Chongqing by Night, Sep 2026

I have always been intrigued about Chongqing, the 8D “Cyberpunk” metropollis in Southwestern China, built into steep cliffs along the Yangtze River.  The municipality of Chongqing, the size of Austria, is one of four direct-administered municipalities of China (the others being Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin), and the only Chinese city with a resident population of over 30 million.  What caught my curiosity was watching a short clip where a monorail goes through an apartment building as well as another one where someone seemingly on the ground floor was actually 20 stories above and had to take countless escalators and stairs to get down to the metro.  The terrain here is super mountainous with stairs everywhere and be prepared to get lost in this maze of a city.  I chose to stay at Lixury (not a typo) Hotel under the Hyatt Group in Jiefengbei 解放碑 area at the center of everything.  The hotel starts on the 58th floor of the Chongqing World Financial Center, one of the tallest buildings in western China.  One of the highlights of Chongqing is its amazing skyline, best experienced at night.

View from my room at The Lixury Hotel Chongqing

View of Chongqing skyline reflected in the pool outside the Agricultural Bank Tower (just behind the Grand Theatre subway stop exit 4)

View of Chongqing skyline reflected in the pool outside the Agricultural Bank Tower (just behind the Grand Theatre subway stop exit 4)

View of Chongqing skyline reflected in the pool outside the Agricultural Bank Tower (just behind the Grand Theatre subway stop exit 4)

Chongqing skyline with Grand Theatre on the right

Chongqing by night

Chongqing by night

Hongyadong or Hongya Cave 洪崖洞 is one of the best known sights in Chongqing.  It is a 11-story complex of traditional stilted buildings meant to imitate the architecture of Chongqing’s cliff-side buildings in the Ming Dynasty.  When illuminated at around 7pm every evening, it transforms into a real-life Spirited Away wonderland, like the iconic bathhouse from the Studio Ghibil film.  The complex is built into the cliff where the 4th and 10th floors act as the main street entrances, leading to a maze of handicraft shops, tea houses, and food streets.  Be prepared for the hoards of people.

Best photo spots of Hongyadong are:

1. Riverside Road (Binjiang Road) 濱江路 – Straight-on, eye level view, but super crowded so I didn’t go.

2. Qiansimen Bridge 千廝門大橋 – top-down perspective of the stacked layered building and the river.

3. Across the river at Jiangtan Park 江灘公園, down from the Grand Chongqing theatre 重慶大劇院 – across the river view of Hongyadong including Qiansimen Bridge.

View of Hongyadong 洪崖洞 from Qiansimen Bridge 千廝門大橋

View of Hongyadong 洪崖洞 from Qiansimen Bridge 千廝門大橋

View from Qiansimen Bridge 千廝門大橋

Chongqing Drone Show

Deyi World Neon Lights 得意世界

Deyi World 得意世界 features a striking cyberpunk aesthetic filled with glowing neon lights transforming a night scene straight out of a science fiction movie especially on a rainy night.

Deyi World 得意世界

Deyi World 得意世界