The View from Chongqing

I'm looking out my 27th floor hotel window in downtown Chongqing (aka Chungking) and all I see and hear is construction and a fuzzy sky. (Note the bird's eye view photo was taken on a very clear day) The hotel is situated in the middle of the small peninsula formed by the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze or Changjiang Rivers. The HQ of the Kuomintang Government near the end of World War II, the city was heavily bombed by the invading Japanese. Today, the steps that roll off of the hills of Chongqing still meet the muddy waters of the navigable Yangtze in downtown but the water levels are rising because of the downstream Three Gorges Dam. Riverboats surround the city as they did 60 years ago but many of them are now entertainment boats used for dining cruises up and down the river.

After my business is over on Friday I'll be staying on with a friend for a day to see some of the historical sites around this city of 32 million people. About the size of Scotland, Chongqing is the largest municipality in China and heavily industrialized. The air is among the worst in the country and the food is among the hottest. Tabasco would be laughed off the table at a Chongqing hotpot restaurant for being too wimpy.