Featured, Travel

Chongqing – #thecyberpunkcity

August 16, 2026

Just by looking at my Instagram algorithm, seems everyone is in China this year. My algo must be full of China interest posts because I’ve built it brick by brick since January. Decided to go to China based solely on one viral reel from Shenzen. In the end, the luck of the draw led us not to Shenzen, but to Chongqing and then to Chengdu.

I was giddy and happy to see #thecyberpunkcity.

After months of planning and asking AI everything we needed to know beforehand, Chongqing materialized just as I saw it online, but had also so, so, so much more to offer. Our first stay was in a hotel on the 57th floor with the best views all around – directly in downtown peninsula Chongqing, overlooking the two rivers, the Yangtze River and the Jialing River. The hotel was actually in the United International Building which has the Cloud Eye Observation Deck – a very sought after tourist spot for the very best high views. We were just a very few floors below, there was no need to go up. The drone show every Saturday at 8pm lit the already busy neon sky the day we arrived, we saw the show from our very own bed in the sky. We had a millionaire’s view that was so affordable we could not believe it. Because Chongqing is that inexpensive.

At night we went around the peninsula and ate really late, the atmosphere at night is wonderful: eating with the locals, getting healthy snacks from 24/7 stores, indulging in all the Asian food I could find. And then back upstairs where some mornings the clouds would drop very low and offer some surreal photo opportunities. You see, Chongqing is part of the three furnace cities in China. Although cloudy most mornings, it does get very hot as heat gets trapped between mountains and the two big rivers offer a lot of humidity. My curly hair did not like that, as it was a hot mess most of the time. But the metro lines and stations offer cooling opportunities and you can just travel only underground and escape in one of the many large malls, I suggest The Ring Mall, it’s vast and has a huge indoor botanical garden.

Seven days were not enough to see all of Chongqing, but we did manage to see its hot spots:

Hongyadong (Hongya Cave) is a stunning, 11-story architectural marvel that clings directly to a 75-meter vertical cliff face along the Jialing River. While it looks like a single massive ancient palace from the outside, it is actually a labyrinth of food stalls, theater stages, and viewpoints built using traditional stilted building techniques. The cave is real, but rather small, on the second floor. We found it to be a tourist trap, not so busy during the day. The best view at night is from the Qiansimen Bridge, right next to it. The whole complex gets lit at 7pm and gets turned off around 11 pm (although much later in the Summer time).
Liziba Station – the famous metro line cart (line 2) that goes into a building. The train track and the apartment building do not actually touch. The monorail runs on its own massive concrete support pillars rooted deep into the hillside bedrock. The apartment building was essentially constructed like a hollow shell around the pre-existing bridge structure. The metro station is on floors 6 – 8, the below floors are shops and markets and the above floors are residential. Because it gets really crowded with tourists and became really viral online the city constructed a viewing platform just below. If it’s sunny outside it gets really crowded. At night it gets beautifully lit.
Kuixinglou Square – the famous “I don’t know which floor I’m on” square. The most viral fact about Kuixinglou is its multi-horizon design. You can take a casual, flat stroll through a bustling, open-air public square filled with street food vendors, local shops, and pedestrians. But, if you walk over to the edge of the square and look down over the railing, you are suddenly staring down an absolute 22-story vertical abyss to a residential street below.
Shibati which translates literally to “Eighteen Stairs“ is historically known as the “Mother Town” of Chongqing. The name originally dates back more than 600 years to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. According to local lore, there was a natural sweet-water well located at the bottom of the hill. To reach the well from the main residential cluster, locals had to walk down exactly 18 major stone-flight landings. This well was the primary water source for the entire neighborhood, cementing the name “Shibati” into the city’s identity. Today, visitors still stop by the preserved Ancient Well to splash water on their hands for good luck.
Jiaochangkou Night Market never sleeps. The market underwent major visual upgrades to lean heavily into its cyberpunk identity. Every single stall is outfitted with custom, high-contrast neon signage in bright pinks, yellows, and cyan blues, creating a dazzling glowing corridor that is highly popular with street photographers. The photographers clear later in the evening, so plenty of time to look around. This market is perfect on a rainy day, as it gives that perfect cyberpunk vibe when the streets are wet.
Luohan Temple – an ancient Buddhist temple. Founded over 1,000 years ago during the Northern Song Dynasty, this quiet spiritual refuge is now completely surrounded and overshadowed by a towering canyon of modern neon skyscrapers in the middle of the Jiefangbei financial district. Saw the temple from our room, as it’s super close to UIB. The crown jewel of the temple is the spectacular Hall of Arhats (Luohan Hall). Inside, you walk through a dimly lit, labyrinthine path lined with 500 life-sized terracotta statues representing Arhats (Buddhism’s fully enlightened saints).
Ciqikou Ancient Town which translates literally to “Porcelain Port“, dating back more than 1,000 years to the Song Dynasty, it serves as a vivid window into what Chongqing looked like before it became a soaring cyberpunk megacity. A delightful little town with whimsy shops, food markets and tea shops.
Xiahao Lane – the most surprising spot in Chongqing and unknown to most tourists. Unlike the massive neon-lit tourist throngs at Hongyadong, Xiahao Lane functions as a quiet, atmospheric sanctuary where century-old history blends seamlessly with a laid-back, creative café culture. Nestled on a steep hill, inside a beautiful jungle, it offers really posh restaurants and terraces, different shops and a small square. Its views at night are breathtaking as it sits on the opposite of the downtown peninsula, with perfect views of cyberpunk city night lights.

We found Chongqing to be very welcoming, extremely affordable and tech savvy. The people want to get to know you, take photos with you and some do venture out to speak English with you. If not, they are always ready with different translating apps to help you. Everywhere we went we were welcomed with little gifts as they were honored that we ate at their little restaurant or stayed at their hotel. It was certainly not a clash of cultures, but very much a certain familiarity that made us fell very welcomed. In the end, China is another new country where I left my heart, and probably will return soon.

As always,