Chongqing's history extends back at least 3,000 years, endowing it with much historical and cultural significance.
Traces of man's presence have been found from as far back as the end of the Old Stone Age 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. From the beginning of the Shang Dynasty (c. 16th century B.C.) to the close of the Warring States Period (221 B.C.), it was the capital of the state of Ba. From the Qin Dynasty through the Eastern Han Dynasty (221 B.C.-220 A.D.), it was a prefecture also known as Ba. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, (581-907 A.D.), it was known as the sub-prefecture of Yuzhou, hence its standard byname "Yu.'' Subsequently, during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 A.D.), it was renamed Gongzhou.

In 1189, during the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Dun, later the Guangzong Emperor, was given the title Prince of Gong. Regarding this as an exceedingly joyous event, he upgraded its status to that of a prefecture and renamed it as "Chongqing'' or "redoubled celebration,'' the name it carries to this day.

The Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911) saw goods spin in and out of the city as merchants from the four corners gathered.
In 1891 Chongqing became an open port and a customs house was established there. Shipping and trade and the financial and processing industries grew steadily more prosperous as the city came to link southwestern China and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River with the rest of the world.
In 1929 Chongqing was formally declared a city. Following the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan in 1937, the Kuomintang (KMT) moved the government from Nanjing to Chongqing.
In 1939 the city was elevated to a municipality under the Executive Yuan. Beginning in 1940 it served as the wartime ``provisional capital'' for the KMT government, becoming China's political, economic, financial, commercial, transportation, cultural and diplomatic center.
After the KMT government returned to the formerly occupied capital Nanjing in 1946, Chongqing returned to its status as a municipality under the Executive Yuan.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Southwestern Sub-bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Southwestern Military and Political Commission were set up in Chongqing. The city was made a municipality directly under the central government and continued as the political, economic and cultural center of southwestern China. After the system whereby the nation was organized into large administrative zones was rescinded in 1954, Chongqing's status was changed to that of a city under the jurisdiction of Sichuan Province.

In 1983 the central government decided to include Chongqing in the first group of cities where pilot reforms of the economic system could be tried out, its economic planning being directly supervised by the State Council. The state also gave the city provincial-level administrative powers over its economy and formally made it a foreign trade port. S
ince entering the 1990s China has been effecting its strategy of opening and developing the Yangtze River. Chongqing was listed as an open city. In September 1996, with the approval of the State Council, Sichuan passed administration over the cities of Wanxian and Fuling and Qianjiang Prefecture to Chongqing to govern on the province's behalf.

In March 1997, the Fifth Session of the Eighth NPC discussed and approved a resolution rescinding Chongqing's then current status of city, declaring Chongqing a MDUCG.