Chongqing is usually the starting point for those boarding a cruise ship downstream of the Yangtze River. The city is known as "the City of Fog", "the Mountain City", and "the River Town" because it is where the Jialing and Yangtze rivers converge. Mountains surround it but the hot air over the city often is stagnant in the summer, which gives cause for another name "the Furnaces".

Chongqing was originally the capital of the State of Ba three thousand years ago, and the place was renamed many times until it was finally named Chongqing (Double Celebrations). In 1997,Chongqing became the fourth municipality directly under the Central Government, following Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin.

As the largest city of China, Chongqing covers an area of 82,400 sq kilometers with a population of 30 million. There are many famous spots for sightseeing in the city, including the Beiwenquan, Nanwenquan, Longevity Lake and among others. During the Anti-Japanese War, the Kuomintang moved from Nanjing to Chongqing and made it a wartime capital of China, which resulted in many memorial sites such as the Red Crag Village and the Chongqing Office of the Eighth Route Army. One of the intriguing sights is to enjoy the dim shadows of the boats and steamers plying the waterways. The choice of Chongqing as the starting point for a cruise on the Yangtze River is due to the many historical and scenic spots along its bank.