CHONGQING -- Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing municipality was officially inaugurated on Sunday, becoming the first national-level new area in central and western China to be transformed into an administrative entity.

The move follows a major administrative restructuring in November 2025, during which the former Jiangbei and Yubei districts of Southwest China's Chongqing were dissolved and integrated into the Liangjiang New Area, which spans around 1,360 square kilometers and is home to 3.52 million people.

The new area is positioned as the main hub for Chongqing to implement major national strategies, cultivate new quality productive forces, deepen reforms, expand high-level opening-up, and improve governance.