Visit Chongqing, China

Chongqing is located in Southwest China and is the country’s largest city both in area and population. There are 30.2 million people in Chongqing, the majority of Han descent although there are 40 other ethnic groups such as the Tujia and Miao.

Formerly known as Chungking, the city was opened as a treaty port in 1890, and was the wartime capital for the Kuomintang during the 1930s and 40s. It is now developing rapidly again, and shiny new buildings tower over dusty gray old ones.

There is a romantic charm to Chongqing, its location on the confluence of two rivers and the thousands of city lights on the surrounding hillsides make it an interesting city to pass through before boarding or disembarking from a Yangtze River cruise — one of the best river journeys in the world.