Give the city itself one or two days
Four directions can be added from there: Wulong to the southeast, Dazu and Rongchang to the west, Diaoyucheng in Hechuan to the north, and Pengshui to Gongtan farther southeast.
Chongqing is inside the 240-hour transit area
Chongqing is inside the 240-hour visa-free transit area. Xinjiang and Gansu are not. If you are already traveling inside that transit area and want one more city, Chongqing can be added. Dunhuang is outside the area. A Dunhuang-and-Chongqing trip needs a tourist visa or unilateral visa-free entry. It cannot be done on the 240-hour transit waiver.
Chongqing Side Trips: Wulong, Dazu, Diaoyucheng & Gongtan
One extra day: Wulong. The Three Natural Bridges and Longshuixia are in the same natural World Heritage site and fit in a day.
For carvings and crafts: Dazu and Rongchang. In one day, do Baodingshan in the morning and Wanling in the afternoon. In two days, add Beishan, Xiabu, and the pottery.
For a quiet day and a clear piece of history: Diaoyucheng in Hechuan. Song defenders held this one fortress against the Mongol army for 36 years. Möngke Khan died here in 1259. The site has signs in Chinese and English.
Two days or more along the river: enter from Wulong, take a boat at Pengshui for the Wujiang, then Gongtan and Taohuayuan in Youyang. The route does not double back.
Chongqing City Highlights: Hongyadong & Yangtze Cableway
Use the metro and walk. Most attractions are free.
Hongyadong is free, open 9:00–23:00. The lights go on at 19:30 and off at 23:00. Holidays have a crowd cap. For the night view, stay out of the building. Go to the north end of Qiansimen Bridge, or to the riverbank by the Chongqing Grand Theatre. Both are free, with no queue. The lights are clearest from 20:00 to 22:00.
The Yangtze River Cableway is CNY 30 one way, CNY 50 return. Regular hours are 8:00–22:00, and 8:00–22:30 on holidays. Buy tickets in the official WeChat account “长江索道”. The account assigns your number. Tickets can be bought two days ahead. Board with the QR code. No ID card is required. Take it north to south. Longmenhao old street is at the south station.
Ciqikou, Jiefangbei, the Liziba metro-through-the-building viewpoint, the Shancheng footpaths, Shibati, and Baixiangju are free. The Three Gorges Museum is free, closed on Monday, last entry at 16:00. A passport is accepted. Huguang Guild Hall is CNY 32. Luohan Temple is CNY 20. The Huangguan escalator is CNY 2 one way. Zhazidong and Baigongguan are free with advance booking, on Gele Mountain. Leave them off a tight schedule. The short two-river ferry is CNY 15, from Hongyadong to Danzishi. The night cruise is CNY 128–158.
If you prefer a pre-planned route, book a 4-Day Chongqing Classic Tour. Two days in the city. Day 1: Jiefangbei, Bayi Food Street, Baixiangju, the cableway, Longmenhao, and Hongyadong from Qiansimen Bridge in the evening. Day 2: Liziba, Testbed 2 at Eling, Ciqikou, the Shancheng footpaths or Shibati, and the Guanyinqiao night market.
For transport, buy the CNY 18 metro day pass, unlimited for 24 hours. Or scan with Yuchangxing (渝畅行) in Alipay or WeChat.
Wulong Karst Day Trip from Chongqing (1–2 Days)
The Three Natural Bridges are the largest group of natural bridges in Asia: Tianlong, Qinglong, and Heilong, across one gorge. Curse of the Golden Flower and Transformers: Age of Extinction filmed here. The peak-season ticket is CNY 155, including the shuttle and the sightseeing elevator. The off-season ticket is CNY 95. Hours are about 8:00–17:00.
Longshuixia is a fissure about 200–500 meters deep. The ticket is CNY 105. A combined ticket with the bridges is CNY 195. Xiannüshan is CNY 50. In summer the mountain averages about 21°C, roughly 15°C cooler than the city. The small train inside the park is CNY 25.
The high-speed train is the simple way in. Chongqing East to Wulongnan takes about 35 minutes at the fastest, second class about CNY 80. Outside the station, the tourist bus is about CNY 16 and about 40 minutes to the Xiannüshan visitor center. Driving takes about 2.5 hours.
One day: the bridges and Longshuixia. Two days: both on day 1, overnight in Xiannüshan town; Xiannüshan on day 2. If time remains, add Furong Cave, about CNY 150 in peak season.
The sightseeing elevator at the bridges can mean a wait of about 40 minutes in peak season. Be there for the first group after the 8:30 opening. The Longshuixia walkway is wet. Wear shoes with grip. The mountain is cooler than the city. Bring a light layer even in summer.
Dazu and Rongchang, 1 or 2 days
Dazu is for the UNESCO rock carvings. Rongchang is for two national heritage crafts, Xiabu ramie cloth and pottery, plus Wanling old town. The drive between them is about 50 kilometers, about an hour. By high-speed train from Chongqing West or Shapingba, Dazu South is about 30 minutes. The return from Rongchang North is about 25 minutes, so the day can run as a loop.
Baodingshan and Beishan at Dazu are cave carvings where Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist figures share one site, with more than 50,000 statues from the Tang and Song. Baodingshan has a 31-meter reclining Buddha. The combined ticket is about CNY 170. Use the price in the WeChat account “大足石刻” on the day. In peak season, book a day ahead. Baodingshan in the morning, Beishan in the afternoon. Beishan is quieter, and the carving is finer. Hire the site’s own guide. Without one, much of what is cut into the stone goes unexplained.
Three Rongchang sites are free: Wanling old town (4A), Antao pottery town (4A), and Xiabu town (3A), as listed by Rongchang district.
Wanling sits on the Laixi River, a waterside town settled by Ming-dynasty migrants. Darong Bridge, Yanyu Lane, the guild hall, and the Zhao ancestral hall are in the town. A covered boat is CNY 30. There are few shops.
Antao is for Rongchang pottery, one of China’s four famous potteries. Potters throw clay in the museum. A hands-on session is about CNY 50. The piece can be fired and mailed home. It works well with children.
In the late afternoon, go to Xiabu town for the Xiabu museum and the indigo workshop. The lights after dark show the lanes more clearly than daylight. Weaving is about CNY 30.
For a meal, have Rongchang braised goose, chicken-broth pugai noodles, or yellow cold jelly. The goose can be vacuum-packed to take away.
One day: Baodingshan in the morning, Wanling in the afternoon, Xiabu after dark, then back to Chongqing. Two days: Baodingshan and Beishan on day 1, overnight in Rongchang city or a riverside guesthouse in Wanling. Day 2 is Antao, Xiabu, and a slow walk in the old town. The hands-on sessions for the day stay under CNY 150.
Diaoyucheng and Laitan, 1 day
Diaoyucheng is a Song-dynasty mountain fortress. Its garrison held off the Mongol army for 36 years. Möngke Khan died here in 1259, and the Mongol push farther west stopped. The fortress stands where the Jialing, Fu, and Qu rivers meet. The hill paths are shaded and rarely queued. The site has a 5-kilometer one-way loop.
The ticket is CNY 60. Free entry ended on 3 March 2024. Hours are 8:30–17:00, including holidays. Book under your real name in the WeChat account “钓鱼城遗址”. Visitors 65 and over, and children 5 and under, are free. Ages 60–64, and students, pay half.
The site shuttle runs 8:30–18:00, about every 20 minutes, CNY 15 return. From the ticket office to the core is still about 3 kilometers uphill. Take the shuttle.
See Huguo Gate, Diaoyutai, the late-Tang hanging reclining Buddha, the Dudiao Zhongyuan stone arch, and the Jiukouguo site. The history museum inside the fortress is free Wednesday to Sunday.
Chongqing West or Chongqing North to Hechuan is about 25 minutes by high-speed train. Then bus G001, or a taxi of 15–30 minutes, to the visitor center.
Laitan fits the same day. The old town is free. Erfo Temple inside it is CNY 20, with Song-dynasty cave carvings and very few visitors.
Pengshui, Gongtan, and the southeast, 2 days
Gongtan stands on the Wujiang, with many of its stilt houses still in place. The boat from Pengshui takes about an hour. A speedboat takes about 40 minutes. That stretch of water is the Wujiang gallery. The old town is free. The boat ticket is separate.
Driving from Chongqing takes about 4–5 hours. Or take a train to Youyang and transfer, about 1.5 hours more. Pair it with Wulong as a two- or three-day line: Wulong, the Wujiang at Pengshui, Gongtan, and Taohuayuan in Youyang. Taohuayuan is CNY 100. The line does not double back. It suits a slower trip built around the river and the old towns.
How many days
Three days: one in the city, one in Wulong, one for Dazu and Rongchang.
Four days: add Diaoyucheng and Laitan. Or keep the extra day in the city and see Yikeshu on Nanshan at night.
Five days: two in the city, two in Wulong, one for Dazu and Rongchang.
Seven days: two in the city, two in Wulong, two for Pengshui, Gongtan, and Youyang, one for Dazu and Rongchang.
If you entered under the 240-hour visa-free transit rules, put Chongqing at the end: the city plus Wulong, about three days. This stretch needs no border permit. Dunhuang is outside that transit area and cannot be joined to Chongqing on the same waiver.
Before you go
For Hongyadong, go to Qiansimen Bridge. Inside the building are shops. Holidays are capped, and the elevator stops at the ninth floor.
The cableway queue is managed in its WeChat account. For a shorter wait, go before 11:00, or after 21:30.
Use the metro in the city. Taxis often have to take long detours on multi-layered roads. Map apps misread the floor. The spot where you are standing may already be the 22nd. At a junction you cannot match to the map, ask someone local.
Order hotpot mild, or half-and-half. Weiyi soy milk takes the heat down. Carry stomach medicine.
In summer the city approaches 40°C. Xiannüshan in Wulong is cooler. Winter is damp and cold. Wear walking shoes the whole time. The city is slopes and steps.
If the driver who meets you insists on one particular “original hotpot restaurant,” that stop is a commission. A day tour priced well below the normal rate usually includes a shopping stop, or a transport charge that appears later.
Carry your passport at free museums. Metro gates take Alipay or WeChat. No separate transit card is required. Chongqing Zoo is CNY 25 in peak season and keeps giant pandas, so a panda visit does not require a separate trip to Sichuan. English-speaking guides and private cars are concentrated in Jiefangbei and Jiangbei. Have your ground operator book them before you arrive. Diaoyucheng has signs in Chinese and English. The three Rongchang sites are free, and the pottery and weaving sessions suit a family that wants to take part.
Chongqing: 4-Day In-Depth City Tour
4-Day Chongqing & Wulong Classic Tour
Chongqing & Wulong: 5-Day In-Depth Tour
5-Day Chongqing, Wulong, Pengshui & Gongtan Ancient Town Tour