Chongqing was the wartime capital of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War (i.e., World War II), and from 1938 to 1946,[72] the seat of administration for the Republic of China's government before its departure to Nanjing and then Taiwan.[73] After the eventual defeat at the Battle of Wuhan General Chiang-Kai Shek and the army were forced to use it as base of resistance from 1938 onwards.[43] It also contains a military museum named after the Chinese Korean War hero Qiu Shaoyun.[74]

Chongqing used to be the headquarters of the 13th Group Army of the People's Liberation Army, one of the two group armies that formerly comprised the Chengdu Military Region, which in 2016 was re-organized into the Western Theater Command