Chongqing

Understand

Chongqing is one of the four municipalities in China, cities that are not part of a province and instead report directly to the central government; it is the only municipality that is not on the east coast (the others are Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin). It was historically a part of Sichuan province, and is culturally and linguistically considered to be part of it.

During World War II, Chongqing served as the temporary capital of China after Nanjing fell to the Japanese. Despite being heavily bombed, Chongqing was successfully defended by the Chinese forces and avoided occupation for the duration of the war. In 1949, a massive fire swept through the waterfront, destroying much of the area and killing upwards of 3,000.

Chongqing urban area (covered in this article) consists of the following eight districts and areas: Yuzhong, Dadukou, Shapingba, Jiulongpo, Nan'an, Banan, Beibei, and Liangjiang New Area (Jiangbei and Yubei no longer exist, having been merged in 2025 to form Liangjiang New Area).

Get around

The metro and bus systems are advised as the best forms of transportation and are very cheap and efficient.

Chongqing is a very hilly city, so be prepared to climb lots of stairs when walking around. That can also make it a confusing city to navigate on foot, as the ground floor of one building can be at the same elevation as the 20th floor of an adjacent building for instance.

See

Chongqing has the largest population in West China and is the focus of China's "Go West" development strategy. As a result, it is a very lively and rapidly modernizing city, although it does get a bit too hectic most of the time. On the surface, the city appears rough around the edges and a bit gritty and thus there may appear to be not much to do in the daytime, but further investigation will uncover a city with truly its own character and a number of interesting sites actually worth looking into.

Eat

thumbnail|Patrons standing in line at a snack shop in Chongqing

Drink

There are many bars in Chongqing, but most are underpopulated. Generally the local bottled beer is ¥10, and the variety includes several local beers and even Guinness (expensive) on occasions. If you go to one of the small restaurants to eat, you can buy bottles of local beer at ¥3 upwards.

As a warning, some bars have adopted a less pleasant method to send pretty girls to accompany and entertain you, and then ask for huge additional sums when you leave. Take care.

Sleep

There are hundreds of hotels all over the city ranging from dormitory style for ¥30 per night, through three star equivalent hotels for ¥150, up to the numerous top western hotels for ¥600-2000 per night, and many more are being added and are under construction. Most hotels are rarely fully booked. You can always check the room before you commit.

Go next

Qijiang Dazu Rock Carvings – Three hours' drive west of Chongqing city are these spectacular Buddhist carvings that date from the 9th to the 13th century. They are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. There is also a fascinating temple complex on the grounds. The caves can be reached by bus from the main long distance bus station in Chongqing (Chen Jiaping).