City of Chongqing

About City of Chongqing

Chongqing, abbreviated as Ba and Yu, also known as the "Mountain City", "Yu Du", "Bridge Capital", and "Fog Capital", is a direct-administered municipality of the People's Republic of China. Chongqing was anciently called "Yushui" due to the Jialing River, hence the abbreviation "Yu". In the first year of Chongning (1102) of the Northern Song Dynasty, Yuzhou was renamed Gongzhou. In the twelfth month of Chunxi (1189) of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Dun, son of Emperor Xiaozong, was first enfeoffed as King of Gong, and in the following month ascended the throne as Emperor Guangzong of the Song Dynasty. This was called "double celebration", and Gongzhou was subsequently upgraded to Chongqing Prefecture, from which Chongqing derived its name. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the government of the Republic of China designated Chongqing as the wartime capital and permanent auxiliary capital. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was the seat of the Southwest Bureau and a direct-administered municipality. After resuming its status as a direct-administered municipality on June 18, 1997, Chongqing accelerated the reform and revitalization of its old industrial base, forming industrial clusters worth hundreds of billions of yuan in electronics information, automobiles, equipment manufacturing, comprehensive chemicals, materials, energy, and consumer goods manufacturing. The rapid development of agriculture and rural areas, as well as modern service industries such as finance, commercial trade logistics, and service outsourcing. In June 2007, with the approval of the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission officially approved Chongqing as a national comprehensive reform pilot zone for coordinating urban-rural development. In December 2008, the first inland bonded port area in China was established in Chongqing. In February 2009, Chongqing became one of the five national central cities, and is the only central city in China's central and western regions. In February 2010, the largest comprehensive bonded zone in China was established at Chongqing Xiyong. In June 2010, China's "third new area" – Liangjiang New Area was successfully established. In September 2013, the fourth plenary session of the Fourth Chongqing Municipal Committee divided Chongqing into five functional zones: the core functional zone of the metropolitan area, the expanded functional zone of the metropolitan area, the new urban development zone, the ecological conservation and development zone in northeastern Chongqing, and the ecological protection and development zone in southeastern Chongqing, clarifying the functional positioning, development priorities, and development directions of each zone. Chongqing, with its unique locational advantages, is playing an important strategic role in the "Belt and Road" national strategy and the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. As the largest industrial and commercial metropolis and economic center in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and southwestern China, and an important transportation hub, a city of exhibitions, shopping, food, and tourism, it is attracting the attention of more and more people around the world.