Abstract: Based on“Select Archival，Materials for Baxian County during the Qianlong，Jiaqing and Daoguang Reigns” and local gazetteers, the author systematically examines special features of the urban economy of Chongqing and the occupational composition of its inhabitants. The author found that non一native merehants dominated commercial and service activities，constituted the core of economic activities in Chongqing，and controlled the lively hoods of the majority of Chongqing’s inhabitants. By the mid一Qing，Chongqing had become a major commercial city.