Talk:Chongqing

ChongQing is a beautiful city!
Chongqing is in a beautiful location. It is not a beautiful city then again all cities are beautiful in China according to local logic/tradition. After much construction it will be much improved.. and has great potential. The place is not very cosmopolitan and very much behind even local Chengdu. The vast majority of the pop. is very provincial and the problem of smoking is just scratching the surface. It is a nice place to visit but I would not recommend living there as a foreigner. (yet) give it at least 5 years. This is West China- the final frontier so to speak... air quality and weather are never good and people tend to be rude in public. Go to Chengdu or Xi'an!

Chongqing a "mountain" City
I have been to Chongqing 9 times now over the past 2 years (starting in September of 2007) and I've eaten the fire pot, shopped in a variety of stores and even played badminton with locals.

It is a great city, but it is huge, busy, hot and humid in summer, cold and wet in winter, and almost always "overcast." As with most cities in China they rely on coal to power their industry so it is actually unusual to see blue sky. It isn't all smog as the city has long been famous for being cloudy and overcast.

Not a lot of English spoken in Chongqing and as a foreigner you will get some attention. In Beijing and Guangzhou you won't get much special attention as foreigners are far more common. Chongqing is still getting used to having tourists and foreign workers wandering around the city. In the heart of the city you won't stick out, but get out to Nanping and the locals will find you pretty interesting.

The vast majority of people in Chongqing are friendly and willing to assist you in whatever way they can. I have encountered a lot of people that want to say hello and speak a little English with me. They are also impressed if you can say anything in Chinese and if you want to impress them even more - learn to say it in the local Chongqing dialect. I'm proud to say that I've made quite a few taxi drivers smile and laugh as I direct them to my destination.

If you want to shop and eat and don't care much about saving a lot of money on it then the MetroPlaza is your best bet. It is in the heart of the cities business and shopping district (most of the upscale hotels are within walking distance). You can get some good coffee and deserts too.

Just around almost any corner is a Fire Pot restaurant. Go with a local and open yourself up to the experience. If you aren't a beer drinker then I would consider going with a less spicy version. There are a variety of styles of this popular local meal include a mushroom (vegetarian), fish, spicy (the traditional red sauce) and non-spicy (traditional without all spices). It is an adventure and if you can get over your fear of what all you are eating you can have a great time.

Smoking is done almost everywhere. Starbucks (not hard to find) is a safe haven for the non-smoker. The taxi drivers will light up and can be rude if you ask them to put it out (most just assume that you will join them). I have noticed that a lot of people are getting more and more aware that not everyone is a smoker and making an effort to stop or at least not blow smoke your way. I actually had some folks get up and move away from me when I asked them politely to not direct their smoke my way.

Chongqing is in the middle of a building boom and has been for quite a few years. As in any major industrial and urban city there is plenty of grit and grime as a result. The streets are cleaned often, but usually pretty slick when it rains and dusty when it is dry. All the construction makes for some additional traffic and noise, but also shows the amazing growth and prosperity.

There is plenty to do and worth the time and effort. Go in October or May when it is warm, but not unpleasantly hot and humid. Hougou (fire pot) is best when it is cold outside, but no matter when you are there - if you leave without eating some you have missed out on an amazing adventure. —The preceding comment was added by (WT-en) Zakary10 (talk • contribs)


 * Please plunge forward and add your travel knowledge to the article itself! --(WT-en) Peter Talk 16:04, 19 August 2009 (EDT)

Hotel
I wanted to add a mid range hotel, but weren't able to save my edit, so if someone can put it in, please:


 * has a rotating restaurant on top.

—The preceding comment was added by (WT-en) 123.145.166.134 (talk • contribs)


 * Your listing is there, but the cache may not have updated immediately which is probably why you weren't seeing it. -- (WT-en) Ryan &bull; (talk) &bull; 12:45, 1 November 2010 (EDT)

Hot Springs
Are there even real hot springs or they are the usual Chinese artificially heated water bath houses? I've only ever seen 1 real hot spring in China out of dozen fake ones.


 * Not sure who wrote the comment above, but there are indeed natural hot springs in China. Nanjing comes to mind. The quality of the experience probably won't match that in Japan however. --Andrewssi2 (talk) 06:50, 11 August 2015 (UTC)

Alternative banner for this article?
I created a new alternative banner for this article (I initially created it first and foremost so that it would be used at the top of the parallel article in the Hebrew edition of Wikivoyage, yet I later decided to also suggest that the English Wikivoyage community would consider using it here as well). So, which banner do you prefer having at the top of this article? ויקיג&#39;אנקי (talk) 05:13, 11 August 2015 (UTC)


 * Yes, I support the change from the hazy current banner to the panorama of a dynamic metropolis with some interesting skyscrapers (and others that are less so). Ikan Kekek (talk) 06:43, 11 August 2015 (UTC)


 * The existing banner doesn't show anything that can't be seen in pretty much every Chinese city, so yes prefer the new proposed one. --Andrewssi2 (talk) 06:51, 11 August 2015 (UTC)


 * I also prefer the new banner. Danapit (talk) 17:48, 11 August 2015 (UTC)


 * New banner gives a sense of a bustling metropolis, old one gives just a vaguely asian impression. Hence mark me down as supporting the new banner. Hobbitschuster (talk) 17:55, 11 August 2015 (UTC)


 * Prefer the second, despite being a city skyline. The original could be anywhere; even looks like Melbourne's Chinatown to some extent. James A ▪ talk 09:53, 12 August 2015 (UTC)


 * Proposed, nice river shape Syced (talk) 08:14, 13 August 2015 (UTC)

Where to put listings located outside the main urban area
Am I correct to understand that this article is mainly intended to cover central Chongqing and that any listings outside of the nine core districts should be placed either in the Go Next section or in a separate district article? STW932 (talk) 04:54, 18 February 2018 (UTC)


 * What kinds of listings are you talking about (e.g., "See", "Do", "Buy", "Eat", etc.)? Ikan Kekek (talk) 06:07, 18 February 2018 (UTC)

I am mainly talking about "See" listings. All of the places in the "Go next" section are located in Chongqing Municipality. I am wondering whether most of them should be moved to the "See" section". STW932 (talk) 08:14, 18 February 2018 (UTC)


 * I would say those should be in "See". "Go next" is usually for destinations, and much less commonly for attractions. You can put those listings in a separate subsection with a title such as "Outlying areas", "Outside of central Chonqing" or something else that's clear. Ikan Kekek (talk) 09:15, 18 February 2018 (UTC)


 * If I'm not mistaken, this article is only supposed to cover central Chongqing (the nine core districts forming the urban area, as User:STW932 said). I think other parts of the municipality are supposed to be covered in separate city articles such as Qijiang and Dazu and linked from Chongqing (municipality). —Granger (talk · contribs) 21:40, 18 February 2018 (UTC)

complex plus and minus edit
Although this edit has added useful information, it has also removed a number of hotels from the page (although admittedly) mainly one-liners with no detail. Assume we let it stand? --Traveler100 (talk) 21:56, 4 March 2018 (UTC)