Fast facts about Chongqing
Located on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in Southwest China, Chongqing is the largest and most populous of China's four provincial-level municipalities. It was formerly a provincial city within Sichuan Province until it became a municipality on June 18, 1997, with a total area of 82,400 square kilometers.
Chongqing has a registered population of more than 32 million. Among them, 12 million are urban residents. Approved in 1992, the Three Gorges Dam Project is scheduled for completion in 2009. It is intended to prevent floods, generate electricity and provide shipping routes. The total number of migrants in the reservoir area has grown to more than 1.25 million. Immigration surged in Wanzhou in 1993, which contributed to water storage phases in the project. The fourth phase of emigration has begun.
(China Daily 06/21/2007 page21)
