The Absolute Best Things to Do in Spicy Chongqing

Chongqing, China is the city of spice,  mysterious mountains and oppressive summer humidity. It's a chaotic city, full of winding roads and steep stairs, sprawling rapidly out into rural areas to house the millions of residents. Of course, there are plenty of Chongqing attractions that are worth your while, but whatever you do, avoid Chongqing during summer months at all costs: known as one of the "furnace cities" in China, the heat is intense, the humidity worse, and the lack of sun depressing. So, whether you're visiting for a weekend or spending a year + here, there's a lot of attractions to explore. Here are the best things to do in Chongqing, or my personal "go to" list.  

As Chongqing is a huge city, this article divvies up Chongqing's attractions by location to make it easy for you to know what to pair with what. Know that if you're only spending a weekend in Chongqing you'll have to prioritize which ones interest you the most. Additionally, there's a plethora of lovely day or weekend trip options available from the city to more remote areas--check the end of the post for recommendations on trips outside the city. 

Downtown Chongqing Attractions: Yuzhong District

The Yuzhong District houses a number of Chongqing's best attractions, as this is where the Yangtze and Jialing river meet, offering up fascinating views of Chongqing's downtown skyline. In fact, the rivers converge in such a fashion that it makes it look like there is an island in the center. I've split this district up into four distinct parts due to the large number of things to do here, although everything is close enough that you could mix and match as you please. 

If you have limited time in Chongqing, I recommended checking out downtown #1 and #2 and then hopping down to Shapingba or Nan'an attractions.

Yuzhong Route #1: Jiefangbei & Surrounding Area

Recommended Route: Take Line 1 or 2 on the metro and get off at Jiaochangkou. Walk to Jiefangbei food street for dinner, grab some drinks at the Hongya cave after, then walk to take pictures at the Chaotianmen viewing platform. 

Jiefangbei Food Street + Monument

Jiefangbei Food Street will give you all the tastes of Chongqing that you could desire (although save some room, because Ciqikou also has plenty of food and spice). It's also conveniently located in the glitzy downtown part of Chongqing, so take some time to stroll through the streets and feel like you're in a city like New York. Additionally, you can check out the Jiefangbei People's Liberation Monument celebrating their victory against Japan in the Sino-Japanese war. 

Chongqing Hongyadong

One of the most well-known tourist attractions and one of the best things to do in Chongqing, the Hongyadong (Hongya Cave) is located right next to the Jialing River. It was originally built during the Ba State, but was recently re-built in the traditional stilted-building style. The Hongyadong is 11 stories high, and has multiple exit and entry points. Lastly, there are plenty of food and drink options inside that offer beautiful views at night of the Chongqing downtown skyline and bridges. 

Chaotianmen: Sky Gate

Located east of Hongyadong, the Chaotianmen gate is right at the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze rivers. Also originally built during the Ba State, the current gate was completed in the late 1990s by a Singaporean company (Singapore has invested quite heavily in Chongqing). It is a large, weird gate that seems to blend into Chongqing's grey skies during the day. At night, however, when lit up it's pretty in a futuristic, tech-y way.

Chaotianmen wharf is where cruise boats that travel down the two rivers dock and board, and there's a good viewing platform as well. Of course, it wouldn't be complete in China without a mall, so the recently finished Raffles City mall complex is there for shopping purposes as well.

Yuzhong Route #2: Eling Park + Testbed

Recommended Route: Take line 2 metro and get off at Liziba Station. Check out the metro stop (read below), check out Eling Park daytime views, walk to Testbed for shopping, food and/or drinks, and end at Eling Park again for nighttime views.

Liziba Metro Station

Conveniently, this can be paired with Eling Park because it wouldn't make sense to get off at Liziba just for this. But the Liziba metro station is actually a regular old building, so when exiting you can watch one of the metros enter and look like it's crashing into the building.

Eling Park Chongqing 

Originally a private estate owned by Li Yaoting in the early 1900s, Eling Park is now a public park with beautiful views of the downtown area of Chongqing. There are some climbing steps, but nothing too steep. When I first went with a friend, we chose to go during the day, and then returned at night to see both the day and nighttime views. Unfortunately, Chongqing can be very foggy and overcast during the day, so frequently the nighttime views are prettier if you're looking to choose. 

Testbed / Erchang

The Testbed community (taxi drivers should know it by "Erchang") is a cute, hipster area of Chongqing that has lots of coffee shops, restaurants and quirky other stores. There are a few rooftop options as well (sometimes with a surcharge, which includes bubbles) for more views of Chongqing. If you're craving some craft beer and/or Western pub grub, Ben's Bar is a great choice for dinner and drinks. 

Yuzhong Route #3: People's Square + 3 Gorges Museum

Recommended Route: Take metro line 2 and get off at Zengjiayan station, then take exit A and walk to the museum; the people's square is opposite the museum. 

Chongqing Three Gorges Museum

Chongqing Province houses the incredible 3 Gorges Dam, which powers a large chunk of China. The museum, which is free (!!), not only tells the story of the building of the dam, but also provides some history on the Sino-Japanese War and on the ancient Ba-Yu culture. 

The introductory plaques are translated into English, but unfortunately the smaller descriptions generally are only in Mandarin. And although informative, know that there's certainly a spin on the information provided. 

Chongqing People's Hall

The People's Assembly Hall of Chongqing is opposite the Three Gorges Museum, and generallly allows tourists entry for a nominal fee of 5-10 yuan. Last I heard, however, the building was closed to tours due to construction. It was completed in 1954 and has a large dome that was modeled after Beijing's Temple of Heaven. If you go during the evening, you'l most likely see large numbers of people dancing in the People's Square. 

Additional Options Nearby: The Joseph Stilwell Museum

Yuzhong Route #4: Shopping & Leisure

Recommended Route: Take bus or taxi to Chongqing Tiandi and enjoy brunch or coffee. Then taxi to Daping. If you'd like to skip Chongqing Tiandi and just go shopping, take line 1 and get off at Shiyou Road Station, or line 2 and get off at Daping Station (Shiyou Road is closer to the big malls and restaurant options). 

Chongqing Tiandi (Chongqing World)

Chongqing Tiandi is a pretty little area of Chongqing, with cute architecture and one of the few brunch options in the city. 1+ Cafe has brunch on the weekends and also has a coffee roastery, so you can get some delicious fresh-roasted coffee. Mil Gotas is also a bookstore and cafe that sells both English and Spanish books. 

Daping Shopping Malls

If you want an overwhelming amount of options for shopping, Daping is the place to go. There's mall after mall and also plenty of restaurant options. You can easily get lost trying to find a spot. If you're interested in drinks, Fermentation is a locally-owned brewery in the area and Yolo is a small bar located way up there in a building with cool views. And if you want to experience KTV in China (you really should!), Chun-K is a great option in Daping. If you don't know what KTV is, it's karaoke but private-room style. 

Nan'an Chongqing Attractions

Nan'an District in Chongqing is home to Nanshan, probably the most famous hiking option in Chongqing proper. Best of all, once you're done hiking, you can soak those weary bones in a nearby hot spring. 

Nanshan, South Mountain

Nanshan has a few different entry options, but the easiest is to enter through the Yikeshu Viewing Platform for a nominal fee. You can take some photos with Chongqing as a backdrop, and then continue up to get in some hiking. There's an adventure park inside, a botanical garden (that my friend and I couldn't find), and other paths. 

Haitong Xiaoyue Hot Springs

Located on Nanping Road and quite a bit cheaper than the popular Ronghui Hot Springs located in Shapingba, the Haitong Xiaoyue Hot Springs are a great stop for weary travelers. You'll be supplied with sandals, a towel, a few snacks, and a locker to keep your stuff. You can even get a massage inside for an extra fee. However, make sure to grab some food before you arrive as you could spend literally hours here. There are dozens of specialty herbal pools to choose from, and the temperatures of each pool are clearly marked for those who don't like being scalded. 

Location: No. 587 East Nanping Road

Shapingba Chongqing Attractions

Shapingba is a huge district of Chongqing, and includes Ciqikou old town, hiking at Geleshan, and the beautiful University Town. This area is where you should go if you're craving a little bit of greenery while staying in a concrete-filled city. It's where you can get fast access to a slightly more rural Chongqing. 

Shapingba: Where Old Meets New 

Recommended Route: Unlike Chongqing downtown, Shapingba attractions are quite spaced out and not as easy to pair off. Ciqikou could take a half day if you want it to or just an hour or so. Geleshan and University Town also deserve their own days, although if you're taxi-ing you could mix and match whatever you like. 

Ciqikou: Chongqing Old Town

Route: Take line 1 and get off at Ciqikou Station. 

Visiting Chongqing wouldn't be complete if you didn't step foot in the bustling, spice-laden pedestrian streets of Ciqikou. Called "Porcelain Port," Ciqikou was a bustling port located on the Jialing River during China's Ming Dynasty and is by far one of the best things to do in Chongqing. Now mostly a replicate of what used to be, Ciqikou predominately serves tourists. You can find house-made noodles, spices and snacks, along with plenty of street food and bars. There's also an old temple you can visit - no entry fee, but a small donation is expected. 

Chongqing University Town: Daxuecheng

Route: Take line 1 and get off at Daxuecheng. 

University Town, or Daxuecheng, is a beautiful little town (with a university, of course) that's pretty far out there. If you take the metro, you'll gradually see the landscape getting greener and greener and the buildings diminishing. But don't worry: it's completely worth it. I didn't discover this gem until almost 11 months of living in Chongqing, and it wasn't until after my Mandarin tutor told me about it. My reason for going there was for Indian food, but it would've been worth it without it. 

China is the home of rental bikes, but in most of Chongqing bikes are mysteriously absent. However, not University Town! You'll be greeted almost immediately with an array of rental bikes, and there's a beautiful park path that you can bike or stroll down. 

Once you reach the town, you'll see restaurant after restaurant: Indian, Japanese, Thai, Mexican and, of course, Chinese food are all options. There's also a lovely art museum there with painted steps. 

Geleshan: Hiking and the Martyrs Museum

Route: You can take metro line 1 and get off at Lieshimu, take exit 2B then walk about 15 minutes to get to the Martyrs Cemetery area. From there, it's about another 15 minutes to the get to the Northeast gate of the National Park.

Geleshan is by far my favorite hiking option in Chongqing city. It's usually outshined by Nanshan, which is cool, but there's something about Geleshan that I really enjoyed.

If you take the bus, you'll get let off at the entrance to the martyrs museum. It's free (China's really onto something with the free museums) and is dedicated to Communist martyrs during China's civil war. The martyr's museum is at the location of what used to be a prison camp run by the Kuomintang that housed Chinese Communists in the late 1940s. In 1949 (the year the communists won), the Kuomintang decided to execute almost all of the Communist prisoners.

Once you exit the martyrs museum on the other side, you'll see a sign on the road pointing to the right to go view the prisoner's camp. If you take a left and continue up the road, you can eventually reach the entrance to the Geleshan National Forest Park. It's a pretty lengthy walk, and once you reach the park you'll of course have to hike up plenty of steps. As long as you like hiking/walking, in my opinion the national park is highly worth it. 

Yubei Chongqing Attractions

Yubei is a northern district in Chongqing, and is known as the less-populated, ritzier area of CQ. A lot of well to-do locals and foreigners reside here, where it's less congested and greener. The main touristy attraction located here are the Expo Gardens.

Chongqing Expo Gardens

If you're looking for some nature but don't want to get exhausted hiking a crapton of steps, then the Expo Gardens in Chongqing are the perfect stop for you. Although somewhat far-out from the compact center of Chongqing City, they're accessible by multiple metro lines and the entry fee is incredibly cheap: 20 yuan. 

Be careful, though: There's no good map, and this place is huge. My friend and I got pretty lost finding our way to an exit. 

Jiulongpo Chongqing Attractions

Jiulongpo, the district that I called home for a year! Although there aren't a ton of "touristy" options here, there is the really awesome Huayan Temple and a cool, funkily-designed bookstore that makes for some great photos and has a cool cafe. 

Huayan Temple

Route: There are a few buses that take you here; I took bus 412. The street runs from the Huangjueping Railway Hospital and ends at 501 Art Gallery. There are a few side streets that have graffiti as well.

A somewhat hidden secret of Chongqing, Huangjueping is supposedly the largest graffiti street in the world, and was initiated by the Sichuan Fine Arts University. I found the street to be a little underwhelming, and many of the side streets turn into just graffiti scrawls -- but that was also part of the charm of it. Certainly a great venture for an hour or so if you're in the nearby area or have some extra time. 

Zodi Plaza Bookstore

A 20-minute or so taxi ride from Huayan Temple you can stop at a funkily designed bookstore in the Zodi Plaza Mall. Entrances are on both the 3rd and 4th floors of the mall; the 4th floor entrance leads directly to their small cafe. Unfortunately, none of the books (except for a few children's books) are in English, so you'll have to bring your own book for reading at the bookstore if you so desire. 

Update: I heard from an old co-worker that this bookstore has now closed. 

Where to next?

There you have it, the extended version of the best things to do in Chongqing. Which ones will you check off? Or are you interested in getting outside the city to take a day or weekend trip? Check out the additional options below. 

Attractions outside Chongqing City: