Dadukou District is encircled by Zhongliang Mountain, Tongluo Mountain, the Yangtze River, and the Jialing River.
Embraced by mountains and rivers, the district is endowed with natural advantages to be a transport hub. Nurtured by its picturesque landscape, people in this region are gentle and kind-hearted and hold rock-firm patriotic emotion. Today’s Dadukou District is striving to develop into a district with high-quality industries and a livable environment.
An adz bears unique cultural footprints of Chongqing
In Dadukou Museum, an exhibited “stone” serves as the proof that human activities in Chongqing’s central urban regions emerged in 800 thousand to 1 million years ago.
This “stone,” known as the adz, was one of the popular tools in the Old Stone Age.
This one was unearthed at the Mawangchang Ruins of Dadukou District in 1983. It is 19.8cm long, 12.74cm wide, and 5.8cm thick. The bottom half keeps a smooth and round stone shape, and the top half has sharp edges.
It has been identified that the raw material was common cobblestones along the Yangtze River. Seemingly ordinary as these stones may be, they are ideal for making tools with the dense texture, strong hardness, and specially-caved shape for a hand to hold.
A domestic archaeological expert for the Old Stone Age said, “It is tough to make such a tool.” Its preservation also demonstrates that there was more than one stone tool of this kind at that time. Eight hundred thousand to 1 million years ago, Chongqing people were ingenious enough to utilize local materials for production well.
The adz is the earliest human tool of the main urban regions of Chongqing up to now. It not only embodies the ability and spirit of the ancient Chongqing people but also ushers in a new chapter of the exploration of the regional civilization.
The city of steel served as the backbone for Chinese people
Compared with the adz, which unveils the traces of earliest human activities in Chongqing, the steam engine, with 8,000 horsepower, is a valuable treasure of Chongqing Industrial Museum and records the history of Chinese people in developing national industry and rejuvenating the country.
The steam engine, with 8,000 horsepower
The steam engine, 10m long, 2m wide and 250t in weight, stands still at an eye-catching display place in Chongqing Industrial Museum, showing its significant role in China's industrial history.
In 1906 at the end of the Westernization Movement, Zhang Zhidong, Viceroy of Huguang, introduced this steam engine from Sheffield in the UK. It was rare and represented the world's most cutting-edge industrial techniques of those days. When the War of Resistance broke out, this machine, together with other facilities, was transported to Chongqing via Chuanjiang River, despite the havoc brought by the Japanese aggression.
Some data shows that during that period, Chongqing's iron and steel industry reached a peak and represented 90% of the total of China. This steam engine made a remarkable contribution to the thriving production activities.
Today, having been relocated to Chongqing Industrial Museum, it reproduces the troubled times to visitors.
A City of gardens
When it comes to Dadukou, a good reputation as a "city of steel" will flash in our minds. However, after the removal of Chongqing Iron & Steel (Group) Co., Ltd., this district has changed dramatically into a city of gardens. In its 103-square-meter administrative area, various gardens are like scattering stars on the sky, which are optimal leisure destinations for people.
Dadukou has succeeded in building itself into a National Green Model Area.
Up to now, in Dadukou District, the green coverage rate of the built-up area is 44.5%, the per capita park and green space is 22.6 square meters. The district has succeeded in building itself into a National Sanitary Area, National Green Model Area, Municipal-level Civilized Urban District, and Municipal-level Garden Area, and it has won the China Habitat Environment Example Award.