Chongqing: The Cyberpunk Jianghu of a 3D Mountain City

Chongqing is a multidimensional metropolis born from the folds of mountains and two rivers. Here, there is no horizon—only endlessly folding roads, monorails piercing through buildings, intertwined elevated bridges suspended in air, and the perpetual aroma of hotpot rising from deep within staircases. As China’s most cyberpunk city, Chongqing simmers the江湖 (jianghu) camaraderie of ancient Ba-Yu culture with futuristic visual spectacles into a boiling red-oil epic.

Top Attractions

1. 3D Transportation Wonders

• Liziba Monorail Through a Building: Watch a train slide like a dragon into the belly of a 19-story residential complex. The best viewing spot features cliff carvings of Ode to Chongqing on rock walls below.

• Yangtze River Cableway “Flying Bus”: A “local airplane” crossing the river, offering mid-air views of cargo ships below and bridge tracks above forming a 3D transport network.

• Sujiaba Spiral Overpass: A 72-meter-high spiral ramp resembling a roller coaster track, where taxis circling upward create weightless thrills.

2. Mountain City History

• Hongyadong Stilted Houses: Lit like Spirited Away lanterns at night, these 11-floor pseudo-antique structures span from Binjiang Road to Cangbai Road—elevator buttons testify to the magic of “1st floor is a road, 11th floor is still a road.”

• Huguang Guild Hall’s Yellow Walls: Qing dynasty migrant architecture hidden under Dongshuimen Bridge piers, with Bian Lian (Face-Changing) opera on its stage and incense smoke in Yu Wang Palace recalling the “Huguang Fills Sichuan” migration.

• Bai Mansion & Zhazi Cave: Red heritage sites on Gele Mountain, where damp prison walls still bear poems scratched by Red Crag heroes with fingernails.

3. Natural Masterpieces

• Wulong Three Natural Bridges: Transformers 4 filming location. Under Qinglong Bridge’s massive arch, Han dynasty posthouse ruins converse with drone light shows across time.

• Dazu Rock Carvings at Baodingshan: Song dynasty craftsmen carved连环 Buddhist sutras on cliffs; the Herding Buffaloes series’ leisurely flute-playing herder contrasts poetically with urban anxiety.

• Wujiang Gallery Cruise: Depart from Gongtan Ancient Town to see Tujia stilted houses hanging on ink-green cliffs, where boat trackers’ chants now echo in cruise ship horns.

4. Futuristic Laboratories

• Raffles City at Chaotianmen: Six skyscrapers shaped like “sails to the sky.” The 250-meter-high crystal skywalk’s glass floor reveals the clear boundary between the muddy Yangtze and jade-green Jialing River below.

• South Bank Clock Tower Plaza: An abandoned industrial water tower transformed into an LED screen projecting holographic Chongqing maps nightly, synchronized with colorful light changes across buildings in Yuzhong District.

Essential Chongqing Experiences

• Hotpot in Air-Raid Shelter: Dive into Pipashan Park’s underground shelter, boiling fresh tripe beside 1960s防空 (air defense) murals, with chili aroma blending with damp rock walls.

• Mountain Step Trail Hike: Start from French plane trees on Zhongshan 4th Road, descend via Puti Jingang Pagoda to Shancheng Alley, and sip bowl tea at Tongyuan Gate’s城墙 (city wall) storing WWII stories.

• Two-Rivers Night Cruise Spectacle: See Hongyadong, Grand Theater, and One Tree Hill on Nanshan form a golden triangle in darkness, with ship-wake shattering river reflections into neon confetti.