Chaotianmen

朝天门 (朝天門, Cháotiānmén)

Chaotianmen lies at the confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers, at the tip of Yuzhong peninsula. From here, the Yangtze River can be explored by boat, or you can enjoy the view of the panorama with the Chaotianmen Bridge. Below the plaza is also an exhibit with numerous models for urban development in Chongqing (The Urban Planning Exhibition).

Chaotianmen is home to numerous port facilities. However, some of the old cableways that took tourists down to the ships have already been shut down:

Chongqing Harbor

The large open plaza in the renovated part of the port offers an excellent view of the skyscrapers of Jiefangbei CBD:

Chaotianmen Square

You can also view the mouth of the Jialing River where it joins the Yangtze River.

Confluence of Jialing and Yangtze in Chongqing

In the background is the Chaotianmen steel bridge, which with a span of 1811 feet is the longest arch bridge in the world.

Chaotianmen Bridge in Chongqing

Below the plaza, the Urban Planning Exhibition displays numerous models that offer interesting insights into the geography and future urban development of Chongqing. In one extensive model, the narrow Jialing River and wider Yangtze River are beautiful to see, along with the numerous hills that surround the city and separate some districts from the city center:

Model of Chongqing

This model shows how the area around the Central Park will look in a few years. Several interesting sites appear, including the Chongqing Grand Theatre (in green) and the Chongqing Science and Technology Museum. The arch bridge on the right way is the Chaotianmen Bridge:

Future Central Park in Chongqing

However, also the environment of Chaotianmen will be redesigned. Due to increased land values, two 330-foot-high buildings, the Three Gorges Hotel and the Port Authority, were demolished on September 1, 2012, to make room for much higher buildings:

Construction Ground in Chongqing

How to get there

Take the CRT Line 1 to the Chaotianmen Station (opening soon; otherwise disembark at the Xiaoshenzi Station, then take a 15-minute walk). Other attractions in the vicinity are the Luohan Temple, the Yangtze River Cableway, the Huguang Guild Hall and Hongyadong.