After another very fast and very smooth 1,000 km train ride we arrived in the mega city of Chongqing which sits at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers in central China.
Although small in comparison with the railway stations in Beijing and Shanghai, Xi’An North station is still quite impressive, with plenty of shops and seating areas.
With a population of over 32,000,000 Chongqing is said to be the most populated city in the world.
A hair raising 30 minute taxi ride from the station to our hotel with a driver who must have been a stunt driver in “Fast and Furious”, weaving in and out of all 4 lanes of the motorway into the city centre we were soon at our hotel, The Ascott Raffles City in downtown Chongqing, right where the 2 rivers converge.
Raffles City Chongqing consists of eight skyscrapers situated on a site covering 9.2 hectares Atop four of the 250-metre-tall towers is an enclosed skyway, called the Crystal, with a swimming pool, bar and restaurant and a glass floor outdoor space which you can see in the photo below, but more on that later.
The two 350-metre-tall towers connect to the other 4, via a cantilever bridge. Two other 250-metre-tall towers are adjacent to these six.
The Raffles City complex has 1.12 million square metres of space, including 150,000m2 of offices and 1,400 apartments, a hotel, and a 235,000m2 5 floor underground shopping mall, railway station and cruise ship terminal, all very impressive indeed.
Our 43rd floor apartment gave us great views over the rivers and the city.
We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment with a comfy lounge / dining area, a spacious kitchen and separate laundry room where we took advantage of the washing machine to freshen up some of our clothes at this midpoint of our holiday.
Thwe following morning on our way out for the day we spotted this little chap by the vending machine in the reception area, but more of him later.
We walked down through the huge and very impressive shopping mall to Chaotianmen Square near the cruise terminal where ships leave for the 3 day trip up the Yangtze River to the 3 gorges dam.
Once outside there was something we didn’t expect, a field of tulips and a windmill.
Chaotianmen dock with the river cruise ships.
A pleasant half hour walk along the riverbank brought us to Hongya Cave, also known as Hongya Dong, an 11-story stilt-building structure built into the hillside along the southern bank of the Jialing river and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.
The complex is believed to have functioned as a fortress from 1046 BC and Its history can be traced back to the Hongyang Gate, dated from the 14th century during the early Ming dynasty. Stilt houses (diaojiaolou) were built along the river bank and were populated until 1949. As the shipping industry declined and the diaojiaolou were left in disrepair before starting to be torn down in 2005, newer buildings in the style of the diaojiaolou were built in place. Construction of the new complex alongside preservation began in 2006.
Plenty of places to stop for a bite to eat or a drink, all the noodle and rice dishes here were 10Yuan, about £1, as were the bottles of cold beer, very welcome on a warm day!
This place really comes to life after dark when all the lights are turned on.
The view across the river.
Luckily there are lifts and escalators built into this 11 floor building and so it was easy to get to the top, Which strangely enough was also the ground floor as the whole of Chongqing is built into the side of a mountain.
We strolled a bit further into the city going uphill and were soon at a large square with many shops around the edge on the second floor, remember this is Chongqing and is not what it seems at first glance!
Walking over to the far side and looking down from what is the 2nd floor on the opposite side of the square is also the 22nd floor on this side!
This open square with its many shops is actually the roof of a hospital.
After that we decided we were very tired and thirsty after wandering around this hilly city and so found ourselves a nice noodle bar and a couple of beers.
Part 2 of our time in the fascinating city of Chongqing to follow later.
TTFN
Bibbley
Uncle Bob's Scenic Tours 
Chongquing was an amazing place our apartment was beautiful, loved it there
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