Top Things to do in Chongqing

Must See Sights

The Dazu Rock Carvings

It is the religious cliff inscriptions, mainly on Buddhist themes carved during the late Tang and early Song Dynasty. Of all the carvings, the most famous ones are the Beishan cliff figure and Baodingshan cliff figure, well-known ancient Chinese sculpture. The Beishan cliff figure, whose height is around 300 meters, is the World Cultural Heritage and National Key Cultural Relics Preservation Unit. The carving started in later Tang Dynasty and finished in the Southern Song Dynasty, which lasted for over 250 years. Its remaining has over 4600 figures outstanding, representatives of late grotto art, in China.

The Dazu Rock Carvings are highly appreciated by the World Heritage Committees as: the unique carvings spanning from the 10th century to the 14th century preserved on the steep cliff in Dazu area are famous for the high artistic quality and various themes which covering secular to religious ones. They clearly reflect the everyday social life in China, during that period, and they fully proved harmonious co-existence of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

Three Gorges of the Yangtze River

It is one of the top ten scenic spots and ranks, the first of the best forty tourist attractions. It is named for the three main large gorges which are the Qutang, Wuxia and Xiling Gorges. The mountains on both banks are about 1000-1500 meters high above the Yangtze River. The gorges are shaped due to the continuous uplift of the crust in this area combined with the forcefully down-cut of the Yangtze water. The three gorges area full of outstanding talents is one of the birthplaces of Chinese ancient culture. Deep in the gorge, was the battlefield during the period of Three Kingdoms, a place witnessing the life of various heroes.

• Want to travel three gorges by taking a Yangtze Cruise? please click here to choose a ship for your trip.

What and Where to Eat

Chongqing cuisine is characteristic of its various types of flavors. There are different ratios of main seasonings like red pepper, pepper, Chinese prickly ash and bean paste will create various flavors such as hot and spicy, hot and sour, sesame catsup, sweet and sour, fish flavored and so on.

Typical dishes in Chongqing cuisine includes shredded pork in chili sauce, twice-cooked pork, spicy chicken, grilled fish, spicy blood tofu cooked with agaric, meat, mushrooms and so on.

However, of all the dishes, hotpot is the most famous nationwide and has attracted a lot many foreign tourists. chongqing is the birthplace of hotpot having a great influence on it, and was entitled as "the hotpot capital of China" in March, 2007.

There are many kinds of hotpots, like the duck intestine hotpot, eel hotpot and many others. Sitting around the table, customers put whatever meat or vegetables they like into the hotpot.

People in chongqing choose to have the hotpot regardless of what the season is. There is no doubt that hotpot is very popular in winter, but not as popular in summer time. In dog days, people sit outdoors beside the street sweating heavily with the soup in a hotpot boiling, then swill down some cold beer. How refreshing is that! This has become a famous sight in the city.

• Recommended local snack street to taste local dishes

Where for shopping

In the northeast side of the Three Gorges Square, locates a pedestrian shopping street. A lot of famous companies and shopping malls such as the chongqing Department Store and Carrefour Super Market all gather there. The stores, hotels and places for entertainment lead the fashion in chongqing and satisfy various needs of citizens as well as tourists from at home and abroad.

Totally different from the modern Three Gorges Square, the ancient town Ciqikou is famous for trade of the local products in chongqing. Ciqikou has 12 streets and most of the architecture designs on both sides are in the style of Ming and Qing Dynasties. The street with a lot of shops lining on each side is paved by slabs. The area for trading local products is in the Big Dock and the Jinrong Street near the docks.

What to do

Night view in Chongqing

The night view is the calling card representing chongqing. One cannot claim his visit to chongqing without seeing the night view. When night falls, one can see the city surrounded by two rivers in which a lot of sailing boats shine with colors and lights. The two bridges across the rivers are like vivid dragons. All the gorgeous views at night are attributed to the city's unique location, with three sides facing the Yangtze Rive and the rest one facing the mountain. The city is built against the mountain with cascading architectures styles rising up and spiraling up. One can go to the viewing platform, or even take a cruise for the beautiful night views.

Seeing the Sichuan Opera

The unique art, Sichuan Opera, is one of the main representatives of Bashu Culture. With a long history, it has preserved many traditional repertoires, abundant music, and exquisite performances. It is very popular among common people in southwestern provinces, like Sichuan, Yunan and Guizhou. Face-changing, fire-breathing and other unique skills, as well as those vivid stylized actions which send out endless wonder endear the Sichuan Opera to the world.

If you want to get out of the city for a day, head to Qixia Temple, about an hour by bus away from the city. This area, away from the bustle of the city is hilly and full of nature and temples. Because it is out of the city, you’ll be able to enjoy the solitude of the area.