Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to study how the Chinese city of Chongqing is

meeting the mission of the Chinese central government, to solve the imbalanced

income gap in Chongqing, and assist in solving the imbalanced development between

the east and west of China – while simultaneously developing and branding the city.

Method:

The study is based on a qualitative case study carried out in September

2011, including interviews, observations and documentary evidence.

Findings:

The study describes the city development and city branding efforts

undertaken in Chongqing. It also includes some findings relating to the China context

and to city branding in China.

Practical implications:

The study provides practitioners with a case of city branding

in a large Chinese city, offering an example of city branding in a Chinese context.

Originality/value:

The city of Chongqing has previously not been studied

extensively from a city branding point of view, thus offering an interesting case.

Introducing legitimacy and auto-communication, in addition to city branding, as

lenses in this case, offer interesting insights.