Chongqing: Three Walking Tours to Discover the Mountain City
Chongqing: walking tours, but also by metro, cable car, and ferry
How to discover Chongqing, this immense Chinese metropolis where streets sometimes seem to overlap, where stairs replace sidewalks, and where buildings cling to hillsides?
In March 2026, I explored the city on foot for several days. Beyond the iconic sites and spectacular panoramas, I discovered a fascinating city, where every turn holds a surprise: a lively neighborhood, a bustling alley, or an unexpected view of the rivers and skyscrapers.
Chongqing is a city that earns its appreciation. Its rugged terrain sometimes makes getting around disorienting, but that's also what gives it all its charm. To better understand it, nothing beats walking.
Here I offer you three itineraries to discover Chongqing in three days, taking the time to explore its different neighborhoods and grasp the many facets of this extraordinary metropolis. Detailed maps will help you follow each walk and organize your visits.
- First walk: discovering the Yuzhong Peninsula, the historic heart of Chongqing
- Second walk: discovering the metro and everyday Chongqing
- Third walk: along the Yangtze and the Jialing
If you first want to understand the history and geography of this astonishing city, as well as discover Raffles City, one of its most spectacular symbols, I invite you to read my first article: Chongqing: my first discovery of the fascinating Chinese mountain-city. You will also find my practical tips there
First walk: discovering the Yuzhong Peninsula, the historic heart of Chongqing
The Yuzhong district is the historic heart of Chongqing, even though you'd never guess it, since countless skyscrapers have replaced the old town.
The numbers indicated on the map below allow you to follow the different stages of the route.
From Chaotianmen to the Qiansimen Bridge, along the Jialing
I start my walk at the tip of the peninsula, Chaotianmen (1), where the Yangtze and the Jialing meet, at the foot of Raffles City. There you'll find a giant, stylized fortified gate, a reminder that in the Ming era this was the main gate of the walled city, through which envoys from the emperor arrived from Beijing. The current version is more a symbolic, monumental nod than a reconstruction of the original gate.
I then walk along the Jialing River quay. There I see an entire fleet of cruise ships bound to sail down the Yangtze to Yichang over four days (2). This has become a major tourist attraction, with the highlight being the passage through the Three Gorges and its famous dam.
I pass a battalion of middle-aged street sweepers, standing almost at military attention, receiving their orders from their young supervisor.
A little further on, I make a technical stop at a public restroom. As everywhere in major Chinese cities, they're plentiful and very clean, with an attendant on site. Long gone are the days of communal toilets with no partitions at all to protect your privacy, which I experienced on my first trip to China back in the late 1980s!
Then I leave the quay by way of a long staircase. It won't be the last one I climb, because Chongqing's terrain is such that you're constantly changing levels. Reading a map becomes trickier, since it doesn't show elevation changes. This will trip me up more than once!
Climbing the stairs is interesting, because on either side I pass residential buildings 20 to 40 stories high, often with very close neighbors facing each other. Balconies are often used as an extra living room. Does that mean the apartments are cramped? I don't have the answer. Without being run-down, the buildings look fairly old and of fairly modest quality. One thing that struck me in China is the gap between very modern, even luxurious, public facilities and more mediocre private housing.
As if to taunt the pedestrians sometimes struggling up, one step at a time, a fake concrete tramway has been built halfway up the slope!
Spectacular views from the Qiansimen Bridge
I then head to the Qiansimen suspension bridge (3). It's elegant, and walking along either side offers beautiful views over the Yuzhong skyline.
On the opposite bank, you can see the Grand Theatre (4), one of the city's major buildings, with an angular architecture meant to evoke sailing ships. Right next to it is a huge pit filled with water. It appears to be a parking garage under construction. Because of the rugged terrain and the size of the buildings, the excavation sites are often astonishing.
On the bridge, I notice the countless cameras you see almost everywhere in China. The authorities claim that, thanks to these, their cities are among the safest in the world. What they say less often, in my view, is that they also allow for increasingly strict surveillance of individual freedoms as technology advances.
Then, retracing my steps on the other side of the bridge, my eye is drawn to a cluster of old houses that contrast with the skyscrapers towering above them. This is the site of Hongya Cave (5), a stack of traditional Sichuan stilt houses—diaojiaolou—built along a cliff over eleven levels, designed to adapt to steep terrain. The only catch is that the district was actually built in the early 2000s and is now home to tourist shops of no real interest. I'll settle for viewing it from a distance.
The 8D city: elevators, skybridges, and multi-level streets
The next stop on my planned walk is the Kuixing Tower (6). According to Amap, the Chinese Google Maps, it seems to be just a little further along, along the Jialing River. But this is the moment I truly understand why Chongqing is called the 8D city!
The street I want to take ends at a cliff, and I can't see any way to get up above it. Yet Amap tells me it's possible! After much trial and error and asking for help, without success, I decide to simply follow a family who seems very sure of where they're going.
They walk into a rather uninviting parking garage and head toward an elevator. Coming out on the top floor, I see them follow a corridor, then a skybridge over a street, and continue on to a second building to take another elevator, this time to a middle floor: the 22nd.
Stepping out of the elevator, I find myself not on an office or apartment floor, but on what looks like a ground floor, with shops and a steady flow of pedestrians. The outside door opens onto a rather dizzying skybridge, with a street 22 floors below on one side and a large pedestrian square on the other.
Chongqing's dramatic elevation changes explain this rather unique style of urban planning. I tried to capture the feeling I had with this short video.
Jiefangbei, in the historic heart of Chongqing
I cross the square to continue, at the same elevation, towards Chongqing's commercial heart, a bustling pedestrian district filled with luxury and tourist shops, hotels, and restaurants.
The astonishing Chongqing Art Gallery (7), nicknamed the "chopsticks building" because of its many red beams that crisscross in harmony, catches my eye.
A little further on, I arrive at a square with the People's Liberation Monument (8) at its center, which gave its name to the district (Jiefangbei). When it was created in 1945, it was intended to commemorate the victory of the Chinese resistance against the Japanese invaders. In 1949, when the city was taken by communist forces, it was renamed in honor of the liberation of the people. The monument, which was originally intended to be imposing, is now dwarfed by the surrounding buildings covered with immense animated advertising panels.
The streets are lively, and everyone tries to outdo each other in elegance, with a great passion of the Chinese: taking selfies!
Just two blocks from the square, I find myself on Chongqing Haochi Street (9), which lives up to its name as “the street where you eat well.” There, in a very popular atmosphere, I find plenty of small street restaurants. Chongqing cuisine is renowned for being very spicy and flavorful. In fact, it's best to make sure the chosen dish isn't too "hot" before ordering! The local specialty is Chongqing hotpot, famous for its particularly spicy broth, in which meat or vegetables are cooked.
I take the opportunity to enjoy a delicious bowl of noodles typical of Chongqing, with a crab-based sauce.
Shancheng Lane: Chongqing of Yesteryear
After this stop, I continue towards two places, Shibati and Shancheng Lane, presented as Chongqing's historic districts.
Arriving from above, Shibati (10), with its traditional gray-tiled houses, gives the illusion of the city as it was one or two centuries ago. In reality, it's a recent reconstruction where everything feels a bit too new and fake. As in Hongya Cave, I don't linger there too long.
A little further on, Shancheng Lane (11) is much more interesting. Literally, it means "Mountain City Alley." In the Ming era, it was an upscale residential area, then, towards the end of the 19th century, it became the seat of foreign trading posts before becoming a more dilapidated working-class neighborhood. Since 2016, it has been entirely renovated, but much of the old buildings and street structure have been preserved.
I follow a narrow alley that winds along the cliffside, offering views of today's towers and bridges on the opposite bank of the Yangtze. In the past, I would have walked along the wall that encircled the city. What a contrast in eras! At the very top, I arrive at an old French Christian monastery with its church.
I really liked the place, but I was far from alone! I had to make my way through the crowd of Chinese tourists, which wasn’t always pleasant. What’s more, despite remarkably well-preserved architecture, the place has become rather artificial: the locals have disappeared, and the shops cater exclusively to tourists.
This is where my first stroll through the heart of Chongqing ends.
Second walk: discovering the metro and everyday Chongqing
My second walk begins at Eling Park. I travel there from my hotel at Raffles City via metro line 1.
The Chongqing metro, a technical feat adapted to the terrain
Taking the metro in Chongqing is a must. With 12 lines and nearly 600 km, it was already, in 2026, one of the ten largest networks in the world. The most incredible thing is that it was non-existent only 25 years ago!
Building a metro in a city with such rugged terrain, crossed by wide rivers, was a colossal challenge. That’s why two lines, 2 and 3, are monorails, which make it possible to handle steeper gradients and tighter curves.
In some places, the metro is so deep that you have to take a whole series of escalators to reach the platforms. The deepest is Hongyancun station, 116 meters underground, equivalent to a 40-story building. You have to take eight successive escalators!
The metro is, of course, ultra-modern. As is the case throughout the country, you must pass your bag or luggage through an X-ray check at the entrance. The measure seems more symbolic than truly for security, as the flow is so fast that agents don't have time to actually look at their screens.
The metro signage, in Chinese and English, is well designed. At each door, floor markings clearly show where to stand so you can let passengers off before boarding. Full digital screens show the waiting time and also where to stand on the platform depending on how crowded it is. Finally, the ultimate in customer care: a sign indicates which part of the car is more air-conditioned than the other!
The numbers indicated on the map below allow you to follow the different stages of the route.
Eling Park and Liziba: two viewpoints over the vertical city
Twenty minutes later, I get off at the station near Eling Park (1). I go there in particular for its location on a narrow, high ridge. It’s also one of the oldest and prettiest parks in the city. A walk along a 450-meter walkway, cantilevered over the cliff, offers interesting views of Chongqing’s tower development, stretching as far as the eye can see on the north side of the Jialing River.
However, it’s best to avoid going there at the weekend, as it attracts a lot of people. Luckily for me, only a large group of retirees was in front of me, and I was able to overtake them quickly. I particularly liked the sensation of being on a sheer drop. Down below, I catch sight of the famous metro that goes through a building, which has become one of Chongqing’s most iconic symbols.
After a short half-hour walk downhill, I reach the metro station in question, called Liziba (2). At the foot of the building, several buses are stopped, disgorging dozens of groups who come to take their selfies amidst souvenir vendors. I am almost more fascinated by the frantic activity of the tourists, almost all Chinese, than by the metro itself! That being said, seeing a monorail enter a building is still something quite unique that I am happy to have witnessed.
I decide to take the metro again to reach my next stop: a visit to the Three Gorges Museum (3). The open-air route along the hillside is superb. I positioned myself at the front of the carriage, right behind the driver, who is very focused on his task, using well-codified gestures.
The Three Gorges Museum, to understand the history of Chongqing
Like many museums in China, the Three Gorges Museum is free. However, you absolutely must have your passport with you. That way, the Chinese state can keep track of our visits!
This museum was created in the early 2000s to preserve the archaeological and cultural heritage of the Three Gorges that were submerged following the construction of the dam. The building’s architecture also symbolically resembles a dam. I think it’s quite successful.
Inside, I am particularly interested in the exhibitions on the origins of Chongqing and the Second World War period, during which the city paid a heavy price due to intensive bombing by the Japanese army.
The face of the mountain city in the 1930s and 1940s is unrecognizable today.
My eye is also drawn to a beautiful statue of Guan Yu, a famous 3rd-century Chinese general who became a deity revered in Taoism and popular Buddhism.
The museum notably highlights the "Double Tenth Agreement", signed in 1945 between representatives of Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist government and those of the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong. The agreement aimed to preserve peace and avoid a resumption of the civil war after the ravages of World War II. Its breakdown shortly afterwards reignited the civil war until 1949.
A few years later, the Communists took power in mainland China, while Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan, where he continued to lead the Republic of China. Eighty years later, tensions between Beijing and Taipei show that this story is far from over.
Needless to say, the museum's presentation adopts a viewpoint consistent with the official line of the Chinese Communist Party, which gives itself the starring role.
After my museum visit, I step out onto the immense esplanade, facing the imposing Great Hall of the People of Chongqing (4). It was built in the 1950s in a style reminiscent of the Ming and Qing periods, as the authorities favored at the time.
Around Lianglukou: immersion in the daily life of the residents
I end my walk with a visit to the neighborhood leading to the Lianglukou metro station (5). In itself, it is nothing spectacular, but it allows me to see the daily life of Chongqing's people. Street stalls and restaurants are numerous and spill out onto the sidewalks. Perhaps due to its subtropical climate, Chongqing is a city where people live outdoors a lot. Of course, I see dizzying stairs everywhere. Consequently, I see very few bicycles, which are not at all suited to such terrain!
I pass a real estate agency and try to decipher the listings. What stands out is that, despite many offers of small apartments, the average floor area is rather high: 70 to 80 m². Prices per m² vary widely, which certainly reflects the very wide range in building quality and also their location. Mentioning a high or low floor is important information, given the height of the buildings. After doing a bit of research online, it seems to me that, relative to local purchasing power, prices are comparable to what someone from Toulouse or Marseille would have to pay in their own city. This is a point that would, however, deserve to be checked more rigorously.
Third walk: along the Yangtze and the Jialing
My final walk highlights the Yangtze, without which Chongqing wouldn't truly be Chongqing!
The numbers indicated on the map below allow you to follow the different stages of the route.
The wholesalers' district facing the luxurious Raffles City
Leaving my hotel at Raffles City (1), I pass through the adjacent Chaotianmen district, around Chaodong Road (2). The contrast with the futuristic architecture of Raffles City is striking. I find myself in a working-class neighborhood with many wholesale shops: textiles and other manufactured goods. I really love this bustling, high-energy life found throughout Chongqing.
I stop at a covered market where aquarium fish sellers are grouped together (3). I’m allowed to wander between the different tanks without anyone seeming to take any interest in my presence.
Baixiangju: a popular and labyrinthine Chongqing
I continue towards a unique housing complex: Baixiangju (4). Built in the 1990s to provide social housing, the complex includes six 24-storey buildings with no elevators. Because of the terrain, some entrances open onto streets at different levels: ground floor, 10th floor, or 15th floor. The whole network of stairs, corridors, and walkways gives the impression of a gigantic labyrinth.
The raw architecture and, in the background, the urban environment make the place extremely photogenic. It has notably served as a backdrop for several cult Chinese films. I spend a good time simply wandering around. The downside is that the place is widely known to Chinese tourists, who come in droves solely to be photographed or take selfies.
The Yangtze cable car, a dizzying crossing
Then I head toward the Yangtze cable car (5). Along with the Liziba metro, it is the second most common image used to symbolize Chongqing. Fortunately for me, I am here on a weekday, outside of school holidays. My wait time is short, but I've been told it can sometimes be very, very long, with impressive queues of visitors.
The cable car was built in 1987, and the municipality has now classified it as a protected cultural monument. Formerly used as an aerial bus for daily use, it is now primarily a tourist attraction. The crossing takes about five minutes, and upon arrival, the view of the Yuzhong peninsula is excellent (6).
Nanbin Road: a walk along the Yangtze
Right next door is another reconstructed historic district: Longmenhao Old Street (7). It was once the foreigners' quarter, with shipping companies and diplomatic missions. As with other old sites, the restoration is, for my taste, a bit too artificial. The absence of residents robs it of much of its charm.
I prefer to head towards the pedestrian riverbanks of the Yangtze: Nanbin Road (8). A little further to my left, I see an extravagant building that looks as if it’s entirely clad in gold! It’s a bit too far away for me to go and visit. It’s a Sheraton with, apparently, an over-the-top pseudo-European neo-baroque interior loaded with marble, gilded stucco, and gigantic chandeliers. It’s interesting to see how Chinese architecture has evolved in less than twenty years, moving from a kitschy, flashy, ostentatious style to a more streamlined and elegant one—still imposing, though.
I then continue westward to enjoy the views of the Yuzhong peninsula. The traffic on the river impresses me with its diversity: heavily laden cargo barges, cruise ships, and even a kayak that looks very frail!
I pass a singer in the middle of filming videos that will likely soon end up on WeChat, the favorite social network of young Chinese people.
Chongqing Bay: the city of tomorrow
On the way, I wander, somewhat by chance, into an old building that seems destined for demolition or renovation. Inside, I am greeted by a dozen hostesses who, after offering me tea, show me a model of a new neighborhood project: the future Chongqing Bay (9). Eventually, this will represent over a million square meters of construction!
The ambition is to combine very high-end residential towers, gardens, hotels, and shopping streets around a few renovated old buildings. The project is relatively old and was long blocked by murky stories of debt and litigation. But it seems to be back on track. It will help strengthen the dynamism of this riverbank, which is still lagging behind today.
I then continue my walk towards the Ciyun Clock Tower (10). It looks like it dates from the era of European concessions and was built by the English. But not at all! It was built in 2011 to commemorate Chongqing’s history and its opening to international trade.
Planning Exhibition Hall: better understanding the city's development
I finally reach the Chongqing Planning Exhibition Hall (11). It seems to be overlooked by tourists, as I’m almost the only visitor. According to its architect, Cui Kai, the exterior silhouette is inspired by the ideogram 起 (qǐ), which evokes a beginning. The architect thus wanted to show that the mountain city is a metropolis in the midst of transformation.
The interior is fascinating for really understanding Chongqing's development, as I briefly mentioned in my first article: Chongqing: My Discovery of China's Fascinating Mountain City. Since all the explanations are in Chinese, I spend a lot of time translating everything with Google Translate. Of course, I remain aware that the narrative reflects what the central government wants to convey, highlighting only the successes while staying silent on the failures or unintended effects on the environment.
The models are particularly instructive, as are the many plans presented. One map especially caught my eye: it shows the key role Chongqing is to play in the development of the Silk Road routes toward the rest of Asia, Africa, and Europe. Numerous illustrations evoke the agreements Chongqing has made with the rest of the world.
My walk ends with a mini-cruise on a river shuttle that takes me back to the Yuzhong peninsula. I disembark next to Hongya Cave, which I see from a unique angle (12).
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