Chongqing Travel Guide

Chongqing (重庆) is unlike any other city on Earth. Built on steep hills at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, this megacity of 32 million people is a vertical labyrinth of skyscrapers, elevated highways that pass through apartment buildings, light rail trains that curve between towers, and stairways that climb impossibly steep hillsides. At night, the illuminated skyline — a jumble of neon, LED screens, and fog — looks like something out of a cyberpunk film. Chongqing is also the hotpot capital of the world. The city's signature nine-grid hotpot (九宫格火锅), with its numbing, fiery broth made from Sichuan peppercorns, beef tallow, and dozens of spices, is a culinary rite of passage. Locals eat it year-round — even in 40°C summer heat — sitting on plastic stools in cavernous restaurants that seat hundreds. The city's most photogenic spot is Hongya Cave (洪崖洞), an 11-story stilted building complex built into a cliff face that glows golden at night — often compared to the bathhouse from Spirited Away. The Yangtze River Cable Car provides a dramatic aerial crossing over the muddy brown river. Jiefangbei, the city's Times Square, is a pedestrian island surrounded by gleaming towers. Beyond the city, the Wulong Karst Natural Bridges (武隆天生三桥) — a UNESCO site featuring massive natural limestone arches — served as a filming location for Transformers: Age of Extinction. And Chongqing is the starting point for many Yangtze River Three Gorges cruises.