Getting rich in China's frontier boomtown

Chongqing, China (CNN) -- Zhou Xunshu and Yan Qi both grew up in the mountains in southwestern China, but today their hometowns are worlds apart.

Zhou's home village in a remote corner of Guizhou province remains impoverished.

"Every time I go back, I feel saddened," said the 37-year-old professional golfer. "It was poor and it's getting poorer."

Yan's childhood town, on the other hand, is now a suburb of one of the world's fastest-growing cities, Chongqing.

"I started a small restaurant here in 1995 with five tables," the 43-year-old businesswoman told CNN. "We went from there to 10 tables and eventually to 90 restaurants nationwide."

"My restaurants expanded along with the city," she said.

Chongqing has expanded at a remarkable pace since 1997, when Chinese leaders awarded it special political status on par with Beijing and Shanghai.

A metropolis the size of Austria, Chongqing is now home to 32 million people. That's four times the entire population of London and 10 times that of Rome.

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