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 With
a history of over 3,000 years, Chongqing, the birthplace of
Ba and Yu culture is one of the least well known but most important
historical cities in all of China. Today, little of this interesting
past is visible and the city is essentially an industrial mass.
Much of it is dirty and seedy but there is a lively atmosphere
prevalent about the place that often goes hand in hand with
the more "hardcore" cities in China.
The area known as Chongqing became the
capital of the Ba State in the 11 century BC under the mythical
King of the Yu. By the 12th Century AD, this small city had
grown in size and was renamed Chongqing, meaning "Double
happiness" in Chinese.Despite the name, the city in fact
has a rather turbulent past, and the residents here have spent
much of their history keeping invaders out.
In 1242 Chongqing put up a defence against the Mongols and in
1937, the Kuomingtang fled here from the Japanese. The city
withdrews attack and was one of the last Kuomingtang bastions.
In 1997, Chongqing separated from Sichuan to become an independent
prefecture in its own right. Today, this vast southwestern dynamo
is known as Chongqing Municipality.
Chongqing arguably has one of the most
unpleasant climates in the country, situated in the subtropical
zone and fostering an intensive and moist atmosphere. The annual
average temperature here is 18 oc with lows of 6 to 8 oc in
winter and highs of 27 to 29 oc in summer. Chongqing is frequent
cloudy and foggy, even in the summer months and pollution levels
here are high. Spring and winter are the best seasons to visit
here and the rainy autumnal season is best avoided. |
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