Photographer Alain Schroeder

Chongging, China I 2018

While there is no official international criteria to determine the world’s largest cities, with a population of close to 33 million, spread over 82,400 km2, the municipality of Chongqing, China could be the biggest city on Earth.

Chongqing’s phenomenal ascension was kickstarted in 1997 by the resettlement program of the Three Gorges Dam project that relocated over 1.5 million people to make way for the world’s largest hydropower project.

With unprecedented growth figures over the last decade, this megacity continues to develop at a feverish pace. Construction is on-going 24/7. Old neighborhoods and buildings are demolished to make room for modern skyscrapers with only a few classified buildings preserved in the shadows. Roadworks and public transit are expanding at breakneck speed connecting the rest of the country to this emerging western territory.

The combination of its geographic location and topography, sub-tropical climate and vast industrial manufacturing makes it one of the most polluted cities in China, often covered in fog, with significant rainfall.