Seattle International Sister City:
Chongqing, China
(Sister City established in 1983)

Population: 4,400,000, Metro area: 10,200,000
Language: Mandarin, Sichuan dialect
Industry : Aluminum, Machinery, Chemicals, Trucks and Motorcycles, Textiles
Exports: Silk, Textiles, Grains, citrus, tea, Machinery, Chemicals
Climate: Subtropical with hot, humid summers and mild winters

Chongqing (formerly Chungking) is the commercial, industrial and transportation hub of Southwest China. It is a key inland port located on the Yangtze River in mountainous Sichuan Province. More than 14 million people live in Chongqing's massive jurisdictional area of 3,783 square miles.

In addition to its rapidly developing industries, Chongqing takes pride in its many universities and technical schools, including the renowned Sichuan Fine Arts Academy. The city also is the take-off point for cruises through the spectacular gorges of the Yangtze River and excursions to the remarkable Song Dynasty Buddhist stone carvings at Dazu.

Seattle and Chongqing have conducted nearly 100 exchanges in education, the arts, government, trade, medicine and science since establishing sister city ties in 1983. The Woodland Park Zoo and the University of Washington's Burke Museum have ongoing affiliations and exchanges with sister institutions in Chongqing.

Both the Youth Acrobatic Troupe and the Peking Opera Troupe of Chongqing have delighted audiences at the Seattle International Children's Festival. Educational and cultural programs for youth are an increasingly important focus of activity. Planning is moving rapidly forward in one of the most exciting exchange projects ?the Seattle Chinese Garden, a five-acre traditional garden of pavilions, pagodas, ponds, and lush greenery that will be a jewel among Seattle's parks.

Chongqing Museum Situated on the top of the Pipashan Mountain, Chongqing Museum was founded in 1951 as Southwest Museum and was renamed as Chongqing Museum in 1955. Covering a construction area of 5500 sqm, the museum has over 40 exhibiting halls with about 100,000 relics, which span over 3000 years history from the ancient Kingdom of Ba and the near-mythical Three Kingdoms Period to World War Two and the Chinese Revolution.


Eling Park Located it Changjiang Lu, Yuzhong district, Eling was originally named Edingling (Goose Nape Hill), for its narrow and steep shape resembling a nape of a goose. The park was built in 1909, which was originally the home of Lee, a rich businessman, also known as "courteous park", with special plant species and a newly built tower (Liangjiang Pavilion) providing the view of the entire city. In 1958, large-scale of restoration was carried out on the site of Lee Garden and the park was "Eling Park".

Ba people's hanging coffins In the past, people considered that the higher a dead man was buried, the more dutiful their descendants would be. This is the reason for "hanging coffins". There is also another belief that the height of the hanging coffin represents the rank of the dead person. There are 108 hanging coffins in Bawu Gorge and they sure make for an interesting visit if you are in the area.

Chongqing Animal Park comprises of different exhibition halls of more than 150 kinds of animal species including pandas, goldfish, birds, water animals, buffalos, elephants, lions and tigers, camels and monkeys.

Daninghe River Valley is well worth a visit and one spot that you musn't forget your camera, as the valley teams with life and colour and you'll definitely get some good photographs.

Dazu Rock Carvngs The work of Dazu Rock Carvings began in the first year of Yonghui in Tang dynasty (650A.D.), and continued until Ming and Qing dynasties. Now, it enjoys equal popularity with Yungang and Longmen Grottoes. The general term of "Dazu Rock Carvings" refers to all the cliff-side carvings in Dazu county, which includes the carvings in Beishan (including Beita), Baodingshan, Nanshan, Shizhuanshan and Shimenshan. Baoding Grotto, 15 kms northeast of the county seat, is the largest and best preserved one and is a key cultural relic site under state protection. There are more than 50,000 Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian rock carvings and 100,000 characters of inscriptions dotted around Dazu.

Hechuan Diaoyucheng City that is called "the place where Whip of God was broken" is one of China's three ancient battlefields.

Fengdu Nicknamed"Ghost City". It is said that firstly in Han Dynasty, there are two Taoist priests. Yin Changshen and Wang Fangping practiced rules and became the immortal here one after another. People rumored it false as "location of hell" and made Fengdu famous.

Gezhouba Dam As early as in 1950s, Mao Zedong began to plan a huge dam over Yangtze River. His ambition was largely triggered by the rich potential water energy in the Three Gorges area where the water level falls down sharply. He wrote in his poem "Swimming in the Yangtze River" that he foresaw the huge reservoir in this area after a huge dam was built. This plan fascinated many Chinese people and it began to be actualized in 1970 when Gezhouba Dam--the subsidiary dam-- began to be built. It was finished in the 1980s. A good spot to picnic.

Jialing Bridge - 150 metres long bridge completed in 1996 is a good spot to go and watch the many sailing junks unload their wares and the locals go about their busy day...great photo opportunities are to be discovered here.

Nanshan Park is a beautifully maintained park with a few statues relating to Chinese culture and history. There is a zoo, children's park, a lake, Changjin tower, and spots for tourists to relax and for recreation.

Northern Hot Springs Park Located fifty-five kilometers northeast of the city, overlooking the Jialing River, the Northern Hot Springs are in a large park which is the site of a 5th century Buddhist temple. The park is at the foot of Jinyun Mountain north of the city. The quiet place has many springs and valleys as well as temples of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). The Guanyin (Bodhisattva) Palace was built with iron tiles and stone pillars. There are also a stone Buddha of the Song dynasty (960-1279) and a dragon pagoda of the Ming dynasty (1368 -1644). The springs have an Olympic-size swimming pool where you can swim and there are also private rooms with hot baths. Water temperature averages around 32C. There's another group of springs 20km south of Chongqing in Southern Hot Spring Park with hotter waters, but the northern group is said to be better.

Shennong Stream starts at Mt.Shennong Jia in Hubei Province north of the Yangtze. It comprises of Parrot Gorge and Dragon Boat Gorge each, with breathtaking scenery. Sailing through the treacherous gorges with lush pine lined shores and translucent water, visitors can see spectacular sights like ancient plank roads, ancient cave coffins, caves, a rainbow fountain and rare animals like macaques and mandarin ducks. It is also a perfect way to experience the culture of the Tujia.

Shibaozhai is simply a rectangular rock with sheer cliffs, standing on the riverside. It is over 30 meters high with a temple built on top. A wooden pagoda, 11 storeys high, was built against the rock side. People can climb to the top via a spiral staircase inside the pagoda.

Southern Hot Spring Park is a botanical garden with the Longevity Lake and other places of beauty within its boundries. The view of Chongqing, the mountainous city, is most attractive at night from this spot. The Southern Hot Springs Park is also popular gathering place where a typical Chongqing method of escaping the heat is to take refuge in one of the cool caves in the area. During the years of Japanese air raids, hundreds of air-raid shelters were dug into the mountains here and some have been turned into cafes and restaurants.

Red Crag Village is the home of the former Premier Zhou Enlai and the wartime headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party and the 8th Route Army.

Three Gorges along the Yangtze River include Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It extends from White King City in Fengjie, Sichuan Province in the west to Nanjing Pass, Wuchang, in the east, with a total distance of 189 km. Along the route are strange mountains and rivers, while its two ends link Chongqing and Wuhan.

Three Gorges Dam is 600 kms long and more than 1000 square kms in total area. The lake is situated high up in some beautiful gorges and although new, excellent tourist spots are being developed in the area.

Twelve Wu Peaks Admired by visitors the world over this and related areas are popular tourist spots that are definitely worth a photo. Among the twelve peaks at the Wu Gorge, the Goddess Peak is the most exquisite. It is said that if you look carefully, a silhouette of a goddess can be seen at the top of Goddess Peak, hence its name. Qutang Gorge, known for its magnificence, is only 8 kilometers long with many scenic spots. These include the Meng Liang Staircase, the Ancient Plank Road, the Kui Gate, the Seven Gate Cave, the Bellows Gorges, and the Rhinoceros Watching the Moon.

Wulong Furongdong Cave Situated at the confluence of Wujiang and Furong rivers nearby Jiangkou Town in Wulong County, Furongdong(Hibiscus Cave) is a large limestone cave, 2400 meters long and 50 meters wide, and its main hall has covered an area of 1.1 square meter. Constructed on the basis of the investigation by the Society of Research on Caves under the China Association of Geological Sciences, the cave is rich in natural rocks and other formations.

Xiannushan Grasslands as with many other grassland spots in the same area is dominated by reed beds, large expanses of water and grasslands of the Mongolian steppe but also containing tracts of woodland, scrub and farmland. This is the place to go if you are interested in bird watching where you'll see Baer's Pochard, Falcated Duck, Japanese, White-naped and Demoiselle Cranes, Asian Dowitcher and a variety of other water and grassland birds such as Daurian Partridge, Amur Falcon, Oriental Pratincole and the Chinese Grey Shrike.

Zhaojun Village Among the many relics in the village connected with the Illustrious Imperial Concubine are Zhaojun Shrine, Zhaojun Courtyard, Well of the Nanmu Tree, Zhaojun's Dressing Table, and Cave of Embroidered Shoes. Only the well and dressing table have now been repaired to receive visitors. Situated at the village entrance, the Well of the Nanmu Tree earned its name from the fact that a nanmu tree (or nanmu phoebe) grows in it. The tree, which is believed to date back to the time of the Illustrious Imperial Concubine, has remained luxuriant in all the intervening centuries. The clear water of the well runs the year round and is used by the Baoping villagers. Zhaojun's Dressing Table stands on a piece of elevated land and is surrounded by ancient cypresses. The table is enclosed by a wall with a moon-shaped door in it. There is an ancient stone figure on the higher ground from which one can view Zhaojun Terrace in the distance.

Fujian Guild Hall, situated in the western side of the bustling Hualian Business Mansion, is a closed building group of the Qing Dynasty-style that composed of gate to the monastery, large palace, back palace, theatrical building and the western wing-room with its elegant structure, wonderful carvings and the southern Fujian constructive styles. Yantai Museum was set up here in 1958 and a number of rich cultural and historical documents are selected as treasures here as well as beautiful carvings that will interest many.

Yantai Hill is closed to the sea in the north and connected with the land in the south. It is recorded in history that in the early Ming Dynasty, a smoke tower or beacon tower was built here in order to scare off foreign intruders and Yantai was then named for this. Now, the "Yantai Stone" a navigation light tower stands firmly in its place. "Relang Pavilion", east of the hill, is built between the sea and the mountains. When the sky is clear, you can see the sea and the mountains in the distance, which make for a pretty picture.