A Great Variety of Communities of Life

There are rich plant resources and various vegetation in the territory of Chongqing. More than 6,000 kinds of various plants can be found in the area, and the percentage of forest coverage reaches 24.7%. In addition to farm crops such as grain, cooking oil and vegetables, there are many industrial crops such as mulberry for silkworm breeding, oranges and tangerines, shaddocks, tung oil, Chinese tallow trees, and flue-cured tobacco. For its various agricultural products, the area is known as "the land of citrus fruits", "the land of tung oil", and "the land of Chinese tallow trees". Qianjiang is endowed with favorable climate and geographical conditions for growing flue-cured tobacco and is known as "the land of flue-cured tobacco"; Fuling is known as "the land of mustard tubers" for its production of tasty mustard tubers. There are over 560 kinds of cultivated plants, the principal part of which falls into four categories: rice, corn, wheat, and sweet potatoes. Meanwhile, medicinal herbs are extremely plentiful in Chongqing. According to incomplete statistics, there are nearly 2,000 kinds, including the rhizome of Chinese goldthread, the rhizome of large-headed atractylodes, the honeysuckle, dangshen, the bulb of fritillary, the tuber of elevated gastrodia, the bark of official magnolia, the yellow tallow, the bark of eucommia, the rhizoma corydalis, the Chinese angelica, etc. Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County is China's largest producer of rhizome of Chinese goldthread, and therefore is known as "the land of rhizome of Chinese goldthread". As for rare species of trees, there are such "living fossils " as the spinulose tree fern, the metasequoia, the bald Chinese fir, the cathaya agyrophylla, and the dove tree.

Among more than 600 kinds of animals, there are nearly 100 rare animals that enjoy special protection of the state, including the golden money, the South China tiger, the bee monkey, and the black stork. Among the over 40 domestic animals and fowls, the Rongchang pig is the No. 1 of China's three major species of pigs, and this pig is known as treasure of China; and Shizhu Tujia Autonomous County is the largest producer of longhaired rabbits.

Mineral Resources with Special Characteristics

Among the major cities in China, Chongqing is one of the cities which are the richest in mineral resources. Here, 75 minerals have been found, and 39 minerals have proved reserves in 353 places. Advantageous minerals in Chongqing include coal, natural gas, manganese, mercury, aluminium, strontium, etc. Proved reserve for coal in Chongqing is 2.4 billion tons, making the city an important base for the production of coal in south China. Proved reserve for natural gas is 320 billion square meters, and the production of natural gas at Wolonghe gas field in Dianjiang County ranks first in China. Strontium is a mineral that enjoys the most advantages in Chongqing, it ranks No. 1 in the country both in its reserve and in its quality. The proved reserves for manganese in Chongqing reach 25 million tons, ranking No. 2 in China. Reserves of vanadium, molybdenum and barium occupies the third place in China. The mercury mines in Youyang and Xiushan, with a proved reserve of 19,000 tons, are giant mercury mines that are rarely seen in elsewhere in the country. Chongqing also produces nonmetal minerals such as rock salt, barite, fluorite, limestone, silicon, etc.

Waterpower Resources with A Great Potential

Rivers and water systems crisscross the territory of Chongqing, and they have tremendous power to be tapped. While over 600 kilometers of the mainstream of the Yangtze River run through Chongqing, the river is joined by five major tributaries and over a hundred streams with the Yangtze as the axis: the Jialing River, the Qujiang River, the Fujiang River, the Wujiang River, and the Daninghe River. The average annual water resources total some 500 billion cubic meters, with a potential theoretical electricity generating power of 14,382,800 kilowatts, of which 7,500, 000 can be tapped. The potential total installed capacity per square kilometer in Chongqing is three times of the mean value of the whole country. This makes Chongqing one of the top few cities in China in terms of volume of development of water resources. Besides, Chongqing is also rich in underground thermal energy and drinkable mineral water.