Chongqing is a municipality of 32 million people built across steep hills at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. Nothing is flat. Roads stack on top of each other, the metro passes through the sixth floor of a residential tower at Liziba, and a building's ground floor may be its twentieth depending on which side you enter. The result is the closest thing on earth to a real-life Blade Runner set, and Chinese social media has made it a domestic tourism phenomenon.
What to do#
Hongyadong — a stilt-house complex on a cliff face above the Jialing, eleven storeys tall, lit gold at night. It is a shopping and restaurant development rather than a historic site, and it is nonetheless the single most photographed thing in the city. Go at dusk. Expect crowds; view it from the Qiansimen Bridge for the classic shot without being inside it.
Liziba monorail station — line 2 runs directly through a residential building. Ride it, or stand at the viewing platform below.
Ciqikou old town — a Ming-Qing porcelain-trading town, now restored and busy. Good snacks, heavy crowds; go on a weekday morning.
Yangtze River Cableway — a 1980s commuter cable car across the river, ¥30, five minutes, and an excellent view.
Eling Two Factory and Testbed 2 — repurposed industrial spaces with rooftop views and cafés, popular with younger locals.
Three Gorges Museum — free, good on the region's history and the dam.
Dazu Rock Carvings — 90 minutes away, UNESCO-listed, and the reason to add a day. More than 50,000 statues carved into cliffs between the 9th and 13th centuries, mixing Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian imagery. The Baoding Mountain grouping is astonishing and far less visited than it deserves.
Wulong Karst — the natural bridges used as a location in Transformers: Age of Extinction, about three hours away.
Hotpot#
Chongqing hotpot is not Sichuan hotpot with more chilli — it is a distinct tradition, oilier, using rendered beef tallow, and considerably hotter. The classic order includes tripe, duck intestine, luncheon meat, lotus root, potato slices and beef.
- Order the yuanyang (split) pot if you want an escape route
- Dip in sesame oil with garlic, not the sesame paste used in Beijing
- Local institutions include Zhou Shi Kao Yu, Ba Shu Feng and the many riverside "old" hotpot houses
- The jiudujiao — communal-table street hotpot where you pay by the skewer — is the cheap authentic version
More in our hotpot guide.
Yangtze cruises through the Three Gorges#
Chongqing is the upstream departure point for cruises down the Yangtze to Yichang, through the Qutang, Wu and Xiling gorges and the Three Gorges Dam ship lift.
- Duration: 3–4 nights downstream (faster), 4–5 upstream
- Boats: international-standard vessels (Victoria, Century, Yangtze Gold) at ¥3,000–8,000 per person, and Chinese-market boats at a fraction of that with no English
- Season: spring and autumn. Summer is hazy and hot; winter has low water
- What you see: the gorges, the Shibaozhai pagoda, the Lesser Three Gorges tributary, and the dam. Water levels behind the dam are far higher than historically, so the gorges are less dramatic than pre-2003 photographs suggest — but still impressive
Practicalities#
- Getting there: 1h10 by high-speed rail from Chengdu, 4h30 from Zhangjiajie, 6h from Xi'an. Chongqing Jiangbei (CKG) is a major airport.
- Getting around: an excellent metro that is also an engineering exhibition. Note that "walking distance" on a map means nothing here — vertical separation is enormous. Use the metro and the escalators.
- Season: Chongqing is one of China's "furnace" cities, regularly above 38°C in July and August with high humidity. Spring and autumn are far more comfortable. Winter is mild, grey and foggy.
- Days needed: two nights for the city; three with Dazu.
Frequently asked questions#
Is Chongqing worth visiting?#
Yes, especially for travellers who have already seen the classic four cities. Its vertical cityscape is genuinely unlike anywhere else, the hotpot is the best in China, and it is the gateway to the Dazu rock carvings and Yangtze cruises.
How far is Chongqing from Chengdu?#
About 300 km, or 1 hour 10 minutes by high-speed rail, with frequent departures. The two cities pair naturally into a single trip.
What is Chongqing hotpot?#
A distinct tradition from Sichuan hotpot: a broth built on rendered beef tallow, dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorn, considerably oilier and hotter. Diners dip cooked items in sesame oil with garlic rather than the sesame paste used in northern China.
Are the Three Gorges still worth seeing?#
Yes, though water levels behind the Three Gorges Dam are much higher than in pre-2003 photographs, so the gorges appear less deep. A 3–4 night downstream cruise from Chongqing to Yichang remains one of China's classic journeys.
What are the Dazu Rock Carvings?#
A UNESCO World Heritage site 90 minutes from Chongqing containing more than 50,000 religious statues carved into cliffsides between the 9th and 13th centuries, blending Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian imagery. The Baoding Mountain group is the highlight.