Chongqing

Chongqing (Chinese: 重庆, [ʈʂʰǔŋ tɕʰjə̂ŋ]; formerly Chungking) is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities in China. Administratively, it is one of China's four direct-controlled municipalities (the other three are Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin), and the only such municipality in inland China.

The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the sub-provincial city administration that was part of Sichuan Province. Chongqing's population as of 2015 is 30,165,500 with an urban population of 18,384,100. According to the 2010 census, Chongqing is the most populous Chinese municipality, whereas the built-up area made up of 8 out of 9 urban districts (all but Beibei not yet built-up) was home to 6,777,229 inhabitants at the 2010 census. Chongqing is the largest direct-controlled municipality in China, and comprises 21 districts, 13 counties, and 4 autonomous counties.

The official abbreviation of the city, 渝 (Yú), was approved by the State Council on 18 April 1997. This abbreviation is derived from the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds into the Yangtze River. Chongqing was also a municipality of the Republic of China (ROC) administration, serving as its wartime capital during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).