the
Gold Buddhist Mountain, reputed as a rich
repository of diverse animals and plants; and there's the Fishing
Town, which is one of the three ancient battlefields in China.
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| Development
Plan: |
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. |
| Annual
average temperature: |
18°C
or 64.4
°F
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| Food: |
Traveling
in Chongqing, one will feel fortunate to be able to
savor the delicious local food, such as Sichuan
cuisine and the world-famous hot pot dishes. |
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Origin of its name:
重
chóng - again
庆
q́ng -
celebrate
put together: double celebration
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Chongqing was once once called Chungking as in the Hong Kong
movie Chungking Express".
The buildings in Chongqing is built on the hilly banks of the
Yangtze River and that is how it gained its name as "The
Mountain City".
It is also known as "The River Town" as it stands
at the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze rivers.
Surrounded by mountains. the city is subtropical, hot in summer.
Hence it is sometimes called "The Furnace",
together with 2 other cities, i.e. Wuhan & Nanjing.
The average annual rainfall is about l,000 millimetres and most of
them concentrated on the nights from May to October.
Owing to the heavy rainfall, the air humidity is often as high as
over 80 percent. Thus the weather conditions are often cloudy and
misty. As such, Chongqing is also known as "City of Fog."
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