About Chongqing

Located in Southwest China, Chongqing is a super city in China and one of the important national central cities approved by the Chinese State Council. With a resident population of over 32 million in 2022, Chongqing is known for one of the fastest growing regions in China. Chongqing has 38 districts under its jurisdiction and a total area of 82,400 square kilometres, making it an important advanced manufacturing centre, western international integrated transportation and gateway hub in China. The city is surrounded by mountains on all sides; the Daba mountains to the North, Wushan Mountain to the East, Wuling and Wulong Mountains to the West, and Dalou Mountains to the South. Besides the mountains, two large rivers are running through Chongqing namely, the Yangtze and Jialing rivers.

Chongqing has a subtropical monsoon climate. Because of the unique geographical environment, Chongqing’s spring starts early, the summer is hot and humid, fall is cool and the winter relatively mild. It rarely snows in winter as the temperate hardly ever goes below 0 degrees Celcius. The air is humid most of the year, and because of the mountainous terrain, Chongqing is shrouded in fog many days of the year. However, in recent years, the local government has made significant progress in ensuring more days with clear blue skies. One of Chongqing's other names is the city of fog, because of the high number of foggy days every year.

Chongqing is renowned for its Bayu culture, which is still prominently displayed in various parts of the city today. The Bayu culture dates back more than 3000 years, and Chongqing didn't receive its current name until around 1189 AD. Chongqing received its modern name with the crowning of Prince Zhao Dun, who described his coronation as a "Double Celebration," which is the literal translation of the city's name Chongqing or 重庆. Dances and songs are considered to be the essential elements of the Bayu culture, but they were also well versed in wine, had their unique burial ceremonies, and their own fascinating legends and myths. Chongqing is also known for its long history of tea culture. As the city is located in the southeast of the Sichuan basin and has a subtropical climate, which can meet the tea tree’s mild and shade-loving characteristics. As a result, Chongqing and tea have a deep origin and have bred many famous teas, including Yongchuan Xiuya, Xiangshan Xiangming, Eagle tea, Jinyun Maofeng, etc.

Chongqing is a famous historical and cultural city in China with unique geographical landscape, and cultural tourism is being deeply integrated. The city has natural scenery of mountains, water, forests, springs, gorges and caves. There are more than 300 natural and humanistic attractions in Chongqing, including one world cultural heritage (Dazu Rock Carvings) and three world natural heritage sites (Chongqing Wulong Karst Tourism Area, Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Karst, Chongqing Wulipo). Besides these beautiful heritages, popular places to visit are the people’s Liberation, Chaotianmen and the Hongya cave. One of the most famous tourist attractions in Chongqing is the Three Gorges, where tourists can visit the Qutang Gorge, the Wu Gorge and the Xiling Gorge by boat, departing from Chaotianmen Pier. This beautiful scenery on both sides of the river attracts local Chinese tourists as well as tourists from all over the world.

Chongqing is famous for its food, where the main flavour is spicy. Besides this, Chongqing is also the birthplace of hot pot; in March 2007 the city was awarded the title of “Hot Pot Capital of China” by the China Cuisine Association. Other than the hot pot, you’ll find a lot of interesting and varied dishes in this mountain city such as Jianghu cuisine, boiled fish, back-pot meat, pickled fish, spicy chicken, boiled pork slices, old duck soup, hot and sour noodles, shredded fish and pork, pickled pepper fat sausage, steamed pork, roasted white, Chongqing small noodles, Chongqing snacks, etc.

In recent years, the development of China’s economy is inseparable from key words such as high-speed development, high-quality strategy and independent innovation. Especially the economic development trend of southwest China has accelerated significantly and became an important part of China’s economy, with a total economic output 13 trillion yuan. Chongqing, the core city of Southwest China, has a GDP of nearly 3 billion in 2022 compared to the year before, an increase of 2.6%. Because the economic strength and population, Chongqing is ranked as one of the top cities in China. The city is adopting big data intelligence to drive innovation and development and accelerate the pace of industrial transformation and upgrading.