Chongqing

Chongqing, a picturesque mountain city that clings to steep cliffs located at the confluence or the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, serves as ether a port of destination or of departure for every Victoria Yangtze River cruise. In 1997 Chongqing was formally established by China's central government as the nation's fourth directly-administered municipality. As a consequence of this reorganization, Chongqing now administers a sprawling area of 82,365 sq kilometers that include 27 counties and cities, 16 districts, and total population exceeding 33,000,000 people! In addition to Chongqing's newly elevated political status the city serves as an important economic center and vital hub of communication and transportation in southwest China. Chongqing is also a heavily industrialized city that produces steel, ships, automobiles, chemicals, electronics, and textiles.

"Chongqing" means "Double Celebration". The name first conferred on the city by Zhao Dun during the Song Dynasty in commemoration of the fact that he was first made prince and later crowned emperor here. The history of the city far precedes its current name, however. The city's origin date back over 3,000 years and it is known to have served as the capital of the ancient Ba Kingdom before that kingdom fell to the expanding of Qin state in 316 B.C. In more recent time Chongqing served China's war-time capital and headquaters of the Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist government during the war of resistance against Japan (World War II). Indeed, during the war, the island over which theYangtze River Bridge is now built served as an airstrip for "The Flying Tigers"! After the war, Chiang Kai-Shek and Mao Zedon, participated in the famous "Chongqing Talks" here, which sought unsuccessfully to negotiate a political reconciliation between the Nationalists and the Communists.

Chongqing is also well known for its weather. The winter is the foggy season here and the city is popularly known as a city of fog. In fact, Chongqing averages 68.3 foggy days each year. In the summer, Chongqing is known as one of the "three furnaces along the Yangtze". The name is well chosen as the temperature can reach as high as 43 degrees centigrade (116 degrees Fahrenheit) while the humidity during the summer typically hovers between 90 and 95 percent.