With natural scenes mingled into humane landscape Chognqing’s tourist resources are comprehensive and widespread. The long and particular history, brilliant culture, mighty mountain and rivers have brought about numerous well-known scenic spots, historic relics and magnificent landscape to Chognqing. There are in Chongqing 20 large tourist resorts with more than 1300 scenic spots. Among them over 300 spots and tourist resorts have been initially developed including 4 key state level scenic resorts, 6 key historic relics under state protection, 110 historic relics under city preservation and more than 12000 other historic relics. The enchanting night view of the city, the praised historical relics of the Three Kingdoms Period, the elegant Dazu Stone Carvings and the majestic Three Gorges along the Yangtze River are attracting numerous tourists both from home and abroad.

Chongqing has convenient land, water and air communication facilities. There are over 50 domestic and international air routes and more than 100 deluxe cruisers sailing on the Yangtze River. Over 80 star-rated hotels are equipped with well facilities.

City scenery

Chongqing has a couple of names. Houses and apartment blocks built half way up mountains from an undulating pattern, Chongqing is, therefore, called“the Mountain City.”Standing at the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze rivers, it is thus called“the River Town”as well.

The night view of Chongqing is very famous. Soon after the dusk, myriad twinkling lights will soon greet the eyes. Consisted of the light of street lamps, the dazzling stream of light looks just like bright pearls. The panorama has fully demonstrated the majestic feature of a mountain city. Standing on the Kanjiang Pavilion located on the top of Eling Park, one is sure to enjoy more than the eye could take in.

The majestic construction of the People’s Great Hall is the landmark of Chongqing. The whole building displays elegant design, superb craft and the harmonious disposition of colors. Especially the dome above the front gate, a typical architectural creation in Chinese antique flavor, is highly praised by the tourists from abroad and home.

The central part of the city is located on a peninsula-shaped ridge, commanded by Loquat Hill and Eling Ridge. It is overlaid with buildings climbing the hills and roads snaking their way among the hills. With Chaotianmen Gate in the east and Futuguan Pass in the west, the terrain gives an altitude difference of as many as 220 meters, the lowest being 160 meters above sea level and the highest, 360 meters above sea level. Hence the saying“Nine Gates and Eighteen Ladders.”And now, there appear automatic ladders and cable-cars facilities in many important places. Besides, There are 8 bridges linking the connection between the opposite banks of the two rivers and the city proper. At present, another 3 bridges are under construction.

Chongqing is a city fully of cultural relics, historical sites and scenic spots. In the 13th century, the great general Monka, called "Whip of God" in the west, was seriously hurt at Diaoyucheng in the outskirts of Chongqing and died there soon after. Now there remains only an ancient battlefield for people to visit.

During the Anti-Japanese War (1937-1945), the Kuomintang government moved from Nanjing to Chongqing and made the latter a war-time capital. As the site of second peace negotiations held between the Chiang Kai-shek Nationalist Party and the Chinese Communist Party and the seat of headquarters of US Forces in China-Burma- India Theater, Chongqing has been affected to many changes of political events. Some sites as the former thatched-cottage of Gen. C. Marshall, the Museum of Gen. J.W. Stilwell, the former residence of Chiang Kai-shek, the dwelling place of Madam Sun Yat-sun, the site of Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, the Red Crag Village (location of the South Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, headed by Zhou Enlai, and the Chongqing Office of the Eighth Route Army) , the former residence of Zhou Enlai and the Lin’s Garden (Lin was the Chairman of the Kuomintang Government) left over from war times are well preserved.

Scenic Spots & Resort Area in the City’s Suburb

It covers the districts of Ba’nan District and Yubei and counties of Changshou, Bishan and Beibei, while its scenic spots include Tongjing Hot Spring, Northern Hot Spring, Southern Hot Spring, Eastern Hot Spring, Longevity Lake and Bayu Folklore & Culture Village. The main tourist interests of the area include conference and business travel, recreation travel, experiencing rural life, countryside sightseeing and so on.

Three Gorges Cruise on the Yangtze River

The Yangtze River is famous for its historical sites and enchanting scenic spots. The Three Gorges Cruise is most attractive.

Being famous for a majestic view of the Qutang Gorge, the deep and quite canyon of the Wuxia Gorge and the dangerous torrents and shoals of the Xiling Gorge, the Three Gorges are the fine scenic spots of the worldwide level. Numerous scenic lookouts as the bright jewels adorn the Three Gorges forming a beautiful gallery of landscape. It looks as if a fairyland with the cruise on board along the section of the Yangtze River. The majestic appearance and their wonderful sight will still exist after the completion of Three Gorges Project.

Dazu Grottoes

Built continuously from the first year of the reign of Emperor Yonghui of the Tang Dynasty (650) to the Qing Dynasty, Dazu Stone Carvings’Grottoes represent a beautiful gem in the treasure trove of grotto arts in China.

Located in Dazu County, 81 km by express way, west of the city proper of Chongqing, the stone carvings of Dazu, chiefly consisting of Buddhists images, are the art of religious nature. More than fifty thousand figure statues are scattered over 75 places. Those carved out of the rocks at Beishan, Baodingshan, Nanshan, Shizuanshan and Shimenshan are the most concentrated in number, the largest in scale, the finest in craftsmanship and the richest in content. In 1961, they appeared on the list of the first group of important cultural relics under state protection as announced by the State Council and in 1999 it was inscribed on the World Cultural Heritage List by the UNESCO.

All the cliffside carvings, ingeniously conceived with a great originality, are well-known for their variety in subject matter, richness in content, and their co-existence of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. The unfathomable Buddhist theology was combined with folkloric life stories easy to understand making people experience the temperament and interest of the laical world in the“bounds of Buddha.”

Nevertheless, the stone carvings of Dazu Grottoes differ somewhat from the stone sculpture produced in the previous period. Emphasizing on both the law of aesthetic standards and the law of art form, the outstanding practice in Dazu was regarded as a good example to promote the advance of the grotto art from chiseling to cliffside carving. Apart from being an important component of China’s grotto art, it is a glorious chapter in the history of worldwide grotto art during the years from the 9th to 13th centuries.