South East Travel - Steinbach, Manitoba

Located in central China is the city of Chongqing. The name Chongqing comes from the Jialing River that runs through the city into the nearby Yangtze River. It is the greatest populated city of the People's Republic of China's four provincial-level municipalities. Unlike the other three, Chongqing is based in the less populated western region of China. Just over 6.3 million people live in Chongqing.

Chongqing, China

December 2007

Report By Marianne Sawatzky

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	Chongqing's climate is fairly mild compared to other parts of China. The annual average temperature is right at 65°F and during the summer you can expect to see triple digit temperatures quite frequently. Nearly 1200 total hours of sunshine and roughly 45 inches of rain is seen per year. The terrain of Chongqing is very rough and full of many hills. The few attractions that we had a chance to visit were the Chongqing Zoological gardens. We arrived early in the morning as that was the time that the Panda bears would come out for their feeding. The panda was more that willing to put on a performance for the crowd of locals and tourists. We also went up the winding mountain road to “One Tree”, from this point we could overlook the city of Chongqing. The view was magnificent, the city consists of many apartments and skyscrapers and many cranes which are in the process of building more apartments and office buildings. These office buildings are lit up at night and create a beautiful view for the evening cruise that we took along the Yangtze River, the food was okay but the light show of the buildings was excellent.

The hotels we stayed in were 5 star and had excellent service. The Days Inn and Suites is a new hotel that just opened in the fall of 2007. The rooms are beautiful and service is great. Breakfast is included with the room, which is a full course meal. The Japanese Restaurant is one of the many restaurants to choose from at the Days Inn and Suites and the food and service was excellent.

The Jinke Grand hotel is also a newer hotel with more of a western flavour. The hallways are wide and spacious, with a glass elevator on the outside of building which overlooks the outdoor pool. The rooms were very clean and well decorated and the breakfast is also included. The buffet restaurant has a large variety of American and Chinese cuisine. Just a block away from the Jinke Hotel we enjoyed a 2 hour foot massage. The girls were very professional and we came away feeling very relaxed and anticipating our next trip to Chongqing.