Discussing the development of a great Chinese city

Chongqing is a port city with the largest municipal area and population in China. It is situated in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers in southwest China. With an area of 82,400 square kilometers (31, 800 square miles), Chongqing has a total population of 30.9 million.

Since its founding 3,000 years ago, Chongqing has been called Jiangzhou, Yuzhou, and Gongzhou, before getting its present name nearly 800 years ago. Since the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC), many dynasties have set up administrative institutions that have endowed the city with brilliant cultures.

Today, Chongqing is a modern city, China's fourth municipality after Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. Within its borders Chongqing encompasses a wealth of water reserves, mineral resources, dense forests, and abundant flora and fauna. The focal point of the unique Yangtze Three Gorges Dam, Chongqing is a tourist attraction as well as a commercial city.

The Chongqing Young Talent Forum is an annual event organised by the government of Chongqing. It aims to promote discussion on a wide range of issues surrounding the future development of the city.

Cambridge has been chosen as the venue for the only sub-forum in Europe and the event will be of interest to any students and academics interested in the way China is shaping its future.

Twelve people of various nationalities will read out their essays on the development of Chongquin, some in Chinese, some in English, before awards are made to the most outstanding, Afterwards there will be an opportunity to meet a delegation of officials from the Chongqing Government to discuss employment opportunities in the region.

The Forum is this Saturday 16 May between 1 and 5pm at the Gillespie Centre, the new conference centre in Lerner Court at Clare College.

For more detailed information and to register for a place please contact Qilei Zhang at alei.zhang@gmail.com or Nan Li at nl276@cam.ac.uk