Chongqing is the largest and most populous of the People's Republic of China's four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half of China. Formerly (until 14 March 1997) a sub-provincial city within Sichuan Province, the municipality of Chongqing has a registered population of 31,442,300. The boundaries of Chongqing municipality reach much further into the city's hinterland than the boundaries of the other three provincial level municipalities (Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin), and much of the municipality, which spans over 20 million acres, is rural. The population of the urban area of Chongqing proper was 4.1 million in 2005 although this figure is disputed owing to difficulties as to where the urban area of Chongqing begins and ends.
The municipal abbreviation, was approved by the State Council on 18 April 1997. Chongqing was also a municipality of the old Republic of China. Its abbreviated name is derived from the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds the Yangtze River. Located on the edge of the Yungui Plateau, Chongqing is intersected by the Jialing River and the upper reaches of the Yangtze. It contains Daba Shan in the north, Wu Shan in the east, Wuling Shan in the southeast, and Dalou Mountain to the south. Chongqing has a humid subtropical climate influenced by monsoon. Summers are amongst the hottest in China, with an average high of 95F (35C) in August. Winters are fairly mild, but damp and overcast; average January highs are 48F (9C). Chongqing has one of the lowest sunshine totals annually in China.
The city is very hilly and is the only major metropolitan area in China without significant numbers of bicycles. |
