Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities in the People's Republic of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities, 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. As of April 29, 2011, the municipality had a population of 28,846,170, although the urbanized area is estimated to have a population of only 6 or 7 million, whereas the greater area comprises some 34.000.000 people all together. Chongqing is the largest direct-controlled municipality in China, and comprises 19 districts, 15 counties, and 4 autonomous counties.The official abbreviation of the city, 渝, was approved by the State Council on 18 April 1997. Chongqing was also a municipality of the Republic of China administration, serving as its wartime capital during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Its abbreviated name is derived from the old name of a part of the Jialing River that runs through Chongqing and feeds into the Yangtze River.Chongqing has a significant history and culture and serves as the economic centre of the upstream Yangtze basin. It is a major manufacturing centre and transportation hub and in a July 2012 report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, was named as one of the 13 emerging megacities, or megalopolises, in China.
