City harbors global ambitions

Editor's note: Chongqing lies at the convergence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers and its position has allowed it to act as a crossroads for inland trade. But the municipality's ambitions extend beyond its borders. China Daily recently explored the municipality and its focus on becoming a major international trade hub.

The municipality is pinning its future on becoming China's foremost inland crossroads for domestic and international trade, whether by air, water, rail or road. Kang Bing and James Healy report.

Chongqing, a growth-spurt city in China's awakening southwest, has been compared to Chicago because, like that midwestern American city in the 19th century, it stands as a gateway to development of the nation's western frontier. But Chongqing, one of four municipalities under the central government's direct control - and a pilot city that is pioneering China's inland development - could just as easily be compared to Texas, the US state that prides itself on doing everything on a grand scale. From cavernous new convention center facilities to sprawling factories to bustling mega-ports on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Chongqing has taken to heart the Texas big-is-best spirit in its recent urban growth. This is evident throughout the city, but especially in Liangjiang New Area, where construction cranes perched atop new high-rises are as common a sight as the lush foliage and countless trees that line the city's highways and boulevards.