First Encounter with Chongqing – Slow Down and Savor the Charm of the Mountain City

Travel is a kind of love.

The world is so vast, I want to see it.

See the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas; see all things in the world, the myriad forms of life.

If you feel like traveling, then go to Chongqing.

Bring a few friends and experience the charm of the mountain city together.

When talking about Chongqing, what comes to mind? The mountain city, the fog capital, or hotpot?

The so-called aroma of earthly life is what comforts the human heart most.

While the sun is still shining and we are still young, let’s set off quickly.

DAY 1: Departure → Chongqing Jiangbei Airport → Jiefangbei

DAY 2: Thousand-Year-Old Town Ciqikou → Liziba Light Rail Station → Jiefangbei

DAY 3: Crown Grand Escalator → Hongyadong → Qiansimen Bridge

Arrive at Chongqing Jiangbei Airport, then take Light Rail Line 3 directly from the terminal to Niujiaotuo, then transfer to Line 2 to Linjiangmen. Nearby are Jiefangbei and Hongyadong, making travel and accommodation very convenient.

Of course, you can't miss the night view of this city when you come to Chongqing. Be sure to check in at Jiefangbei, a landmark building of Chongqing. In the evening, stroll to Jiefangbei; the towering buildings around are all lit up. Chongqing at night is very lively, with bustling crowds coming here to feel the charm of the mountain city.

Jiefangbei is located in the center of Jiefangbei Commercial Pedestrian Street, Yuzhong District, Chongqing. Construction began on October 31, 1946, and was completed in August 1947. It is a spiritual symbol of victory in the War of Resistance and the only monument in China commemorating the victory of the Chinese people in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Visit Bayi Road Delicious Street

Near Jiefangbei, there is a snack street that you can explore. It’s just a short walk away. This Bayi Road Delicious Street offers all kinds of food. Haoyoulai’s hot and sour noodles, Liaoji Bangbang Chicken, tofu pudding, Shancheng Little Tangyuan, meat skewers, and rose ice jelly are all pretty good.

Chuan-Yu Snack: Tofu Pudding Rice

Tofu pudding rice is a common snack in the Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guizhou regions. The tofu pudding is usually eaten with dipping sauce and rice, but it can also be eaten plain. Typically, you get a bowl of tofu pudding rice with some braised pork belly, garlic white pork, and pig trotter soup. After eating, you feel extremely satisfied.

Hotpot is a Must

Of course, you can't miss hotpot when in Chongqing. Eating hotpot has its own rules. The dipping sauce must include the basics: garlic, ginger, scallion, and sesame oil—none are optional. Then, according to personal preference, add vinegar, oyster sauce, seasoned salt, and toppings like cilantro, sesame seeds, and crushed peanuts. This combination is absolutely amazing.

There are so many hotpot restaurants in Chongqing that it's hard to choose. Since we were wandering around Bayi Road Delicious Street, we saw a hotpot place upstairs and casually decided to give it a try.

How to put it? The taste was okay, neither particularly good nor bad—just average hotpot flavor. But the portions felt a bit small. Our group of three spent nearly 400 yuan, about 100+ per person, but we only felt about 70–80% full, so the value wasn’t great. (Maybe we just have big appetites, hahaha.)

Thousand-Year-Old Town Ciqikou

On the second day, we visited the thousand-year-old town Ciqikou. From Jiaochangkou, we took Line 1 directly to Ciqikou Station, then followed the crowd forward—couldn’t go wrong, hahaha.

Ciqikou Ancient Town, located in the northeast of Shapingba District, Chongqing’s main urban area, is a folk culture ancient town with a history of over 1,000 years. It faces the Jialing River in front and backs onto Geleshan Mountain, with Jinbi Mountain, Ma’anshan Mountain, and Fenghuangshan Mountain standing side by side, and Qingshui Stream and Fenghuang Stream embracing it. Through historical development, it has formed two main streets, locally called “Main Street” and “Old Street.” Ciqikou Ancient Town has 12 lanes and alleys, with mostly Ming and Qing-style architecture on both sides, paved with stone slabs, and lined with shops.

It is a National AAAA-level scenic spot, a Chinese historical and cultural street, a key protected traditional street in Chongqing, one of the “New Bayu Twelve Scenes,” and part of the Bayu Folk Culture Tourism Circle. Ciqikou Ancient Town was built in the Song Dynasty, with a unique landform of “one river, two streams, three mountains, and four streets,” forming a natural good port and an important land-water dock along the Jialing River.

A single stone road, a thousand-year-old Ciqikou, is the epitome and symbol of old Chongqing, praised as “Little Chongqing.” The ancient town features traditional performances such as oil pressing, silk reeling, sugar making, dough figurine making, Sichuan opera, as well as various traditional snacks and teahouses. The Ciqikou Temple Fair held every Spring Festival is the most distinctive traditional event, attracting tens of thousands of citizens.

Actually, Ciqikou is similar to other ancient towns I’ve visited before—quite commercialized. The shops along the street sell local foods, specialties, and handicrafts, with many selling hotpot base.

What differs from other ancient towns is that because of Chongqing’s unique terrain, it’s built on a mountain. When we wandered around, we were constantly climbing up and down.

We happened to go on a weekend, so the town was extremely crowded. We basically walked and stopped, walked and stopped. After finishing the tour, I felt totally worn out. Since the weather was hot, we headed back after an hour.

Actually, you don’t have to go to those internet-famous spots. Just strolling through the streets and alleys of Chongqing is also very nice.

Liziba Light Rail Station

Starting from Jiefangbei, take Light Rail Line 2 at Jiaochangkou Station directly to Liziba Light Rail Station. In recent years, this place has become an internet-famous check-in spot, where everyone comes to see the light rail passing through a building. Many tourists pick up cameras and phones to capture the moment.

Liziba Station is an elevated side-platform station on Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2. It is located on the 8th floor and is the first elevated straddle-type monorail station in China built together with a commercial-residential building. The light train passes through the high floors of a residential building every time, which is very eye-catching. It has become a must-visit place for tourists from other cities.

The Crown Grand Escalator was originally a means of transport connecting Lianglukou in the upper part of Chongqing and Caiyuanba in the lower part. This second-longest single-stage sloping escalator in Asia not only provides convenience for people’s travel but also carries the memories of generations of Chongqing residents.

The steep slope, long distance, large elevation difference, and long visual range of the Crown Grand Escalator have also attracted various variety shows and film crews to shoot here. The one-way ticket price for the Crown Grand Escalator is 2 yuan. If you need to take photos while riding, be sure to pay special attention to safety and hold onto the handrails.

Hongyadong – The Dreamlike World of Spirited Away

When you come to Chongqing, the night view of Hongyadong is also not to be missed. It’s quite close to Jiefangbei, just a ten-minute walk away. We came to a road by the river, which is the 11th floor of Hongyadong, with Hongyadong below. We didn’t rush into Hongyadong first but went to the nearby Qiansimen Bridge, from which you can see the full view of Hongyadong.

Hongyadong is located on Cangbai Road, Jiefangbei, Yuzhong District, Chongqing, in the riverside area where the Yangtze River and Jialing River meet. It is a tourist area integrating sightseeing, leisure, and vacation. The main attractions consist of stilted buildings and antique commercial streets. Hongyadong has 11 floors. The lights come on at 6 p.m. and go off at 10 p.m.

As night fell, the lights inside Hongyadong lit up. Whether walking inside the buildings or looking at the exterior across the road, you feel a strong sense of awe, as if you are inside a movie scene.

After taking some photos on the bridge, we turned back and planned to go inside Hongyadong.

Once inside, there were dense stilted buildings on both sides. The shops along the street were mostly snack shops, specialty stores, bars, and cafes, as well as some unique shops.

Actually, there’s no need to go inside Hongyadong. It’s not much different from the pedestrian streets outside. Viewing the night scenery from the outside road or on the Qiansimen Bridge is great.

Qiansimen Jialing River Bridge is a river-crossing passage connecting Yuzhong District and Jiangbei District in Chongqing, located above the Jialing River. It is part of the secondary arterial roads in northern Chongqing’s urban area.

In its design, the Qiansimen Jialing River Bridge integrates the entire bridge into Chongqing’s landscape, fully showcasing the beauty of “mountains, waters, city, and bridge.” Its location is adjacent to Hongyadong, which features the most representative Bayu traditional architectural style of “stilted building clusters.” The classical buildings and modern bridge complement each other, meeting people’s new demands and experiences when crossing the bridge, achieving a fusion of ancient and modern.

Actually, the best spot to view Qiansimen from is the observation deck of Hongyadong. From the bridge itself, it doesn’t look particularly distinctive.

1. Transportation in Chongqing’s main urban area is very convenient, with buses and light rail reaching many places, meeting the needs of travelers.

2. In Chongqing, navigation sometimes doesn’t work. If you really can’t find a place, you can ask a local. People in Chongqing are quite enthusiastic and will tell you the way.

3. Summers in Chongqing are very hot. The hottest period is the dog days of summer, around August, when temperatures can reach over 40°C. The periods from March to June and September to November have suitable temperatures and less rainfall, making them good seasons for travel.

4. Chongqing has a lot of rain, so remember to bring an umbrella. It can protect you from the sun and keep you dry when it rains.

5. Be sure to wear a comfortable pair of sneakers. Never wear high heels!! There are many stairways, steps, and sloped roads in Chongqing’s streets and alleys, one after another—they will make you question your life.

When you return from your trip, you may not gain any material things. Our travel is not just about posting a few photos. More importantly, it’s about traveling with that intention, making the long journey of life rich and wonderful, and filling this rare life with substance.

Some things should be done early. If not now, you may never do them in your lifetime. Often we lose out because of the word “wait”: wait until we have money, wait until we have time. But we don’t realize that we are actually always busy. Perhaps when you finally think you have time, the person beside you is no longer there.