Chongqing has many nicknames, such as the Mountain City, the Fog City, and is famously known as one of China’s “furnace cities.” Of course, considering the humidity, it should really be called a “steamer city.” It is the only directly-administered municipality in western China, making it a key component of the Western Development Strategy. With the Yangtze River flowing through it, it also serves as a major shipping hub for the region.
I’ve been to Chengdu several times, but I had never visited Chongqing. The main reason was that I didn’t have many friends there, so it was always hard to find an opportunity to go alone. Unexpectedly, I won a free flight ticket during a China Southern Airlines Member Day promotion, which turned out to be perfect timing.
The InterContinental Chongqing is located at Jiefangbei, the city’s central business district. Jiefangbei is nestled between the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, with a pedestrian street nearby that holds a status similar to Nanjing Road in Shanghai. As such, the hotel’s location is roughly equivalent to being near People’s Square. The streets below are always packed with people, and traffic congestion can be quite severe. Fortunately, everything is within easy reach, making shopping and dining incredibly convenient.
The hotel is showing its age. Although it opened in 2006, the building itself was constructed around 1999. The elevators are very slow, and since the property hasn’t undergone any renovations since opening, the facilities feel somewhat dated and the decor style is quite old-fashioned. However, the service is excellent, and the food quality is top-notch. I was assigned an Executive Room on the top floor (38th floor). The room was spacious, though unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a view—just a faint glimpse of the Yangtze River peeking through the gaps between buildings.
Hotel exterior
The room’s decor style is very old-fashioned.
The bathroom is a bit small, and the bathtub is so tiny that it’s practically unusable.
Welcome fruit and snacks:
View from the window, offering the same angle as the view from the Club Lounge downstairs.
The lounge isn’t too crowded. The Happy Hour offers a wide variety of delicious options, and the service is excellent. Afternoon tea, Happy Hour, and breakfast are all great. It’s very quiet, and they even serve fresh-squeezed juice in the morning.
The Lobby Bar on the first floor looks a bit worn, but there’s a big bear to keep lonely guests company. On weekend nights, there’s live singing, and the performers are actually pretty good.
The drink included with the beverage voucher is the same one served during the lounge’s Happy Hour~~
Next to the hotel is the Guotai Arts Center, which also houses the Chongqing Art Museum.
Finally, here are two photos of the night view at Jiefangbei.
I barely made any plans for this trip to Chongqing—you could say I took a pretty laid-back approach. There are plenty of trendy, Instagram-worthy spots in the city, most of which just require a quick photo op. I mostly stayed within the urban area and didn’t venture to more distant locations. Actually, some scenic areas in the mountains further out look quite appealing, but I’ll save those for a future visit when I have more time. In upcoming posts, I’ll share a few places I visited during this trip.
Photos in this post taken with a SONY A5100 + 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, edited in Lightroom.
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