Chongqing is on the far west side of China and quite a stretch away from Beijing and Shanghai. But arguably, this was the city Lanny and I were most hyped about. Maybe it was even the reason why we came to China in the first place. China seems to have made some good investments into social media marketing, and Chongqing had been promoted to us a lot through our algorithm. And since we are very easily influenced people, we took the bait. Our trip had already been quite long (see previously), but the real trip starts here.
Day 10 – Arrival in Chongqing: 24th May
The train ride from Beijing was smooth and comfortable, but it was still a long travel day. We arrived in the afternoon and took a Didi to our very affordable accommodation.
I instantly took the liberty of taking a nap, while Lanny started exploring Raffles City. We reunited in the evening for food. My dish was very basic, with rice, a little bit of vegetables and chicken thigh, but it was exactly what my stomach was looking for.
The night was still young, and we wanted to really do vacation things, so we looked up a foot massage place. It was quite hard to find, but eventually we found it: not really a proper shop, more like a small open niche in a wall. There was no real door, just a few massage chairs inside, and people walking by could basically watch you get massaged like you were part of the marketing. And indeed, when we arrived, there was almost no one there. But after we sat down as some of the first guests, more people quickly came in as well.
Although the store was tiny, they had everything from foot massages to back massages and even ear cleaning. And the more clients came in, the more massage staff appeared as well. Apparently, they were all friends or acquaintances who got called in one by one when more help was needed.
It was also quite surreal because one of the massage ladies started talking to us, mainly to Lanny. Even though we did not really understand everything, with gestures, facial expressions and sometimes even deliberately not using translation apps, we somehow still reached a mutual understanding and even shared some stories and laughters. I have to admit though, I did not understand much. And even though Lanny was also missing a lot of the necessary vocabulary, she was way better at reading the small context clues, while i was always looking at Lanny for translations. I can really only act on precise knowledge as it appears. Chapeau to her.
Day 11 – Slow start and first Chongqing views: 25th May
Today we intentionally slept in. Like, really slept in. We didn’t leave the hotel before 2 PM, partly because it was also raining a little bit the whole time.
To still make the best of the day, we decided to go to Kuixing Building first. This was basically where everything started for us: one of those viral videos where someone is standing on the “ground floor,” but somehow also on the 22nd floor at the same time. In reality, it was not even that special when you stood there (its just like a rooftop), but it was still fun to see the place from one of the first viral videos about Chongqing that had reached us through social media.
Afterwards, we walked along the Shancheng Trails, a city trail through older and more traditional-looking buildings. Compared to downtown Chongqing around Raffles City, the alleys were narrower and had a much cozier vibe. Most of the stores were clearly aimed at tourists, but it was still nice to walk around. Interestingly enough, there were also a lot of street cats just casually walking around or staying inside some of the shops. Some stores even had cat-themed souvenirs.
As we went with the flow, the flow eventually decided for us to turn into a small backyard, where we found a little tea shop. We took the hint, sat down and stayed there for a while to chill. It was so backyard that I could not even properly connect to the internet to pay.
In the evening, we went to Hongya Cave, but not directly into the building complex itself. Instead, we went to the other side of the river, where you can get a nice panoramic view of it together with the waterfront. This was also the first time we heard the infamous “I wanna fly” song, which we will come back to later.
Day 12 – Wulong Karst: 26th May
Today’s plan was a field trip to Wulong Karst, but somehow it turned into a day full of accidental illegal activities.
It all started in the morning, when Lanny bought breakfast at Lawson, however (unintentionally), did not properly pay for her sandwhich. We only noticed on our way to the station. Then, when we tried to board our train, Lanny got stopped by security, but was ultimately waved through. Not only at the gate, but also later inside the train when someone checked on her, and again when we left the train station at our destination. No one really suspected anything, but it turned out that her payment for the train ticket had not gone through. So technically, she had been travelling without a valid ticket.
On the way back from Wulong Karst National Park, we made sure that she definitely had a ticket this time. We still had some problems getting through the gate, and at first we thought it might just be a difference between a German and a Vietnamese passport. However, inside the train it turned out that she again had no valid ticket. This time, the ticket she had booked was for one week in the future. But fear not, three very nice Chinese officers gathered around her and tried to rebook the ticket, although without success. So in the end, she had to buy a new ticket directly inside the train.
And if that was not enough action already, this new ticket also seemed to not be properly registered to her passport, which is why she got stopped again at the exit gate. Although she had paid through Alipay, the transaction information was probably not enough. But pragmatically, again, the officer just waved us through.
The Wulong Karst itself was beautiful, especially under the given circumstances of the light rain. The rain gave the place a more mysterious look, although the wetness was also quite annoying after a while.
The sightseeing spots we visited (The Three Natural Bridges + Longshui Gorge Fissure) were only accessible by shuttle service because they were spread out quite far from each other. But the whole tourist flow was very well organized. Without needing a lot of background knowledge, it was actually a pretty smooth ride.
Day 13 – Photo hunting: 27th May
Today was the day we were supposed to change hotels. But we liked our current one so much that we decided we wanted to stay there for the remaining days of our vacation. The only problem was that our exact room had already been booked. Fortunately, we were able to book another room from the same hotel just one floor higher up for a similarly affordable price.
Now that that is settled, off to our first spot – the Baixiangju Building. I wanted to take a very specific photo of the cable car between two buildings. When we walked towards the building, I already got my first cool picture: two men seemingly standing on one of the cable cars, probably fixing something. The building itself was also a nice photo spot overall. It was old, rustic and definitely had a vibe. From there, you can also take a very nice photo of the cable car, but I was looking for something a little different. So we continued searching in the surrounding area until we found the rooftop of a bar.
The sun was scorching hot, and somehow it took quite a while until the cable cars started moving. I like taking photos, but I also find it a little stressful when I know that I want to take my time for very specific shots while someone else has to wait for me. And since travelling together is all about the compromise, we decided to split up for the day. Lanny continued with her own plans, while I stayed behind and waited for the cable car to come. And finally, it actually did come. But it was only moving in very small steps and then stopped again. It was not until later in the afternoon that I checked the official website and confirmed my suspicion: today was maintenance day.
We were planning to meet up again in the evening. For sunset, I wanted to go to Qianfo Temple to get a view of Raffles City with the sun setting behind it. I was already late, so I ordered a Didi. While waiting, I thought I could quickly order some food to go very fast. Ha! How wrong I was.
I first went to One Eye Chongqing Panoramic Barbecue, but it did not feel like the exact spot I had seen in a blog post. So I continued searching in the area and found a rather unmaintained path leading up a hill. There, I found a huge open-air restaurant, but this was still not it.
But just across from it, there was something that looked like an abandoned house, although it was somehow lit up with many lights. Curious, I went inside. At first, I only went up to the second-highest floor, where someone recommended that I go even higher for a better view. So I did exactly that and was greeted by one, then two, then three surprised Chinese people. They quickly asked me what I would like to drink, and because I suddenly had several people standing around me quite enthusiastically, I did not dare to say that I was just there for the view. In the end, I ordered tea. And since it was quite expensive, I also took my time and stayed there a little longer.
It was such a beautiful spot, with a clear view of Raffles City in all its glory, that I was really wondering why there were only around three other people on the rooftop. As I later learned, the rooftop bar was still very new, only around four months old. I’m pretty sure that if I ever get the chance to return, this place will already be much more popular.
However, I was still not convinced that this was the exact spot I was looking for. So I went back to the One Eye Chongqing Panoramic Barbecue place, which was on one of the upper floors of a bigger building complex. This time, I entered the elevator with someone else and noticed that they were going to the very top floor. I had tried to go there before, but the elevator had not worked for me, so I thought maybe I just hadn’t pressed the button properly. Once we arrived, we had to pass through another door, which could only be opened with an ID card. Luckily, the people I was with had one. And only then did I slowly realize that this was actually a restricted residential area, where only people living there could properly use the elevator. Well, now that I was already there, I might as well take some photos.
Day 14 – Outlet Shopping: 28th May
We only had a couple of days left and still a handful of must-dos on our list. So we started the day by planning the upcoming days, which had a very chaotic and dynamic character to it.
After finally deciding on a plan, and changing it 4 times in the process, we headed out to Arhat Temple. The temple was located smack dab in the middle of the city, just 20 minutes away from our hotel and surrounded by skyscrapers. The nearby coffee shops on the upper floors are especially popular spots for taking photos with the temple in the background.
After that, we went to a nearby outlet store. You could find both international and Chinese brands there, and I actually found one Chinese brand that I liked quite a lot. The clothes were a little bit playful, modern and youthful. To be honest, I did not feel fully confident wearing some of them, because they were not completely my usual style, but they did look interesting. Their discount policy was something like three pieces for 399 yuan and five pieces for 599 yuan. I got five pieces while I was at it, and at first I was not so sure about the decision. But in retrospect, I kind of regret not buying more there.
In the evening, Lanny showed me a very specific spot she had found during her solo mission the day before. It was near Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street, actually one of the popular shopping streets in Chongqing, where I had not been even once yet, while she had already been there twice. It is a famous spot for Instagram photos and, occasionally, livestreaming as well. And as the universe wanted it, we were lucky enough to see one group livestreaming in action just a few minutes before they finished.
Day 15 – Living the Social Media Life: 29th May
There was one more famous Instagram video we wanted to recreate: the train running into someone’s mouth. So that was the plan for today. For this mission, we tried to get up early and arrived at a spot across the river from Liziba Station. This place is said to have fewer people and a better view of the train entering the building than the area directly below the station itself. And indeed, when we arrived, there were not many people there. (We also took a short look right below the train station afterwards, and it was super packed. So that was definitely a good decision.)
For lunch, we went to a famous hotpot place inside an air-raid shelter. Surprisingly, it was much cooler inside than outside. The variety of hotpot ingredients was also surprisingly big, and we even got pig brain!
In the evening, I showed Lanny the rooftop spot I had found the other day. Conveniently, after sunset, we also found a group of motorbike people nearby who did the very famous motorbike videos. At first, I hesitated. But then I also did not want to regret skipping it, so I decided to do one of those videos for around 35 euros. However, that was with a male driver. There was also a female driver option, but that would have been around 90 euros. Crazy, right?
Somehow, Lanny convinced me to take the female driver anyway. The onboarding process was fast, and the filming itself was smooth. Maybe a bit too smooth, because I got a little stressed on the motorbike.The motorbike people started in waves: one bike with the driver and client, and another bike with a driver and cameraman. The camera setup was basically just a smartphone in one hand and a big light in the other. There were around eight to ten of those pairs driving through the main street together.
I had once read that some people had been stopped by police and got a ticket for doing this kind of video, but luckily my experience was completely different. Although there was even a police car patrolling and following us with red and blue lights, no one stopped us. It felt more like an escort service. I guess the industry and marketing made the local law a bit more lenient towards this business.
To finish the video, we had to do one specific format where I would get tossed down a little and my legs would fly up. However, I did not understand the instructions clearly and somehow jumped onto the small female driver instead. She said no problem, but I was really worried for her in that moment. Afterwards, I was invited into a WeChat group with around 20 other clients. We were promised to get the results the very next day at 6 PM. What a service!
To counteract this stressful event, Lanny and I bought bubble tea. A lot of it. Like, it was literally a one-liter bucket. In fact, I am not even sure how we finished it, but we did, and I am quite proud of me.
Day 16 – Drone show: 30th May
Today was our last full day in Chongqing, and both of us still had some open to-dos. So we split up again for the day.
The day before, while showing Lanny around the spot I had found on my solo mission, we also found a presumably secret photo spot, which was not that secret anyways. There was even a reminder telling every tourist to only take up two minutes of photo time. Yesterday, the queue had been quite long, so I tried my luck again today. The queue was still… quite long. However, I was already there, so I might as well wait a little bit. Surprisingly, it moved quite fast, and I even did a rerun because the photos I took the first time did not turn out the way I wanted them to.
Afterwards, I comically went all the way back to the Shancheng Trails because I had bought a fan there, which I had somehow already lost not long after buying it. On my search for more souvenirs, I went to a local post office, a bookstore and also (full circle) revisited Kuixing Building, before realizing that I had once again lost my fan somewhere. But thanks to my super smooth brain, I could at least instantly remember where I had left it and retrieved it without any problems. (it was at the post office, i left it at the counter to pay my bill)
Originally, Lanny and I wanted to even squeeze in a famous theater called 1949 before evening came. We assumed it would play in the Grand Theater and met there, only to realize that it was actually somewhere completely different. Well, more time for shopping, I guess and so we split up once again.
In the evening, we met up again at the Grand Theater, because today was Saturday, and Saturday is always drone show day in Chongqing. There are some designated good spots to watch the show, and one of them is near the Grand Theater. We even came one hour earlier, remembering the experience we had in Taiwan. However, even though it was quite full of people, it was not as extreme as many blog posts on the internet had made it seem. The drone show was amazing and… even had some ads in between lol.
The night was still young-ish, so this time Lanny showed me what she had found during her solo mission: a beautiful overview of Chongqing’s skyline at Nanshan Yikeshu Scenic Area. We stayed there until the city lights slowly turned off for us one last time.
Day 17 – Departure from Chongqing: 31st May
Last day, and it was finally departure time. Unfortunately, I was still not completely done with everything. I still had to buy medicine for my mum, get a few more souvenirs, and deal with the classic last-minute panic of wondering whether I had overpacked.
So the morning was a little hectic, but in the end, everything worked out. And with that, our China roundtrip came to an end. My next destination was Vietnam, to visit my relatives. But that part stays undocumented, at least in this format =) For now, this is where the travel diary ends!