Chongqing, the leading metropolis in western China, is famous not only for its delicious hot pots but also as the capital of bridges.

Chongqing, which is geographically dominated by mountains, hills and valleys, is home to more than 6,000 bridges that mainly span the Yangtze River and Jialing River, a tributary of the Yangtze, said Zhang Taixiong, engineer-in-chief with Chongqing Municipal Commission of Communications.

The city is also building eight freeways that will connect it with Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei and Hunan provinces.

"Workers are building 793 bridges in order to let the freeways run through mountains and steep valleys inside the city," said Zhang.

Chongqing, located on the intersection of the upper Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, has a population of 31 million, 80 percent of whom live in rural areas.

The city, which is also renowned for its hot weather in summer, was upgraded to a municipality 10 years ago. The other three are Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai.