Chongqing
Chongqing Children's Welfare Institute
No. 1-2 Cun, Dao Jiao Zou Ma Liang
Ba Nan District
Chongqing, China 400055
Half the Sky Children's Center #4 opened in April 2002.
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Baby Sisters Infant Nurture Program since April, 2002 |
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Little Sisters Preschool Program since April, 2002 |
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Big Sisters Program since 2004 |
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Family Village #7 since May, 2007 |
CHONGQING
With a population of 30 million, Chongqing is centered on a hilly peninsula encircled by the Yangzi and Jialingjiang rivers. The major port of the upper Yangzte River, Chongqing is the gateway to the famous Three Gorges, Qutang, Wu, and Xiling, and the $25 billion Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world.
Chongqing is one of the four “furnace cities” of China, with scorching hot and humid summers when temperatures can exceed 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The city also stands out because of the absence of bicycles; its steep hills make for coronary-inducing treks for any potential riders. Perhaps that is why Chongqing is the largest producer of motorbikes in China.
Chongqing is quieter than other large Chinese cities because since 1997 it has banned the use of car horns to reduce noise pollution on the congested peninsula. Chongqing is also a major center for iron and steel production, shipbuilding, as well as chemical and pharmaceutical production.
Chongqing was given its name, which means “Double Celebration,” by the Southern Song Emperor Guangzong in 1189, to commemorate his ascent to princely and then imperial rank. At the end of the Song period, from 1242 to 1278, Song forces held off Mongol invaders in the longest continuous military campaign ever on Chinese soil, lasting some 36 years at nearby Hechuan, 60 km to the north of the city.
One interesting side trip from Chongqing is the nearby Buddhist rock carvings located in Dazu County. They include over 60, 000 figures scattered in more than 100 places carved in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and Song Dynasty (960-1279).
Chongqing’s Bayi Road in the Yuzhong District has become a street of restaurants where you can sample the strong-flavored, heavily spiced local specialties. Chongqing has laid claim to the invention of the hot pot, a spicy treat featuring platters of meat and vegetables dipped in a vat of boiling oil mixed with garlic, chili and mind-numbing Sichuan peppers.
In addition to Chongqing’s signature hot pot dish, other favorites include: red pepper chicken, quanshui chicken, tender bean-curd fish, hot pepper fish, dandan noodles, and the laozao rice wine that often go with sweet dumplings. Less spicy dishes from other counties that are now part of Chongqing include Hechuan sliced rice cake with nut meat, Jiangjin crisp sweet rice cake, and Fuling mustard tubers.
If you adopted a child who was in our Chongqing Half the Sky programs, we are happy to send you whatever progress reports and photographs we may have in our files, but only after you've brought your child home. Please download and fill out a progress report request form and follow the instructions for faxing or emailing to Half the Sky.