Chongqing Municipality:
334km (208 miles) SE of Chengdu.
1,346km (836 miles) South of Xi'an.
620(400miles) upstream of Three Gorges Dam.
If other major cities in China are undergoing face-lifts, Chongqing is having radical reconstructive surgery: In 1997, it became the fourth city to achieve the status of municipality (after Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai). With summers so hot it's been dubbed one of China's Three Furnaces, and streets so steep that no one rides a bike, terrain and weather were once its chief claims to fame. Now, this cliff-side city overlooking the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers has much to boast about. Chongqing is the biggest metropolitan area in the world (surpassing Tokyo); it's got the world's biggest dam site downriver.
Most travelers come to Chongqing because it's the first or last stop on a Three Gorges cruise, but there's enough here to make a 2- or 3-day stay enjoyable. The city is also just a 2-hour bus ride from the Buddhist Grottoes at Dazu.
Chongqing Pictures 
Chongqing Attractions: 
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