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Voykit pocket guide · China
Chongqing
重庆
Give Chongqing 2–3 nights: one for Jiefangbei and Hongyadong after dark, one for Ciqikou and the river, and one spare for a Yangtze or Dazu run.
Chongqing is China's only western coast municipality, a hilly river city of about 8.8 million in the urban core and the launch point for Three Gorges cruises and the Dazu Rock Carvings. Its centre is vertical, not flat: the ground floor of one building can sit level with the 20th floor of the next. Most travellers use it as a 2–3 night stop between Chengdu and the Yangtze, not as a long stay.
- Country
- China
- Local name
- 重庆
- Best months
- Mar–May, Sep–Nov
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (hot and humid), Oct–Mar (smog)
- Stay
- 2–3 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CNY
- Money
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
- Daily spend
- Budget ¥250–450 excl. bed · Mid ¥450–900 excl. bed · High ¥900+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
- Emergency
- Police 110 · Fire 119 · Ambulance 120
- Plugs
- Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
- Water
- Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | ¥20–40 |
| Noodle soup (xiaomian) | ¥10–20 |
| Hotpot, per person | ¥60–120 |
| Metro ride | ¥2–7 |
| Taxi, 5 kmTaxi, 3.1 mi | ¥15–25 |
| Raffles City observation deck | ¥180 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | ¥100–200 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- CKG · Chongqing Jiangbei International
- About 21 km northeast of the centre; Metro Line 3 and Line 10 link the terminals to town.About 13 mi northeast of the centre; Metro Line 3 and Line 10 link the terminals to town.
Typical fares
- CKG → downtown, metro
- about ¥10, 40–60 min (check)
- CKG → downtown, taxi
- ¥40–80
- Chongqing North → Chengdu, high-speed
- about 1.5 h (check)
Get around
Metro is the default: cheap, air-conditioned, English announcements, and it reaches the airport, both main rail stations and the sights. Line 2 is a monorail. Buses are frequent but need Chinese route reading. Taxis start at ¥8 and are metered; few drivers speak English, so show your destination in Chinese. Walking means stairs and steep lanes — plan short hops, not long walks.
See and do
Known for
- Hongyadong night skyline
- Jiefangbei and the Yangtze–Jialing confluence
- Hotpot
- Ciqikou old town
- Three Gorges cruises and the Dazu Rock Carvings
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Dazu Rock Carvings | High-speed train or bus west, then a local bus or taxi to the carvings | About 3 h each way |
| Wulong | Train or bus southeast, then shuttle to the karst park | 3–4 h each way |
| Fuling | High-speed train down the Yangtze | About 1 h |
| Wanzhou | High-speed train east along the Yangtze | About 1.5 h |
| Tongnan | Train or bus northwest | 1.5–2 h |
| Qianjiang | Train southeast into the municipality | About 2 h |
Sleep
- Jiefangbei / Yuzhong
- Downtown core: walk to Hongyadong, the monument and the riverfront; most expensive beds.
- Guanyinqiao / Jiangbei
- North-bank shopping and nightlife; Metro Line 3, good mid-range hotels.
- Shapingba
- University district; Metro Line 1 to Ciqikou and the centre, cheaper rooms.
- Nan'an / Nanping
- South bank with skyline views across the river; Metro Loop Line and Line 3.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | 你好nǐ hǎo |
| Thank you | 谢谢xièxie |
| How much is it? | 多少钱？duōshǎo qián |
| Can I pay by card? | 可以刷卡吗？kěyǐ shuākǎ ma |
| Where is the toilet? | 洗手间在哪里？xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ |
| Not spicy, please | 不要辣bù yào là |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
- Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
- Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
- Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
- Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
- Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
- Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
- Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4
Scams and watch-outs
- Summer heat and humidity (Jun–Sep) plus smog from Oct–Mar; people with respiratory problems should plan around it.
- The city is built on hills and two rivers: a 500 m walk on the map can mean several flights of stairs.
- Empty taxis are hard to find on very hot days; use the metro instead.
- Biking is not a practical way to see the centre.
- Terminal 1 at CKG is closed for renovation; check which terminal your flight uses.
Chongqing is generally safe for tourists; the real risks are summer heat and humidity, smog from October to March, steep stairs and confusing multi-level streets, and unlicensed taxis at stations — use the metro and metered yellow cabs.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Chongqing yet. Suggested stay: 2–3 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Hongyadong night skyline
- Jiefangbei and the Yangtze–Jialing confluence
- Hotpot
- Ciqikou old town
- Three Gorges cruises and the Dazu Rock Carvings
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Chongqing Municipal Culture and Tourism Development Commission: www.cqta.gov.cn/
- Chongqing Rail Transit: www.cqmetro.cn/
- Wikivoyage: Chongqing, revision 5340155 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5340155
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Chongqing重庆
请到这个地址
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
The US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have embassies in Beijing and consulates-general in Chengdu or Shanghai; check the nearest for your passport.
Metro and most sights take Alipay or WeChat Pay; carry some cash for small shops.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/chongqing). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.