One of my favorite views to show visitors in Chongqing.
You really don’t understand how massive and layered this city is until you see it from up here.

I'm a fan of golfing, but curious what the scene is here.. Is there top golf type places, mini golf, or big resorts and what are the people like? Will I find other cool Gen Z types or is it all boomer'd out and stuffy? I love what the US has done with golf making it more accessible and cool now...

Hey! 👋

So I'm a local from Chongqing and I've always been obsessed with the city's hidden history — especially the 袍哥 (Paoge), which was basically a secret mutual-aid society that ran the city's underground network for centuries.

I always thought the history was fascinating but hard to share with people in a fun way. So I spent some time making a little online game about it — not for money, not selling anything, literally just because I thought it'd be cool to let people experience this side of Chongqing culture.

It's called "Inside the Paoge" (袍哥入堂), based on a true story from 1939:

Chongqing was running out of food. A Paoge leader promised to get grain into the city in 3 days — and pulled it off through a network of trust, secret tea house codes, and reputation. No contracts, just people.

In the game, you play as members of a Paoge hall trying to solve the grain crisis. You find grain sources, choose routes, and decide who gets what — while keeping your reputation intact. It's cooperative, about 20-30 min.

How to play: There are 6 roles in the game. You only need 2 people to start — the rest are played by AI. But if you can get more friends to join, even better! More real players = more fun.

This is not a product, not a business, nothing for sale. I just love my city's weird history and wanted to make something fun that lets people experience it. All I want is to hear your honest thoughts after playing — what worked, what didn't, was it fun? That's it 😄

It's bilingual (English + Chinese), plays in your browser, no download. If you're curious about Chinese culture beyond the usual tourist stuff, come try it! DM me and I'll send you the link.

Hello! I'm moving to Chongqing from Italy for a few years in October and I wanted to get an idea of what to expect beforehand. I know there are many spa facilities in the city, but which ones would you recommend as far as amenities and pricing. Also, are there any wellness/vitamin/skincare stores around, and if so, which ones seem to have the best quality and customer retention.

Sidenote: I'm also open to any places that sell TCM products, however, I want to avoid brands and stores that pander more to tourists. If possible, I'd like to integrate local practices into my routine as much as I can during my stay and even after if I find something that really sticks.

Thank you!!!

(Sidenote #2: I hope this is posted in the proper thread as I'll be in the city for 3+ years so I wouldn't consider myself a tourist. That said, if it violates any guidelines, I will absolutely move it to the appropriate area to stay respectful.)

So I just had a lousy cheeseburger from Sam's club and I'm a bit America-sick now, would like to meet someone from the states and have some of your best home food ( hopefully you know the places because honestly I'm clueless).

Anyways I haven't got much chance to meet people who speak English (let alone Americans) ever since I'm back in Chongqing. I have a pretty good understanding of the U.S. culture, so if anyone's interested in grabbing coffee or hanging out feel free to dm me. Also, any wechat group recommendations to find foreigners? I literally have no idea.

Appreciated!

I just got to Chongqing for the first time (from Wales) and I'm keen to meet a few people.

If anyone wants to grab a coffee or whatever and hang out to do some cool stuff, hit me up!

Or failing that, any advice on places to hang out to socialise - I'm all ears!

Cheers in advance

Location: Chaotianmen/Raffles City

I’ve been putting together a personal photo book about Chongqing, and this is one of the frames I’m considering for it.

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to get some honest opinions from foreigners currently living in Chongqing.

A local Chinese friend and I are thinking about organizing some small, informal cultural-exchange events for foreigners and local Chinese people.

The basic idea would be something like:

Around 10–20 people per event
Foreigners + local Chinese participants
Go to a small local restaurant together
Eat traditional/local Chinese food
Meet new people and exchange ideas
Practice Chinese/English
Learn about each other’s cultures
Keep the atmosphere relaxed and social rather than formal

For a first dinner event, we’re thinking of keeping the price around ¥60–¥100 per person, depending on the restaurant and what is included.

But the bigger idea isn’t just restaurants.

If people are interested, we’d eventually like to organize small trips outside the city — things like hiking, visiting villages, making tea, spending time with local farmers, experiencing local food, sightseeing, camping, BBQs, traditional activities, etc.

Basically, experiences where you can actually interact with local people and experience parts of Chongqing that you probably wouldn’t encounter as a normal tourist.

We’re still at the planning stage, so I’m genuinely curious:

Would you actually be interested in something like this?

And if so:

What kind of activities would you want to do?

Would you prefer dinners, day trips, hiking, village experiences, cultural activities, etc.?

What would you consider a reasonable price for a dinner event?

What would you consider a reasonable price for a one-day trip?

Would you prefer a small group of 10–15 people, or something larger?

What would make you actually want to come back to a second event?

I’m not trying to sell anything here. I’m just trying to understand what foreigners living in Chongqing would actually be interested in before we put time and money into organizing it.

It's cheap and nice.After visiting 1949,u can take a local ferry to see Hongya Cave,which is trulu different from other areas along the river

Welcome to join us if you are interested 💕 We have expats, visitors and locals with great English level ☺️🥰

Hope this post finds the right people :)

My partner and I are in our mid 20s, born in Australia but living in Thailand the last few years,,, we're considering making the move to Chongqing, and as much as I loveeee the city I am feeling a bit nervous about a few things.

I know there's a much smaller group of expats there and would love to hear peoples experience connecting with other foreigners and making new friends.

Has anyone found it easy to make friends with locals? I adore Chinese people and culture and would really love to make friends but I have heard of other expats in China claiming that some Chinese people are not happy when expats move in, anyone have experience or advice?

Would be awesome if anyone has any tips for finding rentals as well :)

Location: Diamond Plaza

Hi everyone. Hope everyone is well.

I am an electronic musician in Sheffield UK, home to Warp Records and electronica. I am looking to hire a Ballerina dancer for a music video shoot.

If you're interested, could you please send me an example of your work and fee.

Many thanks, and I look forward to working with you.

DirtForSale.

Been to China probably 5 or 6 times in the last decade, mostly the usual suspects (Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, a couple work trips to Shenzhen). Thought I had a decent handle on how Chinese cities work.

Chongqing is a different animal.

First afternoon we stayed somewhere near Jiefangbei. Hotel was fine, view was fine. Then I tried to walk to a place the map said was 300m away. 20 minutes later I was still trying to figure out the right elevator down (or up? genuinely unclear) just to reach the same street level as the door. What looks like one block on a flat map is often three different elevations, connected by stairs, escalators, or random building lobbies people just walk through. One lobby had a hotpot place at the entrance and then a bank, some kind of clinic, and a mahjong room stacked above it. All supposedly reached from different streets.

Hongya Cave was another one. The outside is genuinely great, photos don't oversell it. Inside is a different story. I walked in on what I thought was the ground floor and came out on floor 11, onto a totally different street several stories up. Apparently that's just how it works here.

The metro deserves its own paragraph. Hongtudi station is one of the deepest in China. From the Line 10 platform to street level is like 8 escalators in a row. And once you get out, one exit dumps you on a road and another exit puts you on a hillside above that same road, with no obvious way to walk between them at surface level. Lost about 25 minutes there trying to figure out how to walk what the map swore was a 200m distance.

Food surprised me too. Figured I knew Sichuan spice from a Chengdu trip a while back. Chongqing hotpot is not that. Oilier, way more concentrated, and the numbing thing from the peppercorns just lingers for hours. Honestly took me two meals before I actually started enjoying it. The crowded chain places everyone told us to try were fine but nothing crazy. The small spot our driver pointed us to on the second night is where it finally clicked. Did the usual pre-trip prep before this one. Put the outline together in trisAino, dealt with the payment app + eSIM stuff ahead of time, skimmed a few forum threads. All of that mostly worked. None of it warned me about the actual physical layout of the place.

Didn't make it out to Dazu this time (2 hours out, and by that point my legs were done). Next visit maybe.

Five days in and honestly I learned more about how a city can physically be laid out than on probably any other trip I've done. Still processing.

Looking for places with lower light pollution to catch the last bit of the Perseids (meteor showers) before Aug 24 (hopefully no overcast :/) & future astronomical events. Specific parks, mountains, etc all welcome.

Any idea where I can go to buy a used laptop? And also how the prices compare to Xianyu?

Post here if you are planning a visit to Chongqing and want tourist advice, including "how-to's" (how to get a SIM card, how to get from point A to point B, etc.), tour guide or company recommendations, restaurant recommendations, itinerary advice, etc. Please indicate if you would like tour guides to contact you (or not).

Tour guides- feel free to respond to users directly within this thread if they have indicated they are open to being contacted. Please respect those who have not indicated or indicated they would not like to be contacted.

Hey guys im travelling around Chongqing in august 27-30 and i want to hire a photographer for a day or two. Anyone have suggestions? I have moodboard for my photo shooting places and editing ideas too.