Chongqing City Full-Day Tour with Monorail & Night View

Jiefangbei: the heart of Chongqing

The tour begins at Jiefangbei, the commercial centre of the Yuzhong peninsula, where a clock-tower monument stands in a car-free square surrounded by skyscrapers. The monument, whose name means Liberation Monument, was first raised in the 1940s, when Chongqing served as China's wartime capital, and it is still the reference point from which locals give directions across the city.

Your guide explains how Chongqing grew from a river port on a rocky peninsula into one of the largest cities in China, squeezed between two rivers and steep hills. You have time to take photos of the towers framing the monument and to try a local snack from the street stalls. It is the best starting point for anyone wondering what to see in Chongqing in one day.

Liziba monorail station: the train through a building

Liziba station on Line 2 is the most famous sight of modern Chongqing. Because there was no flat land for a separate station, the monorail was routed straight through a 19-storey residential tower, with the platform built on floors inside the building. Residents live above and below, and soundproofing keeps the trains surprisingly quiet.

From the viewing platform opposite, you watch trains slide in and out of the façade every few minutes while your guide explains the engineering behind it. This is a highlight of any Chongqing monorail tour and a favourite photo for visitors from around the world. Mornings are usually less crowded than afternoons, which is why it comes early in the day.

Kuixing Tower and the Sujiaba spiral interchange

The pace slows at Kuixing Tower, a traditional-style pavilion of red columns and curved roofs on the hillside, with views over streets layered one above the other and the river in the distance. It is a calm place to understand how Chongqing's neighbourhoods are linked by stairways, bridges and lifts rather than flat roads.

Then comes one of the most unusual experiences of the day: a ride on a regular city bus through the Sujiaba interchange, where the road spirals up a tall helical ramp, its guardrails at window level and the city dropping away beneath you like a canyon. This public bus ride is included and arranged by your guide; sit by the window on the outer side for the most dramatic views.

Eling Park and the old-factory creative quarter

In the afternoon you visit Eling Park, the city balcony perched on a narrow ridge between the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. Laid out as a private garden in the early 20th century, it has shaded paths, old trees and a tall viewing tower from which you see both rivers, their bridges and an endless sea of high-rises. Allow time to climb the tower if the air is clear.

Next door, a former printing factory from the 1940s has been turned into a creative quarter. Brick and concrete workshops now house small galleries, design boutiques, bookshops and cafés, with murals on the walls and views of the river below. Your guide shares how the city reinvents its industrial past, and you have free time to wander and take photos.

Jiangbeizui and the Hongyadong night view

As dusk falls, the vehicle crosses to Jiangbeizui on the north bank, the riverside point opposite the Yuzhong peninsula next to the city's glass-clad grand theatre building. From here you enjoy one of the best and least crowded views of Hongyadong, the cliff of stilted buildings that lights up in gold every evening, with the bridges and towers glowing around it.

The reflections on the Jialing River make this the perfect last stop for photos. Is the Chongqing night view worth waiting for? Most travellers say it is the image they remember most. The tour ends here after about eight hours; in winter the lights are already on, while in summer you may want to stay until nightfall. Hongyadong itself, the night cruises and many restaurants, including halal ones run by Hui Muslim families, are a short taxi ride away.