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- Chongqing
- Powerhouse of the Yangtse River Valley
- Chongqing,
meaning 'Double Celebrations' in Chinese, has a history of 3000
years old. Today Chongqing is moving ahead to become a modern industrial
center. Serving as the starting point for the tour of Yangtse
Three Gorges, Chongqing is a stop-over for thousands of international
travelers.
Chongqing is very hot in summer and considered one of the 'Three
Furnaces' of China. Polluted and crowded, Chongqing is no tourist
town. However, everything in Chongqing is improving. The city is building
for the future to gain its status as an international metropolis.
- Chongqing City
Ratings
- ** The
following ratings are based on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the
best.
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- Quick
Facts
- Population
- 6 million
- When to
go
- Tourist Season:
October to February;
Coldest Months: January and February, with temperature as low
as 6C;
Hottest Months: July, with temperature as high as 40C;
Annual Precipitation : 1000 millimeters
- Getting
In and Out
- By Air - Chongqing
is a little over 2 hours by air from Beijing. There are also
flights connecting Chongqing with other major Asian cities;
By Bus - Chongqing can be reached in 4 hours by express bus
from Chengdu.
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History
The name Chongqing, meaning
Double Celebrations in Chinese, was given by the Song emperor Zhao
Dun, who conquered the city just before he ascended to the thrown.
The city was once divided into three separate parts by the Yangtse
and the Jialing Rivers and was accessible only by ferry. During
the Qing Dynasty, a 10 meter-high, seven-km wall was built around
Chongqing.
In the 1930s, Chongqing became the capital of Nationalist China
during the Sino-Japanese War. The city experienced the greatest
population expansion during this period as government officials
and refugees rushed to Chongqing, which was walled and protected
by the gorges and mountain ranges. Unfortunately much of the city
was destroyed by Japanese bombs during the war. Most parts of the
city of Chongqing today have been rebuilt and only certain sections
still reveal what it was like before the war.
Today Chongqing is one of the fastest developing Chinese cities
with the world's tallest building under construction. In 1997 Chongqing
became a municipality, a designation shared only by three other
cities in China (Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin). The new municipality
now extends over 14 districts with an unimaginable population of
30 million, 1.3 million of whom face resettlement when the Three
Gorges Dam is completed 2013.
- Remains
of Secondary Capital * * * * *
- Chongqing
served as the secondary capital of the Kuomintang government
for eight years from November 1937 to October 1945. There are
still some reminders of that part of Chongqing's history. The
official residence of Mr. Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Madam
Soong Meiling are on Huangshan of the Southern Bank District.
You can also visit the home of US General George C. Marshall,
who served as a mediator during the war. Stilwell center, the
former residence of US Army General Stilwell, has good videos
about the Japanese war.
- Chongqing
Museum*
- Chongqing
Museum is best known for its collection of ancient tomb bricks.
Some of them have a history of 2000 years with elegant carvings.
The museum is a clunky warehouse with poor lighting and no English
titles.
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Art
- Painters'
Village* * * *
- Painters'
Village is an art-lover's paradise. With a three-story gallery,
the institute is one of the best in China. 17 artists display
and sell their work here including wood block prints, oil and
water color paintings. Watching the artist work is an interesting
experience.
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Local Culture/Unique Tour
- Dazu Stone
Sculptures * * * *
- In Dazu County
of eastern Sichuan Province, there are more than 50,000 stone
sculptures, scattered in 40 places. The largest, richest and
most exquisite collection of statues is at the foot of Baoding
Hill and North Hill. They are representative stone sculptures
of the Tang (628-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. The stone
carvings along Baoding Hill were hewn out from 1174 to 1249
under the Southern Song Dynasty. The row is 500 meters long
and consists of nearly ten thousand statues, of which the most
distinctive and majestic are the "Thousand-arm Goddess of Mercy"
and the 31 meter-long Sleeping Buddha. They are unparalleled
works of art in the world. Those on the North Hill were started
in 892, and continued over the next 300 years. There are altogether
264 shrines, 7000 statuses, covering a distance of 500 meters.
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Nature/Scenic
- Loquat
Hill (Pipa Shan Park)* *
- Standing 1000
feet high as the highest point of Chongqing, Logquat Hill offers
a nice view of the city on a clear day. The park is named after
the loquat trees planted here.
- Erling Park*
- The Erling
park at 350 meters up offer a grand view of both the Yangtse
and Jialing Rivers.
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Food/ Shopping
- Famous
Local Food
- Spicy Sichuan
Cuisine;
Hot pot - is the most famous food in Chongqing. A hot pot is
an electric or gas pot filled with flavorful and nutritious
soup base. You have a choice of spicy, pure and combo for the
soup base. Thin sliced raw variety meat, various bean curd products
and all kinds of vegetables are boiled in the soup base. You
then dip them in a little bowl of special sauce. Be careful
since the spicy soup base is burning hot. If you are adventurous
enough, you can basically cook anything with hot pot, e.g.,
pig's brain and duck's kidney.
- Famous
Local Restaurants
- Sichuan Hot
Pot Restaurant - a famous privately run chain restaurant for
hot pot;
American Cow Boy Restaurant - Its buffet has all kinds of uncooked
food, which the chef stir-fries for you at your own table.
- Antique
Shopping
- Chongqing
Antique Market - dirty, with antiques and fakes
- General
Shopping
- Pacific Department
Store - reasonably priced
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Religion
- Luohan
Temple*
- Dating from
1000 A.D., Luohan Temple is virtually the only surviving temple
in Chongqing. Founded in the Song Dynasty, it was burned down
during the Japanese invasion and restored in 1845. Unfortunately,
the 500 stucco luohans that once stood in the main hall and
gave the temple its name did not survive.
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