As a famous historical and cultural city of China, Chongqing is the birthplace of Ba-Yu Culture (an ancient culture originated in Sichuan and Chongqing) with a recorded history of over 3,000 years.

The Jialing River’s ancient name is “Yushui (Yu river)”, Chongqing is hence called “Yu” by abbreviation. 

Chongqing was once called "Yu Prefecture" and "Gong Prefecture". In 1189, Emperor Guangzong of Song Zhaodun was firstly entitled Prince “Gongwang” and later enthroned as Emperor here. Hence he claimed to be with “double jubilation”, the original meaning of “Chongqing”.

In the late Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty, Chongqing was the capital of the Daxia Kingdom. During the Second World War, Chongqing was China's wartime capital and the command center in the Far East Battlefield of the World Anti-Fascist War. During the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the early days of the War of Liberation, the Southern Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, based in Chongqing, was responsible for the work on party organizations and the united front work in the Kuomintang regions, Hong Kong, Macao and overseas regions. The Hongyan Revolutionary Spirit formed during the process is a precious spiritual wealth of our country and nation.

Chongqing is also the only municipality directly under the central government administration in central and western China. Positioned as one of China’s National-level Key Cities, the economic center of the upstream Yangtze basin, a major modern manufacturing base, a transportation hub in southwest China and a pioneer of opening-up in inland China, Chongqing has made great efforts to accelerate its economic and social development.

Chongqing is giving full play to its special position as an important strategic anchor of Large-scale Western Development and the juncture of the Belt and Road and the Yangtze River Economic Zone. Relying on Chongqing Liangjiang New Area, China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the the national strategies such as China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity, Chongqing is speeding up its construction as a pioneer of opening-up in inland China and a charming landscape of lush mountains and lucid rivers while working to realize high-quality development and ensuring high-quality livelihood for people in Chongqing.

The Chinese character formation of “Chongqing” indicates “a long journey” and “a large area”. A tour in Chongqing, therefore, is a journey to new accomplishments.

Situated at the transition zone between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the plain along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River at 105°17'-110°11' E and 28°10'-32°13' N, Chongqing boasts rich tourism resources such as the Three Gorges, World Cultural Heritage Dazu Rock Carvings, and World Natural Heritage Wulong karst and Jinfo Mountain of Nanchuan District.

Chongqing sits in the subtropical monsoon humid climate zone, with an annual average temperature of 16°C-18°C and an annual rainfall of 1,000mm-1,450mm.

Covering an area of 82,400 square kilometers, Chongqing governs 38 districts and counties (26 districts, 8 counties and 4 autonomous counties).

It has a registered population of 33.9 million and a permanent population of 30.75 million. In Chongqing, the Han ethnicity is the majority. There are ethnic minorities such as Tujia and Miao, with 2 million people in total.

In 2018, Chongqing's GDP reached RMB 2,036.319 billion, 6.0% up on a year-on-year basis. Its general public budget revenue was RMB 226.55 billion, a year-on-year growth of 0.6%. Its per capita disposable personal income of urban and rural residents was RMB 34,889 and RMB 13,781, up 8.4% and 9.0%, respectively.