Subway to Graffiti | Sleep in Graffiti Homestay, Check In Chongqing's Colorful Fairy Tale World

When white walls become the most practical canvas, when imagination becomes the source of human art, when colors become the expression of brilliant life, graffiti carries a cultural symbol and embodies humanity's giving and love for a beautiful life.

It must be said that Chongqing is a city very suitable for graffiti.

Chongqing is shrouded in gray-white mist about 60% of the year, hazy with drizzle. While this has a unique mood and flavor, it makes locals long for sunshine and blue skies. So, we transfer our passion to a colorful world we can create ourselves, from the initial Huangjueping Graffiti Art Street, to the industrial punk graffiti of Erchang, to the Shijingpo neighborhood featured in "I Belonged to Your World"... Graffiti adorns the mountain city with more youth, vitality, and brightness.

Therefore, this is my weekend, a Chongqing travel route dating with graffiti, and also a subway flying through the sky towards a fairy tale world:

Accommodation: Tuya Art Homestay

Attractions: Shijingpo · Factory District Time Lane

Transportation: Subway Line 1, Shijingpo Station

Cost: About 220 RMB per night

Scenic spots: Free

Sleep: Tuya Art Homestay

Taking Metro Line 1 to Shijingpo Station, you can immediately see this "Tuya Art Homestay". It's a place where graffiti can be seen everywhere. From the corridor to the rooms, every wall presents a different landscape.

And these landscapes are all landmarks related to Chongqing, giving every guest a process of discovering and understanding Chongqing. So this is not just a room with a view, but also a room immersed in scenery. Chongqing's Ciqikou, Jiefangbei, People's Grand Hall, Hongya Cave... all become paintings on the wall, and also the creator's love for Chongqing.

"Only works painted on apartment walls or the sides of subway cars are true graffiti."

So this is a truly meaningful graffiti homestay. These brightly colored paintings quietly become Chongqing's "tourism ambassadors".

And just like the joy of opening a blind box, you never know what kind of "scenery" you'll stay in or what "mountain city graffiti" you'll see. It's a satisfaction and delight in discovering the unknown.

For example, I was accidentally assigned to this graffiti room that best represents Chongqing's transportation features: the "light rail" flying in the sky, the "cable car" crossing the river. These are the 8D magical landmarks of Chongqing's mountain city, making this city I love more cyberpunk.

Crisp white sheets, light wood furniture, marble-gray wooden floors, ample space, without too many complicated decorations or clutter, highlight the liveliness and playfulness of that graffiti wall.

Use a projector to choose a favorite movie, and spend a quiet evening time with your lover, children, or best friends.

There's a large graffiti painting in front of the bathtub in the room, making it hard not to let your imagination run wild while soaking in such a tub.

Moreover, this homestay also has a laundry room and a gym. Though small, they meet the needs of different guests.

The breakfast area is colorful, spacious, and heartwarming. There's also a bookshelf where you can pick a book and immerse yourself in the world of words with your own time.

Staying at Tuya Art Homestay is like sleeping in a Chongqing historical graffiti art museum, giving this Chongqing graffiti journey a fairy-tale start.

Shijingpo · Factory District Time Lane

Right on the hillside behind Tuya Art Homestay, you can see from a distance colorful houses dotting the gray pathways. The family district street of an old factory area has been transformed and decorated with graffiti. This old factory area is the Shuangbei Shijingpo Street of Chongqing Special Steel. "I Belonged to Your World" also filmed scenes here.

Let me first introduce the history of Chongqing Special Steel: Once glorious, the old Chongqing Special Steel factory now only leaves a few tiles and bricks. Back then, Shuangbei had two large factories: Chongqing Jialing and Chongqing Special Steel. For the older generations, these two factories carried their young memories. During the Anti-Japanese War, a large number of wartime munitions were produced at Chongqing Special Steel. The factory made great contributions during the war. After the founding of New China, the factory was hailed as the "Mother of Southwest Industry".

The predecessor of Chongqing Special Steel was the 24th Arsenal of the Ordnance Industry Bureau. Today, Chongqing Jialing has developed into China Jialing Group, while Chongqing Special Steel became Donghua Special Steel due to various factors and gradually faded. Now, although the glory of Chongqing Special Steel is past, and many old factories have declined or been restructured, some desolate, some gone, its historical precipitation remains eternal in the hearts of generations of special steel workers.

The tube-shaped apartment buildings from childhood have been transformed into yellow houses. I like this change—it's the correct way to repurpose old things.

The graffiti street starts just over a hundred meters ahead of Donghua Hospital.

"Factory Road · Time Lane" is the beginning of this entire "fairy tale street". Every old house facing the street has become a colorful house.

The pink bicycle and radio on the roadside wall evoke childhood memories. The time secretly listening to the radio under the covers, riding a small bike home after school, seems to be sealed here.

Hopscotch, hoop rolling, leapfrog, slingshot... these are classic games we played every day as kids. The little fox on the tree branch is like us in childhood, jumping up and down, never stopping.

I really love taking photos with graffiti.

There's also a street painted with the twelve zodiac signs. Each shop door corresponds to a sign. Find your own zodiac sign and take a super cute solo photo. I'm a Cancer, so I love my home.

Ahead is a yellow wall. "I Belonged to Your World" filmed scenes near this platform, so the surroundings are also movie-themed, mainly showing scenes from the film in graffiti form. This is the end of the entire "fairy tale street", mainly the filming location for the love story of Bai Baihe and Yang Yang.

This old factory family district, away from the busy city, has been developed by the Jianshepo Community of Shijingpo Street into the "Factory Road · Time Lane" themed street.

There will be more and more graffiti on this street. Every once in a while, new graffiti appears here. Go find your own fairy tale world!

Address: 168 Shijingpo, Shapingba District, Chongqing (about 100 meters ahead of Donghua Hospital)

Metro route: Line 1 Shijingpo Station (Exit 1)