Chongqing

Chongqing is one of four provincial-level municipalities. It is the largest municipality with 82,300 km² and the most populous with 31,442,300 inhabitants, which means a density of 382/km². Chongqing was a municipality located within Sichuan Province until 1997, since then it has the status of a province and is under the direct administration of the central government of the People's Republic of China.

While agriculture remains a significant part of the economy, the municipality is abundant with natural resources. There are large deposits of coal, natural gas, and more than 40 kinds of minerals such as strontium and manganese. Unfortunately the mining operations are said to be wasteful, heavily-polluting, and unsafe. As far as we know there has been no mine opened for the public so far.

The province is dominated by the so-called Red Basin, a basin crossed by the Jangtse and surrounded by hill country, named after the red sandstone. The northwest is an alluvial plain. Often overlooked, because of the other great sights, Dazu Rock Carvings and the Three Valley Dam, it is well worth a visit.

The Wulong District, a southern district of Chongqing municipality, is famous for its karst features. There are show caves, tiankengs, stone forests, hot springs and gorges. This karst area is called 武隆喀斯特 (Wulong Karst) and three of the karst related sights were included into the UNESCO World Heritage List. This are Furong Dong, Three Natural Bridges, and Qingkou Tiankeng.