Two Days in Chongqing

Straddling the intersection of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers， the southwestern city of Chongqing is so mountainous that when the prominent American historian and academic John King Fairbank flew over the city in 1942 he felt compelled to declare it “a most unfortunate human habitation.”Today， though， it’s hard to associate Chongqing with misfortune. In 1997， in order to better manage the massive human migration associated with the construction of the Three Gorges Dam， Chongqing was made a zhixiashi (直轄市， a city directly administrated under the central government)， the ultimate dream of all Chinese cities. Ever since then， the metropolis， often touted as the fastestgrowing city in the world， has strived to catch up with Beijing and Shanghai. The speed of development is so intense that a new version of the city map is printed every three months. Now， a depressing forest of skyscrapers frames the view of the city from its famous Chaotianmen Dock (朝天門碼頭). Only in Yuzhong District (渝中區)， the oldest part of Chongqing， does anything of the city’s former self remain， but even here the communities cling on under walls splashed with red 拆 (ch`i) signs marking them out for demolition.

However， there is one legacy that will never be lost: good food. In Chongqing， you have to try pretty hard to find a bad restaurant. There are numerous hotpot and noodle places， and any of them with more than five customers is a safe pick. The only problem is that it’s hard to avoid eating greasy， spicy food three times a day， and your stomach will suffer for it. If you don’t want chili， remember to say， “Bu fang haijiao!” (不放海椒！)

Another thing worth bearing in mind is how easy it is to get lost in Chongqing’s maze of alleyways， forks and steps. Locals never say south or north when giving directions， but just point or wave vaguely to indicate where you should turn. Try to get hold of a recent map if you can find one!

day one

9:00 xIaomIan (小面) Start the day like a true Chongqinger by breakfasting on a hearty bowl of xiaomian (小面)， the ubiquitous Chongqing counterpart to northern China’s jiaozi (餃子). What on first inspection seems just an ordinary bowl of noodles half-submerged in red oil， is actually a fusion of 20 ingredients (trust me， I counted) crammed into one bowl. The taste is a combination of all the things that make Sichuanese food addictive. Though the Chinese literally means “small noodles，” the portions will by no means leave you wanting， and can be picked up for just RMB4 almost anywhere.

9:30 tongyuan gate (通遠門) If you only have one day in Chongqing， this is the best place start. Though ancient Chongqing was just a small town clinging to a cliff， it was encircled by 17 city gates， most of which overlooked the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. Only two of the original gates remain， and Tongyuan is the best preserved. The initial dismantling of the city gates began in 1927， when Pan Wenhua (潘文華)， the first Chongqing mayor， started to expand the city inland， away from the rivers. Fortunately， instead of pulling the gate down， the mayor ordered that a road be built through it， making Tongyuan the sole land route into the city. Qixinggang (七星崗)， the area that lies at the foot of the gate， used to be a vast graveyard housing generations of the city’s dead， but was requisitioned by Pan to construct the new town. Some Chongqing elders can still sing a nursery rhyme about the 17 city gates， and the lyrics for Tongyuan Gate recall the burial site:“We hear the gongs and drums from Tongyuan Gate， and we go to watch the burials of the dead.” Get off at Qixinggang Station on Subway Line One and ask for directions.

10:00 conSulate lane (領事巷)Tear yourself away from the martial displays locals now perform on top of Tongyuan Gate and walk along the city wall until you reach Jintang Street (金湯街). Come down from the wall， and you’ll emerge in Consulate Lane. The alleyway feels like a living legacy of the 1890s， as Britain and France both built their consulates there in the same year after Chongqing opened its ports to the West. The British Consulate was bombed to rubble during World War II， but its French counterpart remains. Nearby is the Chongqing Sichuan Opera Theater (重慶市川劇院 Ch5ngq#ngsh# Chu`njyu3n)， where you can enjoy super high-pitched singing and mask-swapping action for RMB30.

10:30 mountaIn cIty lane (山城巷) Mountain City Lane， a remnant of the rapidly disappearing old Chongqing， runs along a high cliff， circling a row of century-old houses. At No. 55， you can step off the street and onto a quiet wooden path shrouded in trees. Though it’s just a narrow strip， it’s a more worthwhile walk than most of the parks in Chongqing. The route winds through thick bamboo and gnarled white fig trees， passes by a fragment of the Ming Dynasty city wall and offers you a panoramic view over the Yangtze River. The route terminates abruptly at a dead end， and you have to retrace your steps before finishing your descent on Mountain City Lane and emerging from the timeless alleyway into the bewildering bustle of Zhongxing Road (中興路).

12:00 hotpot (火鍋) Walk uphill along Zhongxing Road for about 15 minutes until you arrive at the entrance to the Eighteen Steps (十八梯 sh!b`t~). Keep an eye out for a crowded area littered with stalls selling small handicrafts and a dance floor filled with twirling middle-aged women. At the foot of the steps is a hotpot restaurant called shibati laohuoguo (十八梯老火鍋) packed with merry locals and kind waitresses who don’t speak a word of Mandarin. When you order， make sure to ask for the weila (微辣， slightly spicy) version， though whatever you say you’ll still end up reeling. It’s not hot in the conventional spicy sense—it burns and explodes in your mouth. As the red， beef fat-covered soup bubbles， the Sichuan peppercorn’s taste will slowly intensify， eventually rendering your lips numb and speechless. Eating authentic Chongqing food is like an exercise in masochism， blending suffering and enjoyment in equal measure. Do try the beef and don’t forget to wash it down with some milk to ease the burning!

13:30 eIghteen StepS (十八梯) Stagger out of the hotpot restaurant and head for the Eighteen Steps (十八梯 sh!b`t~)， a dirty， jammed goods market that climbs up a set of wide， shallow stone steps. The old market seems frozen in time， at once nostalgic and startlingly real—there’s a videotape theater just a few steps down， something familiar only to people who grew up in the 1980s， where you can watch an old Hong Kong kung fu movie on a projector for one yuan. Barbers still offer shaves， and tailors work with antique sewing machines out on the pavement.

Three streets—Eighteen Steps， Houci Street (厚慈街) and Shoubei Street (守備街)， form a web where rich and poor intersect， a bridge between the mansions and the gutters. In 2010， Chongqing invested RMB500 million to give the area a facelift and turn it into a “new traditional community.” Nestled in the alleys is a vintage market (古玩市場)， selling old Republic of China notes and crispy， yellow postcards and photos. Though it’s still a packed neighborhood， television signals have already been cut off， and the whole place seems weighed down by the thought of its impending doom at the hands of the earthmovers. Get there fast， while you still can.

15:00 hongyadong (洪崖洞) Take a taxi to Hongyadong to witness a living example of Chongqing’s ability to reinvent itself. In the 1940s， Hongyadong was synonymous with struggle; home to thousands of poor dockworkers， porters， sailors and laundry women， the area was filthy， overpopulated and prone to flooding. Despite the crushing poverty， the community was so tight-knit that it’s said people didn’t even need to lock their doors. But that’s all over now. In the 1990s， the government shipped out the existing community， dismantled the diaojiaolou (吊腳樓， local wooden-bamboo structures that supported the houses) and erected a brand new shopping center， complete with elevators， mock traditional restaurants and a theme-park style area apparently modeled on “Pirates of the Caribbean.” At night， the whole mall is illuminated， and photographing the golden outline of its reflection in the river is a favorite tourist pastime.

17:00 chaotIanmen docK (朝天門碼頭) From Hongyadong you can walk to Chaotianmen Dock. Yuzhong District is shaped like a tongue， and Chaotianmen is at its tip. In the past， it was the biggest port in Chongqing， but nowadays it serves more as a square for locals to fly their kites. Do try the suanlafen (酸辣粉， sour-spicy rice noodles)， douhua(豆花， tender tofu) and xiaociba (小糍粑， a kind of pastry made of sticky rice) on sale from peddlers.

day tWo

9:00 huguang clanSmen SocIety (湖廣會館) At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911)， Sichuan Province (which at the time included Chongqing) was so riven by war that people in the province were “as rare as stars in the early morning，” according to the Sichuan Chronicle. This trend was slowly reversed by the steady migration that would span the following century. This was referred to as “Huguang filling Sichuan” (湖廣填四川 H%gu2ng ti1n S#chu`n)， as a quarter of the migrants were Huguang people (from today’s Hunan and Hubei provinces). Even to this day， many Sichuan people say， that because of the population shift， they consider themselves to be “descendants of waidiren.”

When the migrants grew homesick， or wanted to make merry with their countrymen， they made a beeline for their clansmen societies or “huiguan” (literally meaning “assembly hall”). Huguang Huiguan (湖廣會館)， located 600 meters to the west of Chaotianmen， actually includes four huiguan’s. These elegant wooden structures date from the Qing Dynasty， and extend layer-upon-layer up the slope of a hill. Here， the displaced people could worship their hometown gods， watch familiar operas and attend charity meetings to help organize disaster relief in their home provinces. One of the theaters is still in use， and is well worth a peek for the RMB30 entrance fee.

10:00 From dongzheng jIe (東正街) to the yangtze rIver caBleWay (長江索道) Exit Huguang Huiguan， turn right and then right again to find an upwards sloping alleyway called Dongzheng Jie—another peaceful， quiet old neighborhood that’s slated to be demolished. This will take you to Datong Jie (打銅街)， which was once famous for its coppersmith workshops， and is now a lovely street market. Continue the walk by taking a left on Xinhua Road (新華路) and walk 200 meters to the Yangtze River Cableway (長江索道 Ch1ngji`ng su6d3o). The cable journey offers a fleeting chance to try and get your bearings. The city takes on a different character when you’re floating high above it， and when the cable car slowly glides over a block of old， tall buildings， it’s like flying through a forest of colorful drying clothes.

12:30 FountaIn chIcKen Street (泉水雞一條街) I recommend staying at Tushan Temple for a RMB5 vegetarian lunch with the monks， but if meat is more your thing， you can take the 10-minute walk to Fountain Chicken Street. All the restaurants on the street offer a dish called “fountain chicken，” which is a whole chicken cooked in spice， red oil and local fountain water.

14:30 laojundong temple (老君洞) One kilometer from Fountain Chicken Street is Laojundong Taoist Temple. With temple halls scattered all over the hillside， this offers a great chance to squeeze in some exercise and walk off your lunch. When you make it to the highest hall on top of the hill， you’ll see a cluster of miniature high-rise buildings shrouded in white mist， which you might just be able to recognize as Chaotianmen.

17:00 mountaIn cIty lamB reStaurant (山城羊肉館) Located at 9 Minsheng Road， Mountain City Lamb Restaurant is said to be “as well-known as the Eighteen Steps.” Try their yangroulonglong (羊肉籠籠， steamed lamb)， yangrouchuan (羊肉串， lamb kebabs)， and yangroutang (羊肉湯， lamb soup).