When he visited Chongkin last November, Joshua Guvi was worried that the cities he saw on social media weren’t that cool in real life.
Located in a mountainous region in southwestern China, this vast metropolitan city is known for its complex, multi-layered layout, and some call it the “8D city” of China. The entire area, including the outer part of the countryside, is the size of Austria. Due to the city’s unique inland geography and rapid growth, Chonging went nowhere, but not even a single building passed through the middle of it.
For tourists, and even some locals, who are lost in serpentine, the eye-opening chords are part of the fun.
“It actually shot a lot in response to my expectations,” says Guvi, a travel content creator in Canada.
These moments were compiled into videos on Guvi’s YouTube channel. He writes: “Chunkin feels like he’s peering into the future. Neon lives in motion. The city has its own pulse.”
The words are clearly mentioned. Guvi began his trip in Shanghai, but he says he wanted to experience a more authentic Chinese city soon.
“I’ve heard some people talk about it in Shanghai… Shanghai is a great city, but I wanted to see more of the real China compared to things like Shanghai that you can still get in English.”
He is not the only city to bypass Beijing, Xi’an and other cities in favor of Chongkin, along established Chinese tourist routes. Chord tourism has skyrocketed since the country reopened after the pandemic.
Social media has become the main way for young travelers to learn about the city. One virus post on Instagram shows the building that says, “I think you’re on the first floor, but in reality it’s 12th.”
According to data released by the government of Chong-Gin, the city welcomed around 1.3 million inbound tourists in 2024, representing an increase of 184% year-on-year.
In the first two months of 2025, the number of foreigners entering the city’s ports increased by 60% year-on-year, according to the Chili Immigration Bureau.
Local travel agency manager Li Tian says the city’s viral popularity has led to a “20-30% increase in foreign visitors.” She added: “We host more than 20,000 tourists each year, with international tourists currently accounting for around 10%. The outlook for inbound tourism is very promising.”
In response to growing international demand, the agency has added tours in English, Spanish, Thai, Japanese and Korean.
Li says that most foreign tourists usually stay in Chongkin for about five days.
Geographical proximity and affordable airfares make the majority of tourists come from Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea, but there is also an increase in visitors from Europe and Australia.
In fact, American tourists have seen the most notable increase. So, it’s particularly impressive considering that the only direct flight from the US to chili peppers is a weekly event on Hainan Airlines.
“At this point, the US is the number one country from a client-based perspective, accounting for around 20%. That’s already hundreds,” said Chen Min, the founder of a private travel agency founded late last year.
Chen launched a boutique travel agency after realising Cheong-Gin’s burgeoning popularity overseas. His company specializes in customized full and half-day experience for small groups of 1-4 people.
“In the first month, we only had a few orders. In the second case, maybe a dozen,” recalls Chen. “Now we receive hundreds of bookings each month,” he explained that the number of tourists fluctuates seasonally. Some of them explained that June tends to be medium, but December and April – Christmas and Spring Break are much more busy.
On Chen’s website, the most popular products include walking tours of the city’s old town and scenic hiking trails, and a themed itinerary that follows the steps of the viral trip of popular American YouTuber Ishowspeed this April.
Other feature destinations include the abolished nuclear military factory, the rock sculptures of Daz and three natural bridges in Oolong.
Defining the architecture of cheonggging is a challenge, a science fiction genre set in the lawless subculture of an oppressive society dominated by computer technology, with many dubbing Cyberpunk.
“Chongu’s architectural style is unique,” says Matthew Blair, 34, an American who moved to the city in 2009.
Wang Linkin, a 27-year-old Chungkin native who had previously studied in the United States, has become a freelance tour guide. He recently led a team of 20 American college students in the city.
“When I found out they were college students, I pulled out Luffy’s straw hat, which had been forgotten for a long time,” Wang says. “It was a big group so I needed something for them to follow. When I put on my hat, they call me ‘Luffy’ and trail behind me. ”
Wang took them on a tour that reflected Ishau Speed’s livestream adventure, including outdoor hillside escalators, towering 20-storey elevated overpasses and internet-famous “Kui Singh Building” that reflects the live stream adventures of Ishau Speed.
“They kept asking me questions,” Wang recalls. “Why is the eighth floor of one building connected to the first floor of another building? Are the monorails passing through the building blocking residents? Why are some windows covered with cages?”
In fact, Chongqing’s unique multidimensional layout is not an aesthetic design, but a need.
Located at the junction of the Jairing and Youngtze rivers in China, Chong is often referred to as “mountain city.” Housed with more than 32 million residents, the city traverses valleys, hillsides, river valleys and layered skylines. The highly challenging geography makes urban planning for traditional flatlands almost impossible with chili peppers.
Instead, the functions of the city are organized and stacked in height. Transportation systems, residential buildings, commercial areas, sky gardens and pedestrian squares are all layered in terrain.
Buildings often have entrances on multiple levels, depending on the surrounding street level based on topography. As a result, a single skyscraper will have entry-level access on the first, 12th or 20th floors, creating what is called an incredible “8D space.”
Wang led a group of 20 American college students to one of the most iconic examples of Chonggin’s unique architectural landscape town, the Riziba Monorail Station, where the monorail passes through residential buildings built on a hillside that stretches along the Yangtze River deep in the town.
“That’s when I realized the most valuable reward of being a guide,” he added. “Through the eyes of travelers, I have started falling in love with my hometown again.”
In addition to his dramatic geography and urban visuals, Blair says he is passionate about all the spicy, but the food says he has kept him in Chongkin for 15 years.
“The tons of street food, late night barbecues and 2am hot pot restaurant also highlight CQ and frankly tasty,” Blair said. “The locals are resilient and as spicy as the food. They are generous, loud and alive. And they want you to be part of the culture.”
Like Beijing and Shanghai, Chonging is one of four state-level municipalities directly controlled by China’s central government.
And this little-known economic hub, located upstream of the Youngtu River, has quietly held its position for the past five years as China’s fifth largest economy. Last year, they surpassed Guangzhou to rank fourth in the nation, behind only Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen.
Due to its unique history and geography, the city has long been seen by the central government as a strategic hub for China’s “West” development campaign. During World War II, Chongking served as a wartime capital thanks to its mountainous regions and natural defenses. Today, the remnants of wartime military sites and foreign embassies coexist with everyday life in the city. Enjoy hot pots at the underground bomb shelter restaurant.
With the centre of gravity going viral online, local governments have invested heavily in both economic growth and cultural promotion.
In June this year, Chongqing announced its latest high-speed train station. Built to accommodate a large number of passengers, this passenger may be the world’s largest high-speed train station ever completed in a single phase.
As for Junggin’s dazzling nightscape, Zhao Wenjing, 41, from Junggin, says it has been decades since.
“It started around 30 years ago that Jeong-gin’s night view began around 30 years ago,” she said.
Last year, a comprehensive lighting plan was implemented for the Central Urban District of Chong. The city continues to develop night view observation points from multiple perspectives, both up and down, adding an outline illuminated by the Skyline’s landmark buildings.
Independent tour guide WAN also noted that the chili government promotes tourism in the city and is very aggressive in organizing regular drone shows, holiday light displays and fireworks shows.
During the peak travel season, local residents receive text messages from the government and kindly ask to stay home to increase the room for tourists to visit.
“I really believe there will be more and more international travelers coming,” says Zhao. “After all, the atmosphere at Chongqing is something that cannot be replaced by any other part of the world.”
Meanwhile, China’s recent wave of visa-free initiatives is part of a wider push to promote inbound travel.
Starting in December 2023, China has granted visa-free access to citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia. As of June 2025, China has unilaterally implemented visa-free entry for citizens of 47 countries, offering a simplified entry policy on arrival or simplified entry policies in a total of 54 countries.
Chongking Immigration Bureau data shows that in the first two months of 2025, the number of foreigners entering through visa-free access increased by 245% year-on-year.
Guvi tells CNN he will definitely recommend his friends and followers.
“I want us to stay longer,” he said.
