Dates of Visit: 31 Oct 2019 and 9 – 12 Nov 2019
Chongqing 重庆
Chongqing is located next to Sichuan Province 四川省 and was part of Sichuan Province until 14 March 1997 when Chongqing became part of the fourth municipality, the only inland municipality, to be under the direct administration of the Chinese central government, to develop the central and western parts of China.
The other 3 municipalities are Beijing 北京, Shanghai 上海, and Tianjin 天津 – all three are on the east coast of China.
If you want to witness the rapid economic development and dynamism of this fourth municipality, Chongqing city is the place to visit. While the Chongqing administrative municipality has a population of over 30 million, Chongqing city has a population of around 10 million and is the tenth most populated Chinese city.
Chongqing city is a financial centre, manufacturing hub, and transportation centre in central and western China. The downtown centre of Chongqing city is located on the Chongqing peninsula surrounded by Yangtze River 长江 and its branch Jialing River 嘉陵江.
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport 重庆江北国际机场 is a major aviation hub serving this region and is one of the top 50 busiest airports in the world. Chongqing city is well-connected to other major Chinese cities via China High-Speed Railway (HSR) Network 中国高铁网.
The city’s monorail system is the world’s longest and busiest monorail system with 70 stations.
Chongqing is the start point of Yangtze River Cruises 长江游轮 that sail through the magnificent Three Gorges 三峡 of the Yangtze River and the cruise journeys end at the humongous Three Gorges Dam 三峡大坝 which supplied about 10% of China’s electricity at the time of completion.
Chongqing’s diet is dominated by the spicy Sichuan cuisine understandably because it was part of Sichuan Province.
The famous Chongqing hot pot 重庆火锅 is essentially Sichuan hot pot 四川火锅. However, Chongqing has such a great influence on the food culture of hot pot that Chongqing hot pot has developed into a name of its own. In March 2007, the China Cuisine Association 中国烹饪协会 gave Chongqing the title of “Hot Pot Capital of China”.
In Chongqing city, you will see Chongqing hot pot restaurants on literally every corner you go.
Chongqing Rail Transit System 重庆轨道交通系统
The first Chongqing Rail Transit 重庆轨道交通 line started operation in November 2004. Today, consisting of a mix of monorail and metro lines, Chongqing Rail Transit System has reached a total length of more than 370 km and a total of more than 240 stations. Like many Chinese cities, new lines and new stations are continuously in development and construction.
On average, around 3 million passengers use the whole Chongqing Rail Transit network daily. Chongqing Rail Transit System has made Chongqing city so much more accessible for locals and visitors, even for foreign visitors. It is very easy to get around Chongqing Rail Transit System, like many rapid transit systems in Chinese cities.
Check out the Chongqing Rail Transit System map webpage.
Chongqing Yangtze River Ropeway 重庆长江索道
Chongqing Yangtze River Ropeway opened to traffic in October 1987, more than 30 years ago. It was originally built to facilitate passenger movement across the Yangtze River. Construction of cross-river bridges subsequently took over the passenger movement function.
Today, Chongqing Yangtze River Ropeway serves mainly as a tourist attraction providing passengers with magnificent aerial views of Chongqing city and the Yangtze River.
Chongqing Yangtze River Ropeway only has 2 stops: North Ropeway Station 索道北站 and South Ropeway Station 索道南站. North Ropeway Station is located near Chongqing landmark destination Jiefangbei Pedestrian Streets 重庆解放碑步行街 at Xinhua Road 新华路 in Yuzhong District 渝中区. South Ropeway Station is located at Shangxin Street 上新街 in Nan’An District 南岸区.
Chongqing Yangtze River Ropeway has a total length of 1166 metres and a one-way ride takes about 5 minutes. Each Ropeway car has a capacity of 65 people.
The nearest Chongqing Rail Transit station to get to North Ropeway Station is Xiaoshizi 小什字 station. The nearest Chongqing Rail Transit station to get to South Ropeway Station is Shangxinjie 上新街 station.
Jiefangbei Pedestrian Streets 重庆解放碑步行街
Jiefangbei Pedestrian Streets are located in Yuzhong District 渝中区, which is on the Chongqing peninsula surrounded by Yangtze River 长江 and its branch Jialing River 嘉陵江. First completed in 1997, Jiefangbei Pedestrian Streets was China’s first commercial pedestrian street.
The 27m tall Liberation Monument 解放碑 is the centre of Jiefangbei Pedestrian Streets. The monument is at the intersection of Minzu Road 民族路, Minquan Road 民权路, and Zourong Road 邹容路.
Jiefangbei Pedestrian Streets are 30m to 40m wide and 300m to 400m long and extend out from the Liberation Monument along Minzu Road, Minquan Road, and Zourong Road in east-west and north-south directions. The wide street design enables a visitor standing in the middle of these pedestrian streets to have a good full-frontal view of the shops on both sides of the streets. Even when visitor traffic is huge, these pedestrian streets are not congested because they are so wide.
In the area around these pedestrian streets, there are more than 20 large shopping malls, more than 4000 business outlets including more than 80 banks, a wide range of hotels from top-class to budget, retail and specialty shops, and food outlets.
You can spend days browsing and shopping if you intend to visit each of these shopping malls and retail shops. Many renowned international brands are represented here to tap into an ever-increasing local middle-class population.
There is an adequate level of lighting at night on these pedestrian streets for safe walking at night helped by extensive surveillance cameras installed everywhere in Chongqing city.
Chongqing is a city known to have one of the highest concentrations of surveillance cameras in the world.
Chongqing Rail Transit underground LinJiangmen 临江门 station is right underneath Jiefangbei Pedestrian Streets.
Guanyinqiao Pedestrian Streets 观音桥步行街
Guanyinqiao Pedestrian Streets are located in Jiangbei District 江北区, north of Jialing River 嘉陵江. As a comparison, Jiefangbei Pedestrian Streets have located south of the Jialing River.
Just 20 years ago, Guanyinqiao 观音桥 was an old town with many run-down buildings. The decision to rebuild a new commercial and trade centre here had turned Guanyinqiao around dramatically.
The new Guanyinqiao business district was completed in 2005. Today, Guanyinqiao Pedestrian Streets have developed and transformed into an urban landscape public space of 200,000 square metres integrating shopping, leisure, catering, and entertainment all into one in a commercial area of 1 million square metres.
Guanyinqiao Pedestrian Streets have developed very rapidly since 2005 that the pedestrian streets have expanded into nearby Beichengtian Street 北城天街.
No doubt, Guanyinqiao Pedestrian Streets have stolen a lot of limelight from Jiefangbei Pedestrian Streets.
The nearest Chongqing Rail Transit station is Guanyinqiao 观音桥 station.
Chaotianmen 朝天门
Chaotianmen is located on tip of the Chongqing peninsula where Jialing River 嘉陵江 joins Yangtze River 长江.
On the bank of Yangtze River, Chaotianmen harbour 朝天门码头 is where many Yangtze River Cruises 长江游轮 dock their cruise ships and are where passengers board these cruise ships to start their Yangtze River cruise journeys. The magnificent Three Gorges of the Yangtze River are located in the section of the Yangtze River from Chongqing to Yichang, which is why many people regard Chongqing as the best starting point for visiting the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.
Chaotianmen Square 朝天门广场 is built on the top of the harbour with steps leading down to the harbour. Standing on the Chaotianmen Square and looking out to the rivers, what you see are the spectacular Yangtze River on your right and the Jialing River on your left.
Adjacent to Chaotianmen Square is Raffles City Chongqing 重庆来福士. Consisting of 8 towers and a 5-storey commercial complex, Raffles City Chongqing is an urban complex integrating residential, office buildings, a shopping mall, service apartment, hotel, and restaurant.
Designed by the world-renowned architect Moses Safdi and completed in 2019, Raffles City Chongqing is a must-see new landmark of Chongqing.
The building design features a giant 300m-long crystal-clear glass corridor structure that connects 4 of the towers at a height of 250m high above the ground. The design is so visually stunning. The crystal corridor structure has public space and urban gardens and is where observation decks are located to provide one of the best panoramic views of the Jialing River and Yangtze River.
From a distance, Chaotianmen Square and Raffles City Chongqing with the crystal corridor structure together look like a giant ship with a sail that is about to sail away.
Don’t miss the night views of Chaotianmen, Jialing River, and Yangtze River, which are simply magical with bright colourful night lighting coming from the cruise ships and Raffles City Chongqing.
The nearest Chongqing Rail Transit station is Chaotianmen 朝天门 station, which is located underneath Raffles City Chongqing.
Hongyadong 洪崖洞
Hongyadong, formerly known as Hongya Gate 洪崖门, is located on Binjiang Road 滨江路 and Cangbai Road 沧白路 in Chongqing Yuzhong District 渝中区, about 500m north of the Liberation Monument 解放碑.
Completed in 2006, Hongyadong is an 11-storey building integrating dining, entertainment, leisure, healthcare, retail, and hotels and was built on the side of a cliff on the south bank of Jialing River 嘉陵江. The first storey is at the same level as Binjiang Road and the eleventh storey is at the same level as Cangbai Road and Qiansimen Bridge 千厮门大桥.
What is outstanding about Hongyadong is its nightscape made possible with spectacular lighting that is turned on between 6 pm and 10 pm. The whole Hongyadong building is so bright and shining that it really looks like a sparkling castle in a dreamland.
The best views of Hongyadong are top-down from Qiansimen Bridge. You may walk from Cangbai Road to Qiansimen Bridge. The next best views are bottom-up from the bank of Jialing River alongside Binjiang Road.
The nearest Chongqing Rail Transit station is LinJiangmen 临江门 station. Hongyadong is 500m north of the Liberation Monument.
The Great Hall of the People in Chongqing 重庆人民大礼堂
Built in 1954, the Great Hall of the People in Chongqing is an important landmark building in Chongqing. The Great Hall of the People has a capacity of more than 4300 people and is the venue of many international performances as well as community and government events.
The huge and open People’s Square 人民广场 outside The Great Hall of the People in Chongqing really helps highlight the majestic and exquisite architectural details of the 65m tall building. Together, People’s Square and the Great Hall of the People in Chongqing occupy an area of 66,000 square metres.
If you have more time, also visit the Three Gorges Museum 三峡博物馆 adjacent the People’s Square. The museum has exhibits of ancient as well as modern painting, calligraphy, stone carving, sculpture, porcelain, and other artwork from Chongqing and the Three Gorges regions.
The nearest Chongqing Rail Transit station is Daxigou 大溪沟 station.
Erchang Culture and Creative Park Testbed 2 二厂文创公园
Erchang Culture and Creative Park Testbed 2 is located in Chongqing Yuzhong District 渝中区.
The park was actually the site of old printing factory buildings that were deserted. These 10 factory buildings were renovated and revitalised to house artists’ studios, design rooms, museums, public experience spaces, artwork, cultural retail spaces, restaurants, cafes, and bars.
The design concept was well received and the park has become a favourite hangout of the young crowd.
Try to get to the rooftop of these buildings where you will have panoramic views of Chongqing city, the Jialing River, and the Yangtze River.
The nearest Chongqing Rail Transit station is Liziba 李子坝 station.
Liziba station is actually an accidental tourist hot spot because of its unique feature. The elevated monorail line was constructed to run through an existing building on its 8th floor. There are so many monorail passengers who like to get out of the train to film the moment the monorail train enters and exits the building. Because this train station is so popular, a viewing platform by the side of Binjiang Road was constructed in 2019 so passengers can get out of the train and take their time filming. So, you may want to follow the crowd, and film the moment the monorail trains enter and exit the building.
Ciqikou Ancient Town 磁器口古镇
Ciqikou Ancient Town is located in Shapingba District 沙坪坝区 on the banks of the Jialing River, about 15 km west of Chongqing city’s downtown centre.
The ancient town was first founded in the Song 宋 Dynasty. During the Ming 明 Dynasty, the ancient town was further established as a commercial port and market town. During the Qing 清 Dynasty, the ancient town established itself as a centre of porcelain production.
Today, Ciqikou Ancient Town is a famous tourist destination in Chongqing, with well-preserved ancient building architecture dating back to Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty.
Visitors will enjoy exploring the 12 streets and small alleys paved by stone slabs, and the buildings that house restaurants, tea houses, snack shops, handicrafts and gifts, and other retail shops.
Visitors can also visit historical Buddha, Taoism, and Confucianism temples in the ancient town.
The nearest Chongqing Rail Transit station is Ciqikou 磁器口 station.
Huayan Scenic Area 华岩风景区
Located in Jiulongpo District 九龙坡区, about 20 km southwest of Chongqing’s downtown centre, Huayan Scenic Area covers a huge area of more than 200 hectares.
The main draws of the Huayan Scenic Area are Huayan Temple 华岩寺, Chongqing Buddhist College 重庆佛学院, Huayan Lake 华岩湖, and the natural garden and forest landscape with cave and waterfalls.
Huayan Temple, destroyed many times during wars and conflicts, has been renovated and expanded in 2003 and now occupies an area of 3.3 hectares. Huayan Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in Chongqing. A visitor will not miss the open-air 25m tall golden Buddha statue, which was known to be the first Buddha statue in China.
Huayan Lake is also a reservoir. There are walking paths around the lake. Want to take a relaxing walk around Huayan Lake? It should take around 45 minutes to walk the 3km walking paths around Huayan Lake.
In the south of Huayan Scenic Area, visitors will find modern amusement parks and holiday resort facilities.
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Chongqing 重庆 city’s downtown centre is located on the Chongqing peninsula surrounded by Yangtze River 长江 and its branch Jialing River 嘉陵江.
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