Chongqing

Brian Hennessy.

Chongqing is a mountain metropolis of 6.5 million people. It straddles the junction of the Changjiang (Yangtze) and Jialing rivers, and is the point of departure for the spectacular journey down through the fast-flowing rapids of the Three Gorges to the middle reaches of the broad Changjiang river valley below. It is also a gateway to the fertile Sichuan basin and the less developed provinces of southwest China.

Chongqing: mountain city, river city, and gateway. A modern industrial city with a history that goes back 3,000 years. Chongqing: Sister-city to Brisbane in Queensland, Australia.

1. Mountains.
2. River.
3. People.
4. Food.
5. Houses.
6. Future.

Mountains

If you look at a topographical map of southern Asia, you can see where the northern bound Indian tektonic plate collided with the Asian plate a couple of billion years ago. As the Indian plate dipped and slid under the Asian plate, it forced the southern boundary of the Asian plate up into the sky, forming the world's highest mountain range; the Himalayas. You can see the magnificent result of this collision: a chain of mountains including Mount Everest (Chomolongma) and other world famous mountain peaks stretching from Kashmir in the west, to Yunnan in the East. All of them flirting with the stratosphere.

About 20 million years ago, the southwestern area of China began to settle down after this geological cataclysmia. The Sichuan area sorted itself out, and the glaciers from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau began to forge their own pathways through the land. Their melting, draining waters shaped valleys and gorges, and wore down weak points in massive ridges as they looked for a path to the sea, thousands of kilometers away.

If you look closely, you can see where the Changjiang (Yangtze River) chiseled through several mountain chains before it cut like a knife through several mountain barriers to form the magnificent Three Gorges.

Chongqing sits on a ridge, and is surrounded by mountains. These mountains in and around Chongqing are alive. Geologically and humanly. No, they are not dangerously volcanic. And there are no tektonic plates causing trouble in this area. For that kind of disturbance, go further south...to Yunnan where nature is still pushing and shoving, trying to make up her mind what she wants and where she wants to do it. Chongqing is geographically stable. However, there are some reminders here today of what the distant past used to be like.

Hot springs. It seems that if you sink a bore anywhere, you will find hot, mineral, sulphuric, very healthy for your body, water. Or more accurately, it finds you. Dig deep, and there it is. Waiting to say; hello,what took you so long.

There are many hot springs in and around Chongqing. And what enjoyable, civilised places they are. Chinese people know how to relax, and their choices of relaxation reflect their philosophy on life. Life is hard, so take a moment to enjoy the senses. Bathe in differently scented waters...waters to which medicinal herbs and so on have been added. Bury yourself in heated gravel...small heated stones which will relieve those sore muscles and balm the rheumatism. Or let those tiny, tiny, fish eat the old skin cells off your body. Sure it tickles, and be careful how much flesh you expose, but it's like having your body vacuum cleaned. Follow this with a massage and a meal, washed down with some flower tea (many foods and drinks have medicinal qualities in China), or if you like, choose your own poison and drink one of many famous brands of baijiu that will be on offer. My advice is to stick to beer.

You won't find this on the central plains of China.

And the mountains are alive with people. Farmers who are getting rich on meeting the needs of city dwellers who need a bit of fresh air every now and then. People who need a place to eat and to play mahjong or cards on a Sunday afternoon. City dwellers who want to breathe the fresh air and enjoy a few moments peace amidst the good natured noise that they bring with them on their hike up the mountain. City dwellers who will hurry back to their crowds and their noise, and their chaos at the end of the day because that is their lifestyle and that is what they love. They just need to escape once in awhile. Escape with their whole family, that is. No individuals here. The family is the basic unit of society. There are few individuals in the western sense here, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Nan Shan (South Mountain) is closest to downtown Chongqing. Jiang Jie Shi (Chiang Kai Shek) lived and governed Free China from here during the Anti Japanese War. Some friendly foreign nations had their embassies there, so the Japs left this place alone during their bombing raids. Either that, or 'that little peanut' (a term used by the American General Stillwell to describe Jiang Jie Shi) was doing deals with the enemy as well as everybody else.

Today, Nan Shan is a cool place in summer, and a good place to go for a hike in winter. And in spring, the gardens there are alive with cherry blossoms. A very pleasant place. You can also visit a wonderful Dao temple, find an old German hospital, or aimlessly follow the tracks that meander around the sides of the ridges. This is where you will find the tiny farming villages and their enterprising, friendly folk.

On the western edge of Chongqing city, near Shapingba, is a famous range. Gele Shan. A place of heroes who were incarcerated by Jiang Jie Shi, and martyrs who were ordered murdered by him when he fled from the advancing Red Army. A look at their photographs is heartbreaking. Intelligent, earnest young men and women who believed in an ideal, and who tried to live that ideal...at great risk to themselves. China was ready for change then, and these idealists were the vanguard of that change. Most of them died.

To the north, several beautiful mountains run parallel to each other. Each one offering scenic wonders. Here you can find the spectacular Jin Dao Xia (Gorge), a peaceful Jinyun Shan, and the Tongjing scenic spot. A little further on is Hechuan town, famous for resisting Khublai Khan's Mongol Army in the 13th century. Scratch anywhere around Chongqing Municipality and you will uncover ancient history.

Back south again, and past Nan Shan, a couple of hours drive on a new superhighway brings you to more magnificent mountains. Fantastic scenery bordering the Province of Guizhou, with its terraced fields and welcoming farmers. Lunch on the best fish meal you can buy in Chongqing, drink the local fruit-wine (highly recommended...better than baijiu), and buy a bag full of ripe kiwi-fruit if you are lucky enough to visit in late summer. Pick them yourself. I did.

There are more mountains to describe and visit, but I think I make my point. Most of these places are unknown outside of Chongqing. In fact, if they were, Chongqing would become an end-point for tourism in its own right. There is hidden treasure in these mountains.

River

It is the river which gave life to Chongqing. And to understand Chongqing, one must first understand the river. For it is the river which cradled the growth and development of Chinese civilisation.

Long ago, on its way down from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the mighty Yangtze River had its southern course blocked by a small mountain in Yunnan called Cloud Hill. Although small in comparison to the surrounding giants, Cloud Hill was big enough to redirect the southern flow of the Yangtze to the northeast and up to the edge of the fertile Sichuan basin. Once there there it carved its way through a series of parallel ridges before turning east and scouring a narrow opening down through the Three Gorges and onto the river plains below.

Today, this spot is called the first bend of the Yangtze River. A critical turning point for geography and history. The place where Chinese history began.

Why was this a critical point for Chinese history?

If the Yangtze had been allowed to continue its southern course, civilisation would have followed in its wake through the mountain country of southeast Asia and down to the coastal plains. It would not have had reason to develop in what is now the heartland of China. Civilisation usually follows big rivers with habitable banks and fertile flood plains. It rarely takes root in dry country.

The first bend changed history with its change of direction. This change in direction provided the conditions necessary for the growth and development of what would become the world's longest continuous civilisation. The large Chinese Middle Kingdom civilisation rather than a smaller south east Asian culture. A civilisation containing 20% of the world's population.

Today, the small town of Shigu sits on the southern bank of the first bend. Such a small town for such a big place in history. Shigu means 'Stone Drum', a reference to the original stone drum left here by Zhuge Liang, the famous 3rd century military strategist from the Three Kingdoms Period who crossed the river at this point on one of his campaigns. History also records that Khublai Khan's army crossed here in the 13th century on inflated sheepskins. And today, a drum-shaped marble plaque commemorates a 16th century victory by the local Naxi people over an invading Tibetan army. Another plaque celebrates the crossing of the Jinshajiang at this point by the Red Army on its Long March to the north of China.?

So much history. So many stories. Long ago and recent. But these events are only local milestones in the progress of China's development as a civilisation. They are products of history only, the result of a change in direction of a mighty river. The river was first. The milestones came later.

And what has all this to do with Chongqing?

The first bend redirected the Yangtze back to the north and up to the southern edge of the Sichuan basin where it was joined by the smaller Jialing River heading south across the basin from its source in the northeastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Together, their combined waters were strong enough to force a way through the ridges blocking the eastern progress of the Yangtze, and together their waters were able to cut a path through the three gorges. The junction of these two rivers was a natural entry point to what is now modern day Sichuan. Chongqing sits on this junction, amid these ridges, and above the dangerous rapids of the three gorges. It is close to the fertile Sichuan basin, and was a natural place for human settlement.

Primitive human beings lived along the banks here two million years ago. Archaeologists have unearthed the artifacts. Later, this area was a southern gateway to the early agricultural San Xing Dui riverlands culture in the Sichuan basin. The local Ba culture developed around here, as did the later kingdom of Shu which was centered around Chengdu on the western edge of the basin. This was a more advanced feudal culture which competed with two other famous kingdoms (Wei and Wu) for hegemony over China during the Three Kingdoms period in the third century AD. Zhuge Liang's time.

Today Chongqing is an independent municipality directly supported by the central government in Beijing. It is no longer an industrial river town that is a gateway to somewhere else. Now it is a destination in its own right. These days, Chongqing is the hub for growth and development in the hinterland of China. The platform for progress from undeveloped to developed status. An exciting task for this booming city.?

And the stimulus for this growth comes from the river, the Changjiang as it is known here. From a mighty dam across the Changjiang at the bottom of the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges dam. The largest dam in the world, producing the largest amount of hydroelectric power in the world, on the largest river in China.

The River. Still cradling growth and development.

People

The journey upriver to Chongqing, used to be a long and dangerous one. The Three Gorges area was easy to defend, and many invaders foundered in the narrow fast-flowing rapids as defenders attacked them from their high positions on ancient plank roads cut into the gorge walls.

More recently, it was the Japanese who were intimidated by this formidable bulwark. During the Anti Japanese War they halted their advance to Chongqing (then the wartime capital of China) at Yichang on the southern entry to the gorges. They knew that their army had little chance of forcing a way through this natural barrier.

So they relied on their air force to terrorise the Chongqing people into submission. For two years they bombed this city, killing tens of thousands of civilians. But they failed. Failed like other invaders before them who underestimated both the people and the terrain they lived in.?

Chongqing residents have a special character. They are open, friendly, and forthright. They are different from their cousins on the central plains of the middle Kingdom below. They are independent thinkers who epitomise an old Sichuanese saying: 'heaven is high, and the emperor is far away.' And they are a tough lot. Anyone who grows up eating hot and spicy food every day of their lives has to be.

And according to the experts, Chongqing ladies are the most beautiful in China. Who am I to argue: only the blind and the brave would dare to disagree. But beware: Chongqing women are as hot and spicy as the Sichuan food they eat. No nonsense ladies whose husbands cook the meals and do the housework. Ladies who have never read a feminist book in their lives.

Look around you as you explore streets, alleys, and parks of Chongqing. Places away from the modern department stores, gleaming office towers, and five-star hotels of downtown Jiefangbei. All you have to do is turn left or right off a main street and there you are...staring at the real Chongqing and the ordinary folk who live here.

Perhaps you walked past a small group of 'bang-bang' men smoking heavily and playing cards on the corner as they wait for a job carrying your shopping or a new TV up several flights of stairs to your home in an old apartment building. Everything suspended by rope from a short thick stick of bamboo balanced across strong, sinuey shoulders. I've seen these tough little men from the countryside carry furniture and refrigerators up long flights of steps this way. All for a few Kwai or Yuan. Just enough money to buy a cheap pack of local cigarettes perhaps.

And who sells him that packet of cigarettes? Usually a middle-aged lady with a loud voice and a good sense of humour who sits under a tattered umbrella in front of her small store as she plays mahjong with her friends in the stifling Chongqing summer heat. Outdoors is the only place to be during summer. Its just too damn humid to be inside.

And if she is not playing mahjong or cards on the street, she can be found watching her favourite soap opera on a small squawking TV nestled in amongst the packets of noodles, and toilet paper, and bottles of cooking oil and soy sauce and cigarettes stacked in random disarray around her little domain. Her son or daughter's child will be hanging around somewhere. Its her job to take care of the youngster while the young couple are at work. Grandmothers: propping up a household and doing their best to transmit ancient traditions from one generation to the next.

Respiratory disease is rampant in these older environments. A product of the damp climate. The humidity which keeps the skin of the ladies in good condition, and the Yangtze fog which hides the rays of a burning sun, has a downside. If you live in a damp, dusty, row of tenements which rarely see the sun, then the conditions are ripe for chronic respiratory disease and tuberculosis. And if you smoke those cheap and nasty Chongqing cigarettes, you add lung cancer and heart-disease to this lethal mix. Leaving too-few grandfathers around to pass on a man's wisdom to the grandchildren. A hard life and those damn cigarettes kill them off early. Children need grandfathers as well as grandmothers. Grandmothers are only half the story.

You had to be tough, internally and externally, to grow old in Chongqing (these days it is a little easier). Firstly, unlike developed countries, there is no generous social service system here. Everybody works. Secondly, there are no old-people's homes. This means that it is the children's responsibility to take care of their parents when they are old. And these days, most young parents work. Increasingly this means that the grandparents take care of the child and do the cooking and housework in one of those new apartment buildings while mum and dad are busy. I see them in the lifts and the in courtyard of my own building: carrying the baby, escorting the young child, enjoying the company of other elderly friends who think that living in a high-rise apartment is the next best think to heaven. A step up. Heaven can wait awhile.

So many new apartment buildings. Sprouting and spreading up the slopes, along the ridges, and down to the valleys on the other side. Bulldozing everything in their path. Jostling each other for a bit of free space, and a glimpse of of a river or mountain in the distance. Migrant workers from the countryside swarming over these constructions. Cheerful fellows who can't afford to buy the result of their labour. Small spartan men who eat and sleep on-site in crude conditions, and who send their ridiculously small salary back home so that they can pay for their child's education. Sometimes husband and wife working together. Grandparents or relatives looking after the youngster and their humble farm back in the village as they labor together far from home, trying so hard to get ahead. A game of cards, a few cigarettes and a bottle of cheap Shancheng (Mountain city) beer the only comforts after a hard days work. These are the folk who are building the new Chongqing in the new China. My God they are a tough, deserving, crew.?

And the child back home in a poor village? Surviving middle-school can be difficult also. Carrying the weight of a family's expectations can be a heavy load for a teenager. Fail, and the family fails also. This is 'make-or-break' time for them. A time when their exam results determine the family's future as well as their own. China is different from the west. Everything and everyone is joined together in a web of relationships and responsibilities.

Chaos Theory is one way of explaining this phenomenon. China is 'chaos theory' in practice. Everything is connected to something else. According to this theory, if a butterfly flaps its wings on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia today, a typhoon may roar in from the sea at Hainan Island tomorrow as a consequence. Following this logic: if an adolescent fails an exam in the Chongqing Municipality today, the hopes of a whole generation can fail with him. So God bless Deng Xiao ping and his 1979 opening up and reform policy. When Deng flapped his wings in Beijing? 1979, the winds of change began to blow across China.

Chongqing used to be a poor city. Until recently, education was the only way up and out of poverty. But Deng's policy change opened many windows of opportunity. Nowadays, if an enterprising family is fortunate enough to live in a booming city like Chongqing, that family has options. Family businesses are thriving. In one generation these folk are are breaking the cycle of poverty and lifting themselves into middle-class status. A remarkable achievement in any society. No iron rice-bowl to help them, and no economic support from the government. Just opportunity, enterprise, and hard work.

But improved economic circumstances do not make it easier for students who hope to enter university. Competition for a place in college is fierce. In fact, it is more difficult to get into university than to graduate from one. This is not hyperbole. At the end of each academic year, China's huge population of high-school students tries to squeeze itself through a narrow gate and into a good university. But there are not enough places available. Chongqing is no different from the rest of China in this respect.

Worse still, there are fewer jobs available for new graduates. Once upon a time everybody was poor, and it didn't matter so much. If you survived that bad winter or famine you were doing OK. If you had enough food on the table each night you were doing well. But it's different now. Expectations are higher, and the internet has opened up the Middle Kingdom to new ideas and new ways of doing things. The gap between the old and the new is now a gulf. The pace of economic and social change is so rapid that managed reform is lagging behind. The tiger wants to break out of his cage and leap into the unknown, and it will be difficult to restrain it.

Those young people who find suitable employment, find it in locations away from home. They relocate to the city. This is radical change. Traditionally, all generations of one extended family lived in a confucian hierarchy of defined roles and responsibilities where stability and security were highly valued. In an uncertain and sometimes unsafe world the family was the ultimate protection, for the rule of law was a foreign concept then. Thus family was everything. But it is different now.

Chinese traditions are being swamped by a wave of change. Everywhere, Chongqing included. It is not just economic development which is watering down traditional values and behaviours. Social change is a consequence of this phenomenon, and social change is taking Chinese people on a journey into the unknown. No parent in China today can predict what the future will be like for his child. Hence the question: are old traditions relevant to today's society? And if they are, which ones are relevant and which ones should be discarded? Difficult questions. My guess is that the young will forge their own blend of tradition and modernity as they grapple with the bigger question: "what does it mean to be Chinese in modern times?"

Don't believe the old hands who say that because the young have not suffered like the old, they are soft. This is not true. The young are grappling with unprecedented rapid change. There are no certainties. No fundamental beliefs to interpret and make sense of reality. No blueprint for the future other than study and work hard and see what happens next. Fortunately, Chongqing's predicted growth will help to absorb and channel these frustrations. In 10 years time, Chongqing will be known as,? "The Shanghai of the Southwest" .

The young will survive. As they do in all societies. They will reinvent what it means to be Chinese. They will learn as they go: as they relocate away from their villages and hometowns. Away from their own secure cradles of culture and tradition and into the free-market cauldron of a competitive lifestyle where traditional Chinese virtues are sometimes exploited (via the corruption of confucian values) or are non-existent. Its a hard life on your own. Away from the supports of family and culture. The young who adapt to this new China will be tough. Just as tough as their grandparents and parents who had to endure poverty, war, and famine. And the cultural revolution also.

There is hope. The younger generation are smart. They can think for themselves. They don't take anything at face value, and can see through hypocrisy, humbug, and lies. They question orthodoxy, and are more intellectually honest with themselves. Hypothetical, austere, and rigid constructs of reality have already been abandoned for the reality of materialism. In this respect they are no different from their western cousins. Where they differ is their attitude to hard work, thrift, and duty. They haven't forgotten these traditional virtues. Useful virtues which have been handed down to them by their ancestors via their parents. I meet these young people every day here in Chongqing. This city is in good hands.

Chongqing is a microcosm of the greater Peoples Republic of China. What happens in the Municipality of Chongqing today will be indicative of what will happen across the southwest region of the People's Republic of China tomorrow. The Chongqing butterfly is flapping its wings.

It is the people who give this modern metropolis its attitude and its character. And although it is the Three Gorges Dam which will provide the electricity to power Chongqing and the region's development, it is the people who light up this town.

More power to them.

Food

Food and eating is part of the culture. There is more to a meal than just feeding an empty stomach.

Chongqing has many small eating places which offer cheap, simple, and healthy food to neighbourhood residents. And because labor is cheap, there are many young ladies ready to wait on your table. Beautiful girls from the countryside who work most days and who sleep in a crowded dormitory upstairs. Folk who come to Chongqing for a better life than the one they leave behind. Perhaps they will serve you noodles with a little pork and vegetables, or soup with a few beef bones and some greens floating on the top. Or maybe some Jiaozi (dumplings) with a small bowl of vinegar and chili to spice it up. Wash it down with a bottle of local Shancheng (Mountain City) beer, and you are ready for your afternoon nap.

A warning! Never phone or visit a Chongqing person for the first hour or two after lunch! This is a hanging offence. This precious hour or two is Buddha's gift to tired bodies. The chance to rest and recover from a morning's work so that at the end of the day there is enough energy left to enjoy the evening.

And the evening begins with food. A time for family. Grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren sitting down together on cheap plastic stools around a low table with a hole in the middle containing a bubbling pot. A small gas flame under the table keeping this pot hot. As do the chillis and spices floating in the oily mix inside. This is Huoguo, or Hotpot, the favourite meal of every Chongqing person.

Chongqing is famous for this food. And there are many world-class restaurants in this city which can offer a foreign gastronome the culinary experience of a lifetime in a setting that is at once exotic and refined. A sophisticated evening with friends in an atmosphere of subdued opulence. You will find these places along Nan Bin Lu on the southern bank of the Changjiang, or in the busy restaurant streets of Nan Ping and Jiangbei. World-class places, all of them.

But if you are here in Chongqing for a short time and if you want to get the 'feel' of this city, then find yourself a hotpot restaurant where ordinary Chongqing people eat. They are everywhere. In fact, you can't walk around the streets of Chongqing in the evening without bumping into one. You will hear and see the patrons spilling out of the small restaurants and on to the footpath where they enjoy family and friends in a loud and joyous atmosphere around their beloved hotpot meal.

If you are not used to it, it is an assault on the senses at first. But if you are prepared to suspend judgement and be open to new experiences, then my advice is have a go at this different style of cooking and eating. Think of it as a cultural rather than as a culinary experience.

Enjoy the noise and the crowd, and the toasting. Ask about the medicinal qualities of the different ingredients and appreciate the mathematics behind the drinking games. Understand that there is an ancient, subtle ritual underlying this sometimes raucous event, and how each meal is an opportunity to maintain or rebuild harmony between folk. It is another microcosm of China. There is more going on here than meets the eye.

Later, everyone will disappear somewhere. Usually before 9:00pm. Families will have returned home well before this time. A short walk to settle the meal before plopping down in front of the TV is the usual practice. You will often see ladies standing around the tables, settling their stomachs as their menfolk do the quick thinking and the maths needed to defeat their opponent in a regulation drinking game. It is all good fun, and binds relationships tightly together. Relationships come first in China. Remember this.

Afterwards, the stayers will either go to a teahouse or to Karaoke TV (KTV). Although KTV is not my cup-of-tea, so to speak, it can be an interesting diversion for someone new to China. There is more to it than music.

Feeling a little peckish after your evening promenade or your visit to a tea-house? Then don't be frightened to sample something from that street-stall barbecue that is blocking your path. Smell the pork. Maybe there are some beef, duck, and vegetable delights simmering away on top of the coals under that large umbrella that is poking your eye out (foreigners are generally taller than Chinese) ! Don't worry about the risk of salmonella, you can see the whole process.

Food is culture also.

Houses

The old houses are unique to Chongqing. They had to be. How do you build a residence on the side of a cliff-face that? won't tumble into the river when the summer rains are heavy?

You use local materials. Stone from the precipices, bamboo from the groves clinging to the mountain sides, and clay from the riverbank. Stone for retaining walls, foundations, steps, and railings; and bamboo and clay for the bricks, roof tiles and wattle and daub walls. A functional design and practical construction for the less precipitous, more habitable slopes.

However, the cliff-face dwellings require a different architecture. A more exotic or adventurous style. Rickety, frail-looking structures which defy the laws of gravity and mathematics as they hug the slopes or lean out over the precipices and the empty spaces below. The only bracing provided by a few bamboo poles wedged tightly into any small crack or hole in the cliff-face. One small slip between a dwelling and a disaster.

These unique traditional structures are now subject matter for artists in the galleries of the old town of Siqikou, and the 'coffee-table' books in the Xin Hua bookstores. Suddenly, traditional Chongqing architecture is trendy. A sure sign of municipal maturity.

The modern show-case for Chongqing arts and crafts at Hongyadong is modelled on this unique hill-side architecture. Although contemporary in construction materials, its style is faithful to the traditional old cliff-side dwellings which it replaced. A visual reminder of the past and a template for Chongqing architecture and identity in the future.

But like modern developing cities the world over, new functional high-rise structures are replacing the the old. Beginning with domestic housing, and ending with big business. There is nothing wrong in this. This is a visible sign of Chongqing's economic success. A reminder to the world that Chongqing is booming and that Chongqing is now an international 'player'.?

But a traditional Chongqing lifestyle is disappearing with the destruction of old neighbourhoods. People whose families have lived and loved, and worked, and died in these old grey dusty tenements for generations are moving up. Up into high-rise apartments that are cleaner and healthier. A good move, no doubt about that. But the cost is the loss of community. A loss felt keenly by older residents of Chongqing who remember.

In this respect, Chongqing is similar to every other city in the world which is experiencing rapid growth. Beijing has the same problem with its disappearing hutongs. Likewise, Chengdu and Kunming have lost most of their traditional wooden dwellings. As have many other cities in China. In fact, in some places, progress is doing almost as much damage to traditional communities as the red guards did to temples during the Cultural Revolution.

There is hope, however. Old temples and fine examples of traditional architecture are being restored and protected. For example; the Buddhist temples at Siqikou and Huayan, and the old Guild Hall beside the river in downtown Chongqing. One hopes that in future the remaining old stone dwellings and alleys of downtown Chongqing are not reduced to rubble and that these sites are not used as foundations for yet another sky-scraper.?

There is room for both in Chongqing. The city's development plan for the future says so.

Future

Chongqing is already a sophisticated city. Go to Nan Shan or Nan Bin Lu any night of the week and enjoy the night-view. It is spectacular. You could be excused for thinking you were in Hong Kong. Go downtown on a Friday or Saturday evening and you might think that you were in any famous city in the world: department stores, restaurants, bars, nite-clubs. They are all here. Chongqing is becoming more cosmopolitan. You can see the future as you wander around Jiefangbei with its Chongqing beauties, its hustle and bustle, its gleaming five-star hotels, and its sense of excitement. The future is here. Now.

Shanghai is the model. Economic commentators predict that Chongqing will become the Shanghai of the hinterland within 10 years. So far, given the economic indicators, the projections, and the changing skyline, Chongqing is on track to do just that. And if less quantifiable factors such as the energy, adaptability, and industry of Chongqing people are added to the equation, the comparison with Shanghai becomes more apt. Shanghai people are different from the rest of China. So are Chongqing people. And that difference is noticeable the minute you get off the plane at Jiangbei Chongqing International Airport in Yubei District..

Five years ago, this district was farmland. Now it is high-rise apartments, universities, and joint-venture international companies. Although this type of development is occurring in many cities in China, the difference here is that Chongqing is a self-supporting Municipality of 31 million people as well as a thriving modern metropolis of 6.5 million people. Labor supply and consumer demand are high. Local energy supplies such as coal, gas, and petro-chemicals are abundant. The manufacturing base is strong with local joint ventures exporting products such as motor vehicles to the rest of China and abroad. A high-tech industry is reaching for the sky. Add lower taxes, fewer administrative hurdles, and an export oriented progressive Municipal Government to the mix and it becomes clear that Chongqing is an attractive place to do business. And underneath all this astounding growth and development is the financial backing and the political support of the Central Government in Beijing. Chongqing is the engine for growth in the southwest of China.

And this is just the beginning.

China Australia Consult. Australian professional in Chongqing. Bringing China and Australia together [BN20735650]. Commercial advisor: Chongqing Investment PromotionCenter. 6/F Foreign Trade Building, 65 Jianxin Bei Lu, Jiangbei District, Chongqing, CHINA 400016. Educator [Study abroad]. Psychologist Dip T; BA; M Ed; Dip Psych [Clinical]. Phone: 86 (country code) 13212372083. email: brianhennessy2@gmail.com