Chongqing-China Permanent Virtual Exhibition and Business Directory

Chongqing was approved and established by the State Council as one of the four provincial-level municipalities in 1997 in China (the other three being Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai). It is situated in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, and adjacent to Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Hubei and Shaanxi.

Chongqing is situated within the humid sub-tropical monsoon climate belt. It has an annual average temperature of 18C to 20C. Famous for its hot summers, it is known as one of the ‘three furnace cities' (the other two being Nanjing and Wuhan).

Chongqing City's transportation system has been well developed in recent years and it is one of the important transportation hubs connecting eastern and western China. Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport realized a 14 million-passenger throughput in 2009, ranking tenth in China.

The city is also a major rail hub in South Central China. The Chongqing-Chengdu railway, Chongqing-Guiyang railway, Chongqing-Xiangfan railway, Chongqing-Huaihua railway and Chongqing-Suining express railway have starting points within the city. In addition, other railways such as Chongqing-Yichang and Chongqing-Changsha connect Chongqing with neighbouring cities such as Yichang and Changsha.

In 2009, Chongqing, the biggest inland river port in western China, realized cargo throughput of  86.11 million tons – a rise of 9.1% year-on-year. Chongqing is rich in advanced human resources. It has 60 colleges and universities that produced 114,500 graduates in 2009.

Four key national-level laboratories and five state-level engineering research centres are also located in the city. Famous universities include Chongqing University and Southwest University. In 2009, Chongqing's GDP grew 14.9% from the year before to RMB 652.9 billion, making it the largest economy in central and western China.

Automobiles, motorcycles and equipment manufacturing, electronic information, new materials, natural gas and petrochemicals have been Chongqing's pillar industries. In 2009, these industries realized a gross industrial output of RMB 331.5 billion, accounting for 49.5% of the city's total.

Automobiles, motorcycles and machinery parts are the most important economic pillar of Chongqing's industry sector. In 2009, their gross industrial output amounted to RMB 222.4 billion, representing a rise of 21.3% over the previous year and accounting for 33.2% of the city's total.