Business Traveler, February 2015

Visit businesstravelerusa com 38 n February 2015 n International Destinations regions such as Chongqing the city has been quick to diversify its economy away from heavy industry In 2010 the Liangjiang New Area LNA was established in the city an economic development zone that was aimed at attracting a wide range of high tech firms to grow the citys IT manufacturing sector to rival cities such as Bangalore Global IT companies Hewlett Packard Cisco Foxconn and Inventec now have factories in the city and it is said that one in four laptops is made in Chongqing In 2015 local government expects IT related manufacturing to contribute to 40 percent to Chongqings gross domestic product In addition Chongqing has its sights set on becoming the financial center for central and western China More than 300 financial service companies currently operate in the municipality and just last year Alibaba chose to establish an online micro loan business in the LNA as part of its plans to expand into financial services Getting Around Chongqing is a vast municipality that covers an area of more than 31000 square miles taking in satellite cities such as Fuling and Wanzhou But luckily for most business travelers their journeys will primarily involve Chongqing city center Visitors to the city have to contend with two major concerns weather and hills Chongqings humid subtropical climate is difficult to avoid As one of Chinas four so called furnace cities it has blazingly hot and humid summers from May to September and cold foggy winters Second come the hills Chongqing is a city surrounded by mountains and rivers By far the best way to navigate this hilly peninsula where the Jialing river meets the Yangtze is via one of the four metro lines For first time visitors this is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with the city and its vistas and avoid exhausting walks and slightly hair raising taxi rides The rail network is clean efficient and punctual with a maximum fare of 5 080 The overground monorail lines are a particularly spectacular sight passing through apartment buildings and along the mountainside with roller coaster like dips in the track to accommodate the citys topographical challenges Line Two the green line runs from Jiaochangkou on the peninsula to Xinshancun station in the western suburbs which opened in 2006 It covers tourist attractions such as the Peoples Great Hall and Three Gorges Museum Part of the line runs above ground along the Jialing River which makes it a popular and cheap sightseeing ride That said Chongqing is a compact city A taxi journey from the airport to the central business district can take as little as half an hour and costs around 50 8 so this is a good option on arrival You can also take the shuttle bus into town from the airport but its not perhaps the best choice Buses find the hilly terrain rather a strain so the journey is likely to be noisy uncomfortable and slow going if youre pressed for time BT WHAT TO SEE n DAZU ROCK CARVINGS Dating from the 9th to the 13th century the Dazu Rock Carvings are the finest example of this form of pictorial record in China Located in the hillsides two hours from Chongqing the Unesco World Heritage Site contains five clusters of secular and religious rock carvings that shed light on the workings of everyday life Dazu city two hour drive west of Chongqing combined ticket for two main sites Beishan and Baodingshan 27 opening hours 8 00 AM 6 00 PM n GREAT HALL OF THE PEOPLE Covering an area of 270000 square feet the Great Hall was completed in April 1954 and is one of the major landmarks of Chongqing bearing more than a passing resemblance to Beijings Temple Of Heaven The building has an auditorium that seats more than 4000 and the modern square in front of the hall is a communal area where every night youll see locals dancing playing and passing the time Located at 173 Renmin Road Yuzhong Chongqing China Metro Peoples Great Hall n CIQIKOU OLD TOWN One of the few remaining historic areas of Chongqing Ciqikou is located above the Jialing river in the western part of the city and is popular with tourists and locals alike In the Ming Dynasty this network of alleys and walking streets would have been a separate river port and market town It is now a place where you can image how Chongqing would have looked as little as 60 years ago Ciqikou Zheng Lu Chongqing Metro Ciqikou