After the “downriver” people came, they brought in some of their breakfast delicacies such as fried dough sticks, soy milk, mantou and bao to Chongqing. I first knew about fried dough sticks when I saw a “downriver” mom who lived in our yard frying them. After the dough sticks were fried, they gave us some. It was my first time ever eating fried dough sticks.
—Li Suyao, student, born in 1926 in Baxian, Chongqing Province
下江人来了之后，把油条、豆浆、馒头、包子之类的早点带给了重庆人。我第一次知道油条就是看见住在我们院子里的下江人妈妈炸油条。油条炸好后，她们送了几条给我们。那是我有生以来第一次吃油条。
—李素瑶，女学生，1926年生于重庆巴县
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"Downriver People"
After the fall of Nanjing, the Nationalist government led a national retreat to the mountainous city of Chongqing. Chongqing was deemed wartime capital, accompanied by massive industrial and institutional relocations. The population of Chongqing nearly tripled during the time.
The term “downriver people” (xiajiangren, 下江人) was used to describe refugees who fled of the Japanese-occupied coastal provinces, mainly on the lower courses of the Yangtze River. The “downriver” regions were relatively more cosmopolitan economically developed than Chongqing, and migration of downriver people considerably diversified Chongqing’s culture and promoted Chongqing’s transformation into a metropolitan city.