Chongqing
(1992 est. pop. 3.8 million). Chongqing, which is the largest city in China's Sichuan Province, is situated where the Jialing River flows into the Chang (Yangtze) River in the southeastern part of Sichuan. The old city, which was the main city in the ancient state of Ba, was originally built on a promontory between the two rivers. Chongqing remained on the fringe of the Chinese empire until the fourteenth century. During the Japanese occupation of eastern China (1937–1945), the Chinese Nationalist Party (Guomindang) moved China's capital to Chongqing, and important industries followed. From the 1950s, Chongqing became a center for trade and transportation, and bridges and railways were built, making the city an important river port for transshipments from railways to the far cheaper transport via the Chang River to the east. Chongqing is also one of the main industrial centers in southwestern China, with such heavy industries as iron works and steel mills, and the city manufactures motorcycles, cars, and heavy machinery. Chemical and electronic industries as well as textile and food processing industries are also located there. In the 1980s Chongqing was chosen as model city for market economics to attract foreign investments, and in 1997 the city became an independent municipality directly under the central government.
Further Reading
Ho, Samuel P. S., and Y. Y. Kueh. (2000) Chongqing: Sustainable Economic Development in South China. New York: St. Martin's Press.
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