On March 14, 1997, a new Chongqing was born when the National People's Congress approved it as the fourth municipality directly under the central government. In the ensuing five years, this city with the largest geographical area of any city in the world [82,400 sq km or 31,814 square miles] has begun its function of serving as a bridge between China's east and west, radiating toward the west.

A growing city has appeared in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Many old bridges and docks, which earlier could hardly have been called scenic spots, have been turned into sites of interest. Chao Tian Men Dock, the symbol of Chongqing, is vastly different now. Diao Jiao Lou (houses with their backs hanging over water, supported by pilings) has been replaced by the spacious Bingjiang Road. The 18 newly-built bridges across Jialing River and the Yangtze River connect the original downtown urban district of some 100-square-kilometers (38.61 square miles) with 11 new districts, tripling the central urban area.

The change in the city's designation is enabling Chongqing to develop as the economic center of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In reviewing the move to upgrade Chongqing into the fourth municipality directly under the central government, Huang Jiren, a deputy to the Eighth National People's Congress, China's top legislature, said:

"It's not a simple readjustment of administrative division, but rather an important policy geared to quicken the development of the middle and the west of China. Chongqing needs to shift from being a regional city to an economic center in the upper reaches of Yangtze River. Its economic power, its position as a transportation and communications hub and its level of urbanization will accordingly improve a lot."

Today's transportation map of Chongqing is in sharp contrast to its past. With a ready highway network extending in all directions, it takes less than eight hours to arrive in the main urban area from even the most remote area of Chongqing. By railway, it is no longer a dream to leave Chongqing in the morning and arrive that evening in Beihai, a port city in southwest China's Guangxi. A transportation problem that had limited development in Chongqing began to be solved.

The rapid development of Chongqing's main urban area has enabled some counties to the west of the city -- including Bishan, Yongchuan and Rongshang counties -- to change from wilderness into suburbs of Chongqing. Qinggang of Bishan County, a small town five years ago with a non-agriculture population of less than 200, today is a modern city that has attracted more than 450 investors with a total capital of 1.56 billion yuan (US$188.4 million). The changes in Wanxian, Fulin and Qianjiang cities are as amazing. The relocation of local residents for the world-renowned Three Gorges Project has achieved success in its first phase. The 12 poor counties in the dam area have alleviated poverty, solved the problem of adequate food and clothing, and are moving towards a comfortable life. One after another, many well-known companies from home and abroad have opened businesses there, and many modern cities have cropped up.

Wang Genfang, the dean of Chongqing Construction Bureau, told reporters: "Before 1997, some 73 percent of Chongqing's 30 million population lived in rural areas. But over the past five years, a total of 460,000 have become urban residents. The level of urbanization in Chongqing last year was 34.5 percent."

The past five years have seen the GDP of Chongqing jump from 110 billion yuan (US$13.29 billion) to 170 billion yuan (US$20.53 billion). Though in a very difficult situation, the state-owned enterprises of Chongqing in 2001 all began to turn loss into gain, earning 2.1 billion yuan (US$253.62 billion) in profits. The population in poverty in the urban area was reduced from 3.66 million to 820,000. The annual income of farmers increased from 1,179 yuan (US$142.39) to 1,971 yuan (US$238.04).

"The past five years since Chongqing became municipality can be regarded as the best period in Chongqong's history" said He Guoqiang, secretary of Chongqing municipal government. "It fulfilled the tasks given by Jiang Zemin: Invigorate old industrial bases, explore ways to develop a big countryside with the development of big cities, move residents of the Dam area on time and protect the environment. All these have achieved success in this phase. So the practice of the past five years proves the decision of making Chongqing the fourth municipality was very wise and correct."

(Chongqing Business Newspaper, translated by Zheng Guihong for china.org.cn, April 13, 2002)