The City of Chongqing (Peoples Republic of China)

Friendship City Agreement

Established on October 23, 1986 (date agreement was signed and approved by Hiroshima City Council)

Chongqing Facts and Figures

Who's in charge?
Mayor Tang Liangzhi
Party Secretary of Chongqing Chen Min'er, Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (inaugurated July 2017)

How many people live there?
The de jure population of Chongqing is approximately 30,750,000 (as of June 2018)

How big is Chongqing?
82,4000 km squared (approximately 91 times the size of Hiroshima, or roughly the same size as Hokkaido)

Where is it?
Geographically speaking, Chongqing is located at 105-110 E and 28-32 N (approximately the same latitude as Amami Ōshima). Tucked in the southeast of the Sichuan Basin of inland China, it sits on the upper reaches of China's longest river, the Yangtze River, about 2400 km from Shanghai.

What's the weather like?
With a humid, subtropical climate, and an average of 120 days of fog per year, Chongqing is known as the City of Fog. Summer temperatures can reach up to 40℃, making it one of China's three hottest cities along with Nanjing and Wuhan. Temperatures in July average around 27℃ and temperatures in January average around 6.3℃.

Get to Know Chongqing

The center of commerce and industry in Southwest China, Chongqing has the biggest population of any direct-controlled municipality* in China. Long a nexus of water transportation, the city developed and flourished at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, surrounded by beautiful, scenic mountains. 

The history of Chongqing spans some 3,000 years, beginning as the capital of the State of Ba during the Zhou Dynasty. It became known as Bazhou when it fell under the provincial control of the Qin Dynasty, and would later be renamed Chuzhou during the Northern and Southern Dynasties Period. It would once again be renamed Yuzhou under the Sui Dynasty, the name derived from the former name of the Jialing River, Yushui. The character for the "Yu" in Yushui is still used today as an abbreviation for Chongqing. It received its current name in 1189 to mark the ascension of Prince Zhao Dun of the Southern Song Dynasty, who described his crowning as king and then Emperor Guangzong as a "double celebration" (read in abbreviated Chinese as Chongqing).

Today, Chongqing is one of China's leading manufacturing centers, producing transportation machinery, metals, pharmaceuticals, and processed foods. Blessed with greenery and waterways, the city is also a booming tourist destination with lush, scenic views, and a number of cultural assets. The city is also working to preserve and pass down their traditional performing arts, such as the notable art of Sichaun opera.

*Direct-controlled municipality: cities on the same level as provinces which are directly administered by the Chinese Central Government. Other examples include Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin.

A Little History About Our Friendship City Agreement

Exchanges at the administrative level between both cities began thanks to the efforts of the Hiroshima City Council's China Delegation and their frequent visits to the City of Chongqing. Both cities are similar in that they have both experienced the ravages of war in WWII, and, thanks to the hard work of their citizens, both Hiroshima City and Chongqing have been reborn as modern cities with an appreciation for peace. The 1984 Friendship Agreement signed by Hiroshima Prefecture and Sichaun Province (of which Chongqing was a part of) served as further impetus to become official sister cities.

On October 23, 1986, Hiroshima City welcomed the Mayor of Chongqing and representatives from the city's Peoples Representative Assembly (equivalent to a City Council), and with the intent of developing further exchanges, an official friendship agreement was signed, stating that "we will strive towards the realization of cooperation and exchange in a multitude of fields to further promote friendship and mutual understanding; to promote lasting friendly relations between Chinese and Japanese citizens, and to contribute to peace in Asia and the world."

Building Bridges Through Exchange

Since the agreement, both cities have actively participated in exchange initiatives in a wide variety of fields and forums, notably city representation at Mayors of Peace (formerly the World Conference of Mayors for Peace Through Intercity Solidarity), art exchanges at the elementary school level, hosting mutual performing arts delegations, goodwill sports competitions, zoo exchanges, mutual goodwill gardens (the Yuhua Garden in Hiroshima and the Hiroshima Garden in Chongqing, respectively), citizen delegation dispatch, and more. Hiroshima has also hosted car maintenance and repair trainees as well as conducted joint research with Chongqing in the field of engineering. On the administrative level, Hiroshima has hosted visiting government delegations sent to observe various local government operations.

In the realm of international cooperation, the City and Prefecture of Hiroshima, in cooperation with Sichaun Province and Chongqing, established the Acid Rain Research and Exchange Center in Chongqing. This research center aims at working towards solving environmental issues in Chongqing by bringing in specialists for training and research. The level of exchange continues to broaden and grow today with academic exchanges on the university level and exchanges in the field of medicine via city hospitals, as well as participation in the Hiroshima International Youth Conference for Future Peace.

In 2006, a 273 member delegation, including Mayor Wang Hongju, came to Hiroshima to take part in the celebration of 20 years of friendship between Hiroshima City and Chongqing. Similarly, in October of the same year, a 190 member delegation from Hiroshima, including former Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, paid visit to Chongqing in celebration.

Former Deputy Mayor Atsuro Sasaki and an employee of the city visited Chongqing during the 10th Promotion of Regional Exchange Between Japan and China Seminar and conducted an exchange conference with the Foreign Affairs Office. In November of the same year, a garden capturing the essence of Hiroshima City was showcased at the 8th International Landscape Architecture Exposition of China, held in Chongqing. To commemorate the occasion, Deputy Mayor Tetsuya Aramoto and three city representatives attended the opening ceremony.

Inquiries regarding this page

Internationalization Division, Citizens Affairs Bureau
1-6-34 Kokutaiji-machi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima
Tel: +81-82-504-2106 // Fax: +81-82-249-6460
Email: kokusai@city.hiroshima.lg.jp