When Joshua Guvi visited the Chinese city of Chongqing for the first time in November last year, he was worried he would see a city he had seen on social media, a city that in real life couldn’t possibly be that cool.
Chongqing is in the mountains of southwest China and is recognizable for its natural and urban structure, because of which it is called the 8D city (a city with eight dimensions). Its entire area is the size of Austria. Since its geography was largely shaped by mountains and it is rapidly developing economically, there was no other option but to grow upwards. This is so pronounced that a train literally passes through one of the buildings.
For some residents and tourists, it is fun to wander through the city’s switchbacks.
“The city actually exceeded my expectations,” said Guvi, a Canadian who shares his travel videos on YouTube.
A growing tourist destination
Guvi began his journey in Shanghai, but soon wanted to experience a more authentic Chinese city.
“In Shanghai, I heard some people talking about Chongqing. Shanghai is an incredible city, but I was interested in seeing a more authentic China, something different from Shanghai, where you can still get by in English,” he said.
He is not the only one who skipped Beijing, Xi’an, and other Chinese cities to visit Chongqing. Tourism in this city began to rapidly develop after the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
Social media is the main way younger people learn about this city. The impact of social media is shown by the fact that a video on Instagram got 17 million views – it shows a building you think you’re on the ground floor of, but you’re actually on the 12th floor.
According to officials, the city was visited by 1.3 million tourists last year, which is an increase of as much as 184 percent compared to the previous year. Furthermore, in the first two months of this year, there were 60 percent more foreign nationals who entered through the city’s ports compared to the same period last year.
Given the proximity and affordable airfare, most tourists are from Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea. However, the number of tourists from Europe and Australia is also increasing. In fact, the biggest increase is among tourists from the United States (U.S.), which is impressive considering there is only one weekly direct flight from the U.S. to this Chinese city.
Among the popular tourist locations are the old city cores and mountain trails, which were also visited by the world-famous YouTuber Speed. In addition, popular attractions include an abandoned military nuclear power plant, the Dazu rock carvings, and the three large naturally formed stone bridges of Wulong, also known from the movie Transformers 4.
“Cyberpunk dream”
Chongqing’s architecture is the reason why it’s called Cyberpunk, which is a subgenre of science fiction that reflects an oppressive society dominated by computer technology.
“The architecture of the city is unique. Concrete and mountains, with a lot of industrial design, make it look like a futuristic movie set, and at night it lights up into a real cyberpunk dream,” said 34-year-old Matthew Blair from the U.S., who moved to this city in 2009.
One of the indicators of how architecturally impressive it is is that on the roof of the 22-story Kui Xing building, there is a large square. The city’s multidimensional structure is not about aesthetics, but necessity. The reason for this is that with its 32 million inhabitants, it stretches across gorges, slopes, and river valleys. So conventional urban planning was inapplicable.
Life is layered and on multiple levels, which also means that a skyscraper can have entrances on different floors – the first, the 12th, or the 20th.
The significance of the city
Like Beijing and Shanghai, Chongqing is one of four provincial-level cities directly governed by the central government. It is among the five Chinese cities with the largest economies. It is considered a hub that connects the east and west of the country.
During World War II, it was the wartime capital due to its geography, which was favorable for defense against enemies. The legacy of wartime is part of modern daily life, which also means that tourists can visit one of the restaurants located in World War II shelters.
The city is developing extremely fast, and this is reflected in the recently opened impressive high-speed railway station with an area of 1.22 million square meters, which is the size of 170 football fields. It is assumed to be the largest high-speed railway station in the world, built in a single phase.
The city’s impressiveness is also in its lighting, which is a tourist attraction in itself. That tourism is very important to the Chinese here is shown by the fact that during the peak of the tourist season, the government sends SMS messages encouraging locals to stay at home so that tourists have more space, Klix.ba writes.
