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General Introduction
The
jailing River crosses its way with the Yangtze
at Chongqing, a river-girdled city hemmed in
between mountains in the southeastern part of
the Sichuan Basin. Buildings, either perched
above rivers or hugging the contours of mountain
slopes, are laid out in a terraced fashion to
accentuate Chongqing's character as a mountain
city. The average annual temperature is 18 degrees
Celsius. Chongqing is also known as a 'Fog City'
due to the fact that it is wet and foggy in
late autumn and early spring. In 1997, Chongqing
became the latest city to be incorporated as
a municipality directly under the State Council.
Today, it is the largest city and inland harbor
and a major transportation hub for southwest
China.
Climate
Chongqing
belongs to sub-tropical monsoon climate. The
features are warm winter, hot summer, early
spring and short autumn. Annual average temperature
is around 19.2oC The average lowest temperature
is 6-8oC in winter. The average highest temperature
is 27-38oC in summer and the extreme temperature
can reach as high as 43.8oC. Hence it had got
the name of “furnace city”.
The
monsoon concentrates in summertime. The annual
average rainfall is 1000-1100mm. There is plenty
of night rain in summer, hence the saying “Ba
mountains’ night rain”. Chongqing is also called
“foggy city”. There is much fog from the end
of autumn to early spring with at least 68 foggy
days a year. Chongqing is also one of the cities
with shortest sunshine time in China. The annual
sunshine time is 941.9 hours.
Topography
At
present, Chongqing is the biggest municipality
in terms of area and population in China. This
beautiful mountain city is located at the juncture
of the Yangtze River and Jialing River in the
southeast of China's Sichuan Basin, between
105o 17′-110o 1′east longitude and 28o 0′-32o
3′ north latitude. It is 470 kilometers from
east to west and 450 kilometers from north to
south, neighboring Hubei and Hunan provinces
in the east, Guizhou province in the south,
Sichuan province in the west and Shanxi province
in the north. The whole terrain slopes down
to the Yangtze River valley from south to north,
and is therefore quite undulating. In the northwest
and central parts are mainly hills. In the southeast
are Dabashan and Wulingshan mountains. Because
the city is just erected in the mountains, Chongqing
is called “mountain city”. There are about 80
rivers flowing through Chongqing. The major
rivers are the Yangtze River, Jialing River,
Wujiang River, Fujiang River, Qijiang River
and Daninghe River.
SCENES
& SIGHTS
Evening
Scenes of Chongqing
The
Red Star Pavilion in the Pipasha Park, the Kansheng
Pavilion in the Eling Park, and a place called
Yikeshu on the Nanshan Mountain are vintage
points for observing the nocturnal scenes of
the mountain city of Chongqing. At night the
entire city is inundated in an ocean of lights,
which form a colorful three-dimensional painting,
with waves of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers
glistening against the moonlit, star spangled
sky.
Sites
of the Provisional Capital
Chongqing
figured importantly in modem Chinese history.
During the War of Resistance against Japan,
it was the "provisional capital" of
China under the Kuomintang rule from November
1937 to October 1945. Vestiges of that period
are still there in and around the city. These
include the Red Crag Village and 50 Zengjiayan,
as well as Chiang Kai-shek's mansion, Guiyuan
Garden, Linyuan Garden, and the mansion of C.C.
Kong, the embassies of various countries to
China, as well as former residences of important
politicians, generals and cultural figures.
Martyrs'
Mausoleum at Mount Gele
The
former headquarters, radio station and prison
of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics
of the Military Council (a colossal secret service
of the Kuomintang) at the foot of the Gele Mountain
in Shapingba District have become the mausoleum
for those who died a martyr's death there in
China's dark days. In the dying years of World
War 11, it was the site of the "Sino0US
Institute for Cooperation in Special Technology".
Dazu
Grottoes
The
Dazu Grottoes in the county of the same name
is best known for the stone carvings on the
Baodingshan and Beishan mountains, which are
fine example of grotto sculpture in the late
years of Chinese feudalism. The sculptures,
done in fastidious chisel work and gracious
imagery, are marked by a new sculptural language
that eschews religious taboos and espouses true
life.
Yangtze
River's Three Gorges
Sailong
down the Yangtze from Chongqing to Yichang allows
visitors to see the spectacular scenery of the
Three Gorges along with its splendid cultural
heritage and fabled local folklore. The cruise,
which combines sightseeing with scientific,
artistic and folklore exploration, is a national-caliber
tourist program. The 193-km-long Three Gorges,
consisting of the majestic Qutangxia, statuesque
Wuxia and ferocious Xilingxia gorges, is one
of and ferocious Xilongxia gorges, is one of
the world's major canyons. Along the way there
are such scenic attractions as the Fengdu Mountain.
Baidi city, Shibao village, Zhang Fel's Temple,
Qu Yuan's Temple, and the Three Gorges Dam.
Lesser
Three Gorges
The
Daning River is the largest Yangtze tributary,
which rises in the southern side of the Daba
Mountain and flows for 250km before emptying
itself into the Yangtze at the western entrance
to the Wuxia Gorge. The Lesser Three Gorges
on the Daning River, a 50km-long affair covering
the Longmenxia, Bawuxia and Dicuixia gorges
in the lower reaches of the river, is billed
as one of China's 40 best scenic resorts thanks
to its gorgeous mountains, elegant peaks, turbulent
rapids, limpid water, exotic rock imagery and
serene scenery.
Diaoyu
City, Hechuan
Established
in 1242, or the 2nd year of the Chunyou reign
of the Southern Song, Diaoyu City covers 2.5
square km up the Diaoyu Mountain on the southern
shore of the Jialing River in Hechuan City's
Heyang Town. In 1258, the Mongols launched a
three-way attack on the Song, and in February
the next year Diaoyu City found itself besieged.
The Song army mounted a valiant counterattack
that last3ed for 36 years, and made world war
history by rebuffing a strong enemy with a weak
force. This prompted some European historians
to laud Diaoyu City as the "Mecca of the
East" and "Where God broke his whip".
The ruins of the ancient battlefield of Diaoyu
City are well kept there.
Jinyun
Mountain
Nicknamed
"Less Mount Emei", Jinyun Mountain
is a national scenic resort 55km from downtown
Chongqing.
Furong
Cave, Wulung
The
Furong (Hibiscus) Cave is located by the Furong
River in Wulung County. The main part of the
cave is 2,700 metres in length and 3.7 square
metres in area. The Splendid Cave is the most
impressive. Housed in it are nearly 30 varieties
of stalactites chiseled into every manner of
exotic imagery by the cunning labor of nature.
Major attractions are Gold Throne Hall, Leifeng
Pagoda and Sky-reaching Jade Pillar.
Chongqing
Museum
Located
at Pipashan Street, the Chongqing Museum is
in the possession of more than 100,000 cultural
artifacts, including 10,000 or so valuable ones.
Chongqing
Nature Museum
Local
natural history and fauna and flora samples
are on display in the Chongqing Nature Museum
in Beibei district, which includes a display
room for dinosaurs that have been founding Sichuan.
Other
Scenic Attractions
Other
scenic attractions include the south and north
Hot springs, Red Crag Village, Simian (Four-Face)
Mountain, Jinfo (Golden Buddha) Mountain, Earth's
Chasm at Tianjing Gorge, and Heavenly Crate
at Xiaozhai village.
Three
Gorges Tourist Festival
Time:
June every year
What's On: Cruise on the Three Gorges of the
Yangtze River, the Ghost City at Fengdu, Dazu
Grottoes, Shibao Village, Zhang Fei's Temple,
Baidi City at Fengjie and Lesser Three Gorges.
Other activities include float parade, full-length
variety show and tourist business talks.
Chongqing
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