Chongqing

The view from our hotel room in Chongqing.
Again, you see the pollution. The buildings that
you see behind the red building are soon to be
demolished, and the "National Bird" will arrive,
and a new skyrise will take its place. Since 1997, the city has become the fourth municipality, independent from Sichuan Province, to be under the direct control of the central government. The major port of the upper Yangzi River and gateway to the famous “Three Gorges,” Chongqing now includes most of the former eastern Sichuan Province, with a population of 30 million. It is a major center of iron and steel production, motorcycle manufacturing and shipbuilding, as well as chemical and pharmaceutical production. Banyen trees grow here and the Camelia is the city flower. In the summer, the temperature can reach as high as 42 C. It has grown 10 times its size in the last 10 years, and city maps are updated every 3 months.