China 2001 - Chongqing

Chongqing

Chongqing (pronounced Chongching) is the destination of our cruise. We have traversed the Three Gorges and it's time to move on to the next sight. By now, we are used to large cities, but this one seems even larger. Sure enough, we are being welcomed to a city of 30 million inhabitants. By this time I am wondering if they mean something different by "City" than we do. Click here for the results of my investigations.

	It's threatening to rain in Chongqing as we disembark. We tote our bags up the stairs from the wharf to the bus and pile in. First stop: The Great Hall of the People

	The Great Hall of the people is a massive auditorium which can hold upwards of 4,000 people.
	The great hall has a gift shop where an artisan is carving stone figurines. We buy a pair of guardian lions and ask him to sign them.
	Chongqing is built on mountain sides. We realize that we haven't seen any bicycles since we got here! The closest thing is a light motorcycle of which there are plenty. Some are even doing duty as cabs! We go to the top of Pipa hill from where there is an excellent view out over the city. Well there is when it isn't raining. It reminds us of Gibraltar.
	The former wartime residence of Chiang Kai Chek is up here also, and it has lovely gardens. The house itself has been turned into a gift shop.
		Chongquing was China's military headquarters during WW II. There is a museum dedicated to general Stillwell, the Flying Tigers, and the pilots who flew supplies in over "The Hump" from Burma. The cliffs are riddled with bomb shelters now used as shops, warehouses or garages.
Our final stop before heading to the airport for our flight to Xi'an is a silk factory. We are shown some silkworms on baskets eating mulberry leaves. They spin cocoons. The cocoons are dropped in boiling water to kill the worm and to dissolve the glue holding the cocoon together. The cocoons are then loaded into this machine to have the thread unwound. I took a movie of the process (450 KB download.)