EZTrip.com International Destination Guide and Hotel Listings

Beginning to resemble a miniature Hong Kong, complete with skyscrapers, hills and a profit-hungry populace, Chongqing centres on a four-kilometre-long peninsula, capped by grassy parks atop Pipa Shan and Eling Shan . The downtown area and most accommodation prospects surround Victory Monument in the eastern Jiefangbei commercial district; Chaotianmen docks , where Yangzi ferries pull in, are just a short walk away at the eastern tip of the peninsula. The seething long-distance bus and train stations are southwest across town, on a complex traffic flow near river level. From here, either flag down a minibus or bus #102 to Chaotianmen docks, or climb the covered stone stairway up to Zhongshan Er Lu, where trolleybus #405 runs to Jiefangbei. The airport shuttle bus (¥15) transports passengers the 30km from the airport to the CAAC office on Zhongshan San Lu (from where buses #104 and #105 run along Renmin Lu to the Jiefangbei terminus on Linjiang Lu). At ¥1-2 for a ride, buses are the easiest way to get around if you want to give your legs a break from the serpentine stone staircases linking different levels of town. Because of the hills, bicycles are a rare sight. If at all possible, avoid Chongqing's piratical taxis , or establish the fare first and make sure you have the exact change. The peninsula is so small that it shouldn't cost much more than the cab's standing charge (¥5-10) to reach anywhere central.