Chongqing, China

A large city in southwestern China Chongquin is located at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers. This is a vibrant and exciting city with a lot to offer visitors. The city center is a peninsula jutting out horizontally between the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers.

There is a steep climb leading up to Baolun Temple. The temple dates back to the mid-6^th century. From the temple you can get fantastic views over the town and the river. This is one of the last remaining of Ciqikou’s five temples.

Three Gorges Museum offers visitors the history of settlement in the Chongqing region. You can see displays that include a model of a dam, clothing and artwork relating to southwest China’s minority groups.

Luohan Temple was built around 1000 years ago. Today it’s an active temple surrounded by modern skyscrapers. One of its notable features is a corridor flanked by intricate rock carvings.

The main attraction is Arhat Hall which contains 500 terracotta arhats (a Buddhist term for those who have achieved enlightenment and who pass to nirvana at death).

Huguang Guild Hall is an amazing museum complex that once served as a community headquarters for immigrants from the Hu and Guang provinces, who arrived in Chongqing several hundred years ago. The museum rooms display artwork and furniture. There is a temple, a tea house and there are several stages for Chinese opera performances.

Visit the interesting Ciqikou Ancient Town which gives visitors the opportunity to get a look at old Chongqing. It is located in Shapingba district on the Jialing River west of the center. Go through the archway that is the entrance to the town and you’ll see that most of the buildings date back to the late Ming Dynasty. The central street offers a lot of different things for sale and away from it you’ll find a living and working village. At some tea houses you can hear performances of traditional Chinese music.

Only a fragment of the Chongqing Ancient City Gates remain. They were once a magnificent part of the Ming Dynasty city wall that stretched 8 km around the Jiefangbei peninsula and was over 30 m tall in places. Two of the 17 gates that were standing before demolition in 1927 still remain. The moss-hewn Dongshui Men can be found beside the Yangtze River Hostel and the other Tongyuan Men near the Qixinggang metro station.

Liberation Monument is a clock tower monument right in the heart of the city. It commemorates China’s victory over Japan in WWII. The pedestrian streets surrounding the monument offer great shopping in the malls.

Hongya Cave is a Disney-like recreation of the old stilt houses once lining the river fronts of Chongqing. Today this is an eleven story shopping, dining and entertainment complex.

The Dazu Rock Carving is located in Dazu County 167 km from Chongqing. Here you can find stone statues distributed in 76 places in all of Dazu County. There are 60,000 stone statues.

General Stilwell Museum was founded in 1991. It is the former residence of General Joseph Warren Stillwell. He was the Chief of Staff of the Allied Forces in China and the Commander in Chief of the US forces in the China Burma India Theater (CIB) and stayed here from 1942 to 1944 when he was in China.

In the museum you can see the guard’s room once used by the General’s adjutant. There is the conference room once used for military discussions with a military map on the wall, a mini cinematograph, a gramophone and different military documents. Visitors can also see the General’s office, living room and dining room. In the basement are exhibits of various articles and items and over 200 historic pictures record the General’s time spent in China. Visitors can see how General Stilwell helped the Chinese government and the people fight against Japanese aggression. There are also military vehicles displayed in the museum.

Chongqing People’s Hall was built between 1951 and 1854. It is known as the Sino-Soviet Building. The hall has a 4,000 seat auditorium. It is considered to be one of the symbols of the city and has a large square in front of it with fountains and lights. The square is used for performances and official functions. The building has a red-tiered dome that is 55 m high.

Loquat Mountain Park is located on Loquat Mountain 345 m above sea level. The park is the highest place in the old urban area and offers fantastic views over the city. Here you can find winding roads, evergreen trees, bamboos and flowers. People enjoy watching Chongqing at night from here.

At the top of the mountain you can find the Red Star Pavilion, built in 1955 and is located in the highest place of the park.

In Fuyuan Garden visitors can enjoy attractions like the long gallery, a pavilion, a pool and the lute-playing girl-shaped statue.

Chongquing Zoo has more than 200 species of animals and 1,000 birds. Visitors can see the rare South China Tiger which is considered to be the rarest kind of tiger and there might be less than 20 left in the wild. There is also a Tibetan bear with a yellowish head that dance when people offer it treats.

The Panda Room has giant pandas and small cat-like pandas. Between 8:30 and 10:30 AM is the panda feeding time.

There is also a children’s play area, a roller skating rink, a stage and some restaurants.

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