The western Chinese city of Chongqing - which was China's WWII capital, and is now one of four city municipalities in China, along with Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin - has signed 57 tourism projects in the first half of 2007, and attracted a total of RMB22.7bn in investment, according to state media
Xinhua reports that Chongqing - often referred to as the 'biggest city in the world', given that its total metropolitan area encompasses around 32 million people - signed an RMB5.47bn tourism deal at the Ecological Travel Annual Promotion Meeting in March, an RMB4.36bn deal at the 11th China Chongqing Investment Fair in April, and RMB12.87bn worth of deals at the 12th China Chongqing Three Gorges International Travel Festival in June.
No further details were supplied, but a representative from the Chongqing Municipal Tourism Bureau was quoted as saying that these signings would enhance the competitiveness of Chongqing's tourism industry - and regional economic development.
BizChinaUpdate visited Chongqing earlier in July, following the 10th anniversary of the awarding of city municipality status - and statements from the government that the city has not met its growth development targets and needs to increase the speed of its urban planning strategy. Chongqing is a pivotal part of the Beijing government's plan to urbanise large sections of western China in order to channel investment away from the affluent east coast and attract millions of peasant dwellers to move to, and work in, metropolitan environments.
We will be providing more stories on Chongqing in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.
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