15 Things to Know Before Visiting Chongqing | Chongqing Travel Tips

15 Things to Know Before Visiting Chongqing | Chongqing Travel Tips

The size of Chongqing is larger than as you imagine, which is around the size of Austria, including the city of Chongqing and various non-connected cities. Most of travelers come to Chongqing are mainly for the relaxing 4 / 5 days Yangtze River cruise, but, the city itself, has many things to see and explore. If you like, you can spend another half day to two days visiting the mountain city and around. The following questions have been collected from our dear customers, TripAdvisor travelers and Check the 15 Things to Know before Visiting Chongqing, that you can plan your Chongqing and Chongqing Yangtze Cruise tour better!

Q1: What is Chongqing famous for? Hot Food. Along with some shared dishes with Sichuan cuisine, Chongqing is all about the hot pot (火锅), a fondue-like dining experience with hot red soup of boiling oil containing both chilies and Sichuan peppers into which the locals dip meats and innards and sweat away the evening. Mountain City. Chongqing is the only city that is built on mountains among the list of super large-sized, and extra large-sized city in China (evaluated by population). The most condensed and civilized district (Yuzhong District) is located on a narrow Yangtze River peninsula with very steep hills in the middle and lower lands closer to the river. Except for Yubei District, where the airport is reluctantly located, other metro districts of the Chongqing are having similar landscapes. Skyscrapers. No, Chongqing does not have the tallest skyscraper in China nor even in West China. However its skyline is still spectacular and astonishing. 1. Most of the skyscrapers (over 200m) in Chongqing are condensed in a one square kilometer city center area. 2. Hills, some skyscrapers have inherent advantages of higher hill land, causing a funny height difference from distance. In the recent decade, besides the city center area, skyscrapers also appear in other potentially CBD areas. Such as two twin tower projects on the south river front road. Hot People. People in Chongqing are very straightforward and loyal to friendship or brotherhood that makes a change from typical southerners. Also, it is commonly said that they tend to speak loudly and their language sounds like having a fight. However, most of them are easy going and warmhearted, and they are just born with it. You can check more on our 2022 Chongqing Travel Guide >>

Q2: How many days do you need in Chongqing? Usually, travelers need to plan 4 to 6 days for Chongqing tours with Yangtze River cruise experience. For cruise only, it takes 4 days or 5 days sailing between Chongqing and Yichang. And many travelers choose to do half day or one day Chongqing tour before or after the cruise. If you want to travel further, you need another day to get out of Chongqing downtown. All in all, 4 to 6 days are the common choice for most travelers.

Q4: What are the most popular things to do in Chongqing with kids? The most popular things to do in Chongqing with kids highly recommended by our previous customers are: • Three Gorges Museum

• Hongya Cave

• Chongqing Zoo (to see lovely giant pandas)

• Ciqikou Ancient Town

• Liziba House-crossing Metro Experience If you have your own ideas about traveling with kids, just feel free to let our travel consultants know and they can help you customize Chongqing family tour for you.

Q5: What are the best recommended cruise companies for my Yangtze Cruise Starting from Chongqing City? The top cruise companies are Century Cruises, Victoria Cruises, President Cruises, Yangtze Explorer, and Changjiang Cruises. Among them, Century Cruises and Victoria Cruises are chosen by most travelers for their new facilities and high quality service.

Q6: How long is the Yangtze River cruise from Chongqing? What to see along the river? All the cruise companies have been offering 4 days and 3 nights downstream cruises from Chongqing to Yichang. If you would like to go upstream, you can take 5 days and 4 nights upstream cruises from Yichang to Chongqing. You can both relax onboard and explore offshore in different destinations and tourist spots, including Three Gorges, Three Gorges Dam, Shennv Stream, Shibaozhai Pagoda and more. To book the Yangtze River cruise, you can turn to All Yangtze River Cruise Ship List & Schedules 2022.

Q8: Any other recommended ways to see the Yangtze River Three Gorges? I should put an answer here: about 95% travelers would like to take the Yangtze River cruise no matter downstream or upstream to see the magnificent Yangtze River Three Gorges - Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge. Staying onboard on the sundeck or in your cabin, you can appreciate the beauty of Three Gorges in the most leisure way, with green scenery passing by. You never feel hurry but comfortable. Also, the cruise companies have designed shore excursions into its branches of Three Gorges to see the primitive charm and its local people. Very interesting way to explore offshore. Most importantly, the price for taking a cruise is very cost-effective and money-saving way which includes everything. If you want to see the Three Gorges separately without by taking a cruise, the transportation is a little complicated (you need to take our arranged private car sending you from Chongqing downtown to Three Gorges and live in local cities and visit in a hurry) and it is not recommended to do so.

Q9: I will be in Chongqing for a short period of time. Is it worth to visit Dazu or Wulong? Chongqing is a big city and often overlooked as a tourist destination. There are some interesting places to see within Chongqing itself and also day trips. The highlights of Chongqing include Ciqikou Ancient Town, E’ling Park, Three Gorges Museum… If you have more time enough, like one or two days, for culture lovers, it is highly recommended to spend one day visiting Chongqing Dazu Rock Carvings; for nature lovers, you’d better spend two days exploring Wulong Karst Landscape to immerse in the incredible nature wonderland. If you have more time enough, like one or two days, for culture lovers, it is highly recommended to spend one day visiting Chongqing Dazu Rock Carvings; for nature lovers, you’d better spend two days exploring Wulong Karst Landscape to immerse in the incredible nature wonderland. >> 2 Days Chongqing Highlights Tour with Dazu Rock Carvings >> 4 Days Chongqing & Wulong Karst Landscape Exploration Tour

Q10: What is the best time to visit Chongqing? Chongqing, together with Nanjing and Wuhan, are the “Three Furnace Cities” in China. Spring and autumn are the most recommended seasons to visit Chongqing. While taking a relaxing cruise on the cool Yangtze River is the best way to escape the hot summer. Learn more about Chongqing Weather & Best Time to Visit >>

Q11: Chongqing Transport to other cities? Usually, you could get to other cities from Chongqing by air, train or coach. If you want to get to Yichang, Wuhan, Nanjing, or Shanghai, you could take the relaxing Yangtze River cruise. If you get to Chengdu from Chongqing, the bullet train is very convenient within 1-2 hours’ transfer. >> How to Get to & away Chongqing?

Q12: How can I get to Chaotianmen Port from Jiangbei Airport to take the cruise? The distance between Jiangbei International Airport and Chaotianmen Docks is 25 kilometers, which will costs you about 45-50 RMB for 35 minutes’ drive. Or you could book our private local transfer service to get to the right dock from the airport. Learn more about How to Get from Chongqing Airport to Chaotianmen Dock >>

Q13: How can I get to Chaotianmen Port from Chongqing North Railway Station? Taking a taxi from North Railway Station to Chaotianmen Dock will cost passengers 20-30 Yuan in 20 minutes. Or you could book our private local transfer service to get to the right dock from the train station. If you arrive in Chongqing at Chonqging West Railway Station or Shapingba Railway Station, you can also check more information on How to Get from Chongqing Train Stations to Chaotianmen Dock >>

Q14: What are the best day trips from Chongqing? If you have never taken the Yangtze River cruise before, you can add it into your travel list. Cruising on the Yangtze River is one of the Top 10 Things to Do in China that you should not miss. Chongqing + Yangtze River Cruise Trips: >> 4 Days Chongqing Essence Tour with Yangtze Cruise >> 5 Days Chongqing & Yangtze River Cruise Tour If you just want a day tour in Chongqing city or the transfer service, you can also check: >> 1 Day Chongqing Short Stay Tour No matter what kind of trips you are interested in, you can contact our professional travel consultants to discuss your itineraries of Chongqing or Yangtze tour.

Q15: How do I get from Chengdu to Chongqing? Chengdu is about 265km northwest of Chongqing. The most popular way to get from Chengdu to Chongqing is by high speed train. Every day from about 7:30am to 22:00pm, you can usually easily find a high-speed train from Chengdu to Chongqing. These trains depart from Chongqing East Railway Station and arrive at Chongqing North Railway Station or Chongqing West Railway Station after about 1.5-2.5 hours’ running. You can select the arrival train station according to the distance and transportation from the train station to your hotel. Usually, Chongqing North Railway Station is more recommended, because it is a little bit closer to Chongqing downtown than Chongqing West Railway Station. And it can be reached by metro lines, while Chongqing West Railway Station cannot. Learn more about Chengdu to Chongqing: Train, Flight, Taxi & Car >>

Travel Chongqing with China Discovery

If you have more questions about Chongqing travel, please feel free to contact us with your queries. Our experienced travel consultants are very glad to help you. Then you can pay more attention about the scenery along the way, without any trouble about the transportation, accommodation, dining, cruise routes, etc. All will be tailored according to your interests and needs. Just contact us and get your personalized Chongqing Tour now!

Best Things To Do in Chongqing: My China Trip

I hired a private tour guide while visiting Chongqing, China in August 2017. He helped me find this list of things to do in Chongqing.

Here are the best things that he showed me in Chongqing one day:

Cable Car Over Yangtze River

This was touristy but seemed worth doing. It was especially nice for pictures, too.

Pictures in Chongqing Cable Car

Some of my notes from this experience:

Many Chinese movies filmed here

30 RMB round trip return price ticket

30 minutes each way, approx including line time

Nice views

2 Gold Buildings: Sheraton Hotel

DongShui Men Bridge nearby

Huguang Guild Hall

This museum tells the story of migrant history in Chongqing, China. See my YouTube video here about it.

Many opera stages

Museum inside was neat

“Emperor Test” is a fun photo opportunity

Traditional clothes for sale were very nice

Photos at Chongqing Huguang Guild Hall

Lunch at Local People Place

For lunch, my Chongqing private tour guide took me to a chain restaurant called “Jhu Qwai”

Here’s what I ordered:

Clockwise from top left:

Smoked pork with cauliflower, 12 RMB Spicy chicken, 16 RMB Boiled peanuts, 3 RMB Steamed white rice, 1 RMB Chinese cabbage, 3 RMB

The entrance and logo looks like this. If you see it, you can go anywhere! The food is clean and there are many options.

Carrefour Grocery store in Chongqing

We saw tea, pastries, and meat. This was a nice chance to see a Chinese grocery store.

HongYa Cave

This place is like a New Antique Disneyland. Hard to describe, but it is featured in most “Must-See” lists for Chongqing.

It is 11 floors. We went to the 10th floor and 4th floor. You can focus on those two floors to save time.

Chongqing Monorail City Ride

Chongqing is famous for having a monorail that zips through buildings and underneath bridges.

Special: See my YouTube video here of the Chongqing Monorail.

I highly recommend you add this to your list of things to do in Chongqing! It is air-conditioned and gives a nice view of the city.

To ride this same route that we did, get on the line here at Daxigou station:

Start at Daxigou: Go towards Yudong

End at Taping: Turn around

Three Gorges Museum

This is the biggest, most famous museum in Chongqing. No visit would be complete if you do not go here!

Video introduction, I watched the first 20 minutes of it and enjoyed it

1st floor: Three Gorges, statue of men pulling boats from shore

2nd floor: Development and history of Chong Xing

3rd Floor: I think I skipped it

4th Floor: Donated collection and porcelain exhibit

JieFangBei

Chongqing Skyview

The interior of the viewing tower reminds me of 1 World Trade Center in NYC! The style of the slanted windows, recessed walkways on the window borders, etc.

The decorations are modern, such as a living plant wall. But the operators have taken to adding a larger-than-life Incredible Hulk statue and Hello Kitty statues.

It was sparsely attended, perhaps due to the large cost of a ticket (168 RMB).

David Liao Jun

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We Chat: 13368052122

Cell Phone: (+86) 13368052122

My tour guide David opens the taxi door for me to begin our day adventure.

More Things to Do in Chongqing

These are other things that can be seen with some more time.

Chongqing Zoo: Pandas are the most famous. (I saw pandas in Chengdu too).

Park high point:: Eling (UHH-LING) Park.

Top of Building: World Financial Capital

Dinosaur Museum: Fan outside museum. They call it Natural Museum.

Conclusion

Looking out at the city on takeoff… amazing scope and scale and size. Skyscrapers as far as the eye can see.

Filmed on my flight out, great light on Chongqing

Conclusion

If I had to say my Top 5 Things to Do in Chongqing, here’s what I would say:

Three Gorges Museum

Hong Ya Cave

Local restaurant experience

Cable Car

Guild Hall

Did I leave something out? Email me and let me know!

Top Free Things to Do in Chongqing of China

Chonging, also called the Fog City, is located in the central part of China. The beginning of the Yangtze River Cruise is downstream and the ending point is upstream. Travelers visiting Chongqing are mainly there for the Yangtze River Cruise, however, there are still other interesting places to visit, and they are free. Here is a list of them.

Hongya Cave 洪崖洞

The whole place is built on a cliff and the view is fantastic. It is located in the heart of the Jiefangbei business center, as well as the intersection of the Yangtze River and the Jialing River. The buildings are mainly in the Chongqing stilted style. The place is divided into many levels, containing restaurants, markets, shops and hotels.

There are lots of local snacks - many are terribly hot - however, some foreign foods are also available, such as Mexican food. While enjoying the food, you can also appreciate some snack-making shows and a fantastic river view.

Suggested visiting duration: one hour

Location: 88 Jiabin Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 重庆市渝中区嘉滨路88号

Transportation: Bus 111, 112, 151, 181 or 215 can take you there

Chongqing Wu River 乌江

Wu River is the biggest tributary in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region being 1,050 kilometers long.

Though it is not big, the scenery is stunning. It is described as the "Wu River Gallery" and is famous for its cave, two rivers and seven gorges.

The cave is known as the Lotus Cave (where you can see spectacular stalactites, similar to the Reed Flute Cave in Guilin). On the two rivers and the seven gorges, the stunning natural beauty will make you wish you didn't have to go home.

The water is limpid and green. The local Chongqing style residences and the mountains on both sides are like an oil painting.

You can go there to fish, or take a boat on the river, or taste the Wu River fish. There are some tea booths for you when you are thirsty.

Tip: the road along the river is a little narrow so please watch your step.

Location: Fuling District, Chongqing 重庆市涪陵区

Transportation: you can take a downstream boat or a bus from Chongqing Chaotianmen Port to Fuling, and then take a boat upstream to the Wu River Gallery.

Ciqikou Ancient Town (Porcelain Village) 磁器口古镇

Ciqikou Ancient Town is a pedestrian shopping and dining area which is three kilometers from Chongqing. It was established in the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

The stores along the streets are essentially Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1911) Dynasty styles, but some buildings have been renovated.

All streets in Ciqikou during the Ming and Qing Dynasties were large and paved with green flagstones. The main street ran about 2.5 kilometers in length. Beautiful porcelains, souvenirs, local snacks and other items can be found there.

The two famous local snacks are Maoxuewang (this is quite a hot snack using duck blood as the major ingredient and cooked with other meat, eel, sleeve-fish, bean curd and large intestines) and Pepper Salt Peanuts.

Location: on Jialingjiang Riverside, Shapingba District, Chongqing, about 30 minutes by car from downtown Chongqing 重庆市沙坪坝区嘉陵江畔

Transportation: Bus 202, 220, 237, 261, 467, 503, 553, 808 or 843 can take you there. You can also take Metro Line 1 and get off at Ciqikou Station.

Three Gorges Museum 三峡博物馆

It is a museum which can provide you with information on the construction of the Three Gorges Dam and the local history, as well as an explanation as to why 1.3 million people all volunteered to be relocated.

It exhibits the spectacular natural scenery of the Three Gorges, ancient Chongqing, the urban history and the war time.

The theme exhibitions are: calligraphy, paintings, coins and porcelains from different generations, a sculpture of the Han Dynasty, and some documents endowed by Li Chuli.

Opening times: 09:00-17:00 (tickets are available before 16:00)

There is a limit of 5,000 visitors per day. Groups of over 200 people need to book an appointment two days in advance.

Location: 236 Renmin Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 重庆市渝中区人民路236号

Transportation: Bus 261, 291, 421 or 262 can take you there

Gele Mountain Forest Park 歌乐山森林公园

Gele Mountain is the emerald diamond of the mountainous city of Chongqing. As the first forest sports park, it has the biggest rock climbing field in south-west China. The Fairy Lake is a popular fishing paradise in Chongqing.

Chongqing was once the second capital of China during the wartime and there are some historical relics from that period. The White House and the Zhazi Cave Prison are the most well noted ones. Due to the publishing of the war novel, Red Rock, Gele Mountain became a hero's mountain. There is a martyrs' park in memory of those heroes.

You can't visit Gele Mountain without trying the famous food of Spicy Chicken.

Location: Gele Mountain, Shapingba District, 16 kilometers from downtown Chongqing 重庆市沙坪坝区歌乐山麓

Transportation: Bus 201, 263 or 278 can take you there.