From trains that speed through huge apartment blocks to floating restaurants and mini ‘towns’ on the rooftop of soaring skyscrapers, this mega city feels like you’ve stepped into another world
A mind-boggling mega city where you ‘never know which floor you’re on’ has only just entered the tourist spotlight. With trains that whizz through apartment blocks, mini ‘towns’ located on top of soaring skyscrapers, and multi-story restaurants floating on the river – Chongqing is often touted as the most ‘futuristic’ city in the world.
Located in southern China, at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, this rapidly-built municipality is reportedly a whopping 40 times larger than Tokyo, and serves as one of the country’s main financial hubs. Dubbed the ‘Fog City’ due to its consistently cloudy weather, Chongqing is a vertical maze of giant shopping centres, ancient temples, and impressive infrastructure – all surrounded by lush mountains.
The city has recently been propelled into the mainstream after becoming a TikTok sensation, with swathes of tourists showing off all Chongqing has to offer. Expect to see neighbourhoods built over bridges, complex overpasses that look like something straight out of a Sci-Fi film, and stunning light displays every night.
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“In Chongqing, we never know which floor we’re on,” said user Hugh Chongqing in a TikTok video that has amassed a staggering 3.2 million likes. “It looks like I’m on normal square: the street is over there. But if we go there [to the edge] now we’re on the 22nd floor. But if we use the elevator on the square, it says we’re on the 12th floor. Then we take the elevator to the eighth floor, walk through this garage, and then we will be on the street. Go inside the building on the right, it says we’re on the 13th floor.”
Thousands of baffled viewers flocked to the comments section to share their thoughts, with many vowing to add the city to their bucket list. “so it turns out that in my dreams I simply visit Chongqing,” one person hailed. Another agreed, commenting: “Chongqing city is so cyberpunk-looking, I love it,” while a third added: “So where is the real ground? I’m so confused!”
If you’re smart enough to navigate yourself around the city, visitors need to head over to Dazu Rock Carvings, Chongqing’s only UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. “It is the finest example of Chinese cave temple art between the 9th and 13th centuries,” explained Travel + Leisure. “The complex has 75 cave temples with over 50,000 statues preserved for their artistic and historical value.”
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You can fly to Chongqing from several UK airports, including London, Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh. However, these routes will include at least one stopover, which tends to be in Shanghai. If you’re flexible with dates, you can grab return fares for as little as £351 in May.
Thanks to its vast size and dense population, Chongqing offers a range of accommodation types depending on your budget. For example, a week’s stay (Monday, May 5 -12) in a budget studio room will set you back £310, based on two people sharing. However, a River View King Room at a four-star hotel costs £547 on the exact same dates.
*Prices based on Skyscanner and Booking.com listings at the time of writing. You must have a visa to visit China, which you can learn more about here.
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