Chongqing(simplifiedChinese:重庆),formerlytransliteratedasChungking,isamajorcityinSouthwestChinaandoneofthefivenationalcentralcitiesofthePeople'sRepublicofChina.Administratively,itisoneofthePRC'sfourdirect-controlledmunicipalities(theotherthreeareBeijing,ShanghaiandTianjin),andtheonlysuchmunicipalityininlandChina.
Themunicipalitywascreatedon14March1997,succeedingthesub-provincialcityadministrationthatwaspartofSichuanProvince.In2007,themunicipalityofChongqinghadapopulationof31.4million.[1]Ithasjurisdictionover19districts,17counties,andfourautonomouscounties.Withanareaof82,300km²(31,800mi²),itisthelargestdirect-controlledmunicipality,largereventhanoneprovinceandanautonomousregion,aswellasTaiwan.[2]Itispossiblytheworld'slargestmunicipalitybypopulationandoneofthelargestbyarea.
Themunicipalabbreviation,渝(Yú),wasapprovedbytheStateCouncilon18April1997.ChongqingwasalsoamunicipalityoftheRepublicofChinaadministration,servingasitswartimecapitalduringtheSecondSino-JapaneseWar(1937–1945).ItsabbreviatednameisderivedfromtheoldnameofapartoftheJialingRiverthatrunsthroughChongqingandfeedstheYangtzeRiver.
ThecityisoneofthecitiesnotableforhistoryandcultureinChina(历史文化名城),andnotably,servesastheeconomiccentreoftheUpstreamYangtzearea,amodernmanufacturingcentreandatransportationhubforSouthwestChina.