Chongqing broke my sense of direction. I have never been anywhere else where the ground floor of a building on one street is the eighth floor of the same building on another. The city climbs several hills where two rivers meet, and it does not flatten itself out for anybody's convenience.

It is also the fastest-growing city most visitors have never considered, and until recently it was mostly a stop on a Yangtze cruise. That has changed. Come now, before every rooftop has a queue, and you will get the raw version: night markets under flyovers, commuters riding escalators through mountains, and a skyline that looks computer-generated even when you are standing in front of it.

Understand the shape of the place

Chongqing sits at the meeting point of the Yangtze and the Jialing rivers. The main downtown area, Yuzhong, is a peninsula packed onto a ridge, and everything is either uphill, downhill, or a bridge. Navigation apps work, but they underestimate how long a 200-metre walk can take when it is all stairs.

The practical consequence: wear proper shoes, carry less than you think you need, and accept that a taxi may take twenty minutes to cover something that looks close on the map.

The sights worth the effort

Hongya Cave at night

A multi-storey complex of stilted buildings on the riverbank that lights up after dark, glowing gold against the black water. It is the photograph everyone takes, and it is worth it, but the interior is mostly shops and restaurants. Go for the view, look, then leave.

The Yangtze cable car

A short ride across the river in a small gondola. Cheap and quick, and it gives you a genuine sense of how the city is pinned between the water and the hills. Queue early or late to avoid the worst of it.

Liziba station

This is the monorail stop where the train runs straight through a residential tower, and residents have to live with it. You can buy a 2-yuan ticket, ride one stop and get off. The viewing platform outside the station is free and gives you the pass-through shot in a few minutes.

Ci Qi Kou old town

A restored riverside lane of teahouses, sweets and souvenir stalls. Tourist-heavy, yes, but the setting is lovely and the snack shops along the main street are a good place to try Chongqing's spicier street food without committing to a full meal.

Hotpot, and the local rules

Chongqing claims to have invented the thing, and they will tell you Chengdu's version is for people who cannot handle it. The local pot is beef tallow based, which makes it heavier and more aromatic than the vegetable-oil versions you find elsewhere, and the chilli is serious.

• Order the mandarin duck pot, half spicy, half not, unless everyone at the table is confident.
• Beef tripe, the signature ingredient, needs only about ten seconds. Any longer and it turns to rubber.
• The oil dish is the sauce. Sesame oil, garlic, and a little vinegar cuts the heat and is why locals do not actually burn out.
• Sit near the door if you can. The ventilation inside a Chongqing hotpot restaurant is a rumour.

What surprised me most

The city is friendlier than its reputation suggests. Chongqing has a gruff, straight-talking character, and I was helped by strangers more times in three days here than in a week elsewhere. The dialect is thick and even Mandarin speakers strain to follow it, so have your destination written down in Chinese characters.

When to go and how long to stay

Spring and autumn are far more comfortable than summer, which is genuinely punishing, and winter, which is grey, cold and damp. Two full days covers the core, and three lets you add a day trip to the Dazu rock carvings or Wulong. Most of the city's best moments are at night, so do not plan your sleep too carefully.

Originally published on 71Asia Tours blog.