Chongqing Introduction

Chongqing is the largest and most populous of the People’s Republic of China’s four provincial municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western region of 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.

Chongqing has a humid subtropical climate, with the two-season monsoonal variations typical of South Asia.

Chongqin’s summers are among the hottest in China. The temperature can be as high as 43°C, with an average high of 35°C in August. Yet even in the hottest weather the wind is often cold, making such high temperatures more bearable.

Winters are fairly mild, but damp and overcast; average January highs are 9°C. Chongqing has one of the lowest sunshine totals annually in China.

Chongqing can get foggy sometimes. Chongqing is famous for its foggy weather in spring and winter days, which gives this city a nickname of “foggy city”. This special weather once protected Chongqing from being overrun by the Japanese invaders during the Second World War.

With the weather at its best in the spring and fall, these are the best times for one to visit the city of Chongqing.

History
Chongqing, a famous historical and cultural city in China, has a history of more than 3,000 years and a glorious revolutionary tradition. The local culture was originated in the area centered at Chongqing, the place of the ancient Ba.

Human activities can be dated back to the end of the Old Stone Age about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. In the 11th century B.C. when the Zhou dynasty replaced the Shang dynasty, the Ba people established the State of Ba with present-day Chongqing as its capital. Later the State of Qin, after conquering the State of Ba, divided China into 36 prefectures, and Ba Prefecture, the previous the State of Ba, was one of them. At its peak time, the State of Ba covered a large area, including present-day eastern Sichuan province, southern Shaanxi province, western Hubei province, northwestern Hunan province, and northern Guizhou province, with its administrative center at the pre-1997 Chongqing. During most of the time from the Qin and Han dynasties, this area remained one unified administrative area, with its administrative center at the pre-1997 Chongqing.

Chongqing was known as Jiangzhou in ancient times, and later was called Ba Prefecture, Chu Prefecture, Yu Prefecture, and Gong prefecture at different times. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589), Ba Prefecture was named Chu Prefecture, and it was renamed Yu Prefecture in 581 A.D. by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty (541-604), and since then the area of Chongqing was known as Yu for short. In 1189, before he was enthroned, Emperor Guangzong of the Song Dynasty (1147- 1200) was named Prince Gong. Considering the events a “double happiness” that happened in the same year while he was the ruler of the place, he promoted Gong Prefecture into Chongqing Fu. That is how the city got its present name Chongqing more than 800 years ago.

In 1981, Chongqing became China’s first inland port opened to the outside world.

In 1929, Chongqing was officially established as a city.
From 1937 to 1946, when the national government was relocated to Chongqing, the city became the war-time capital of China, the national supreme command of Anti-Fascist War and the Anti-Japanese War, as well as the political, economic and cultural centers of the rear area in that period. Consequently, Chongqing is called “the Capital in Triplicate”. After the national government returned to Nanjing after the War, Chongqing remained a municipality directly under the central government.

In the early years after the founding of New China, Chongqing served as the seat of Southwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the seat of the Southwest Military and Administrative Commission, and the political, economic, and cultural centers of Southwest China, and was a municipality directly under the central government.

In 1954, Chongqing became a city under the government of Sichuan province when the Southwest China administration division was removed.
In 1986, camellia was officially made the city flower of Chongqing.
The ficus lacor was officially made the city tree of Chongqing in 1986.
Ficus lacor is the tree with deciduous leaves, of banyan genus in the mulberry family. With its deep roots, strong trunk, and thriving branches and leaves, it has great vitality, grows fast, and enjoys a long life. The tree can grow on thin soil in hot, damp climate, and is pollution resisting. It can even grow well on high cliffs.