The view that explains Chongqing

Chongqing is a city that photographs badly from street level. Everything is stacked, the fog eats the middle distance, and you cannot see the shape of the place. To understand it you need height.

Nanshan, the long ridge on the south bank of the Yangtze, gives you that height. The classic spot is called One Tree, or Yikeshu, and on a clear night you look north across the river at the whole peninsula lit up: the towers of Jiefangbei, the bridges, the two rivers meeting, the apartment blocks climbing the hills in layers.

Getting up there

There is no metro station at the viewpoint, so you have three options.

• Taxi or ride-hailing from the city centre. About 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic, which in Chongqing is a real variable.
• Cable car across the Yangtze, then a taxi up the hill. The cableway itself is worth doing and gives you a river crossing.
• A tour bus from the city, which is convenient but locks you into someone else's schedule.

I would take the cable car one way and a taxi back. That way you get the crossing and you do not have to queue twice.

When to go

Sunset to about an hour after dark. That is the window. Arrive before sunset, watch the lights come on, and leave before the taxis get impossible.

Weekends are crowded. The viewing platform has limited space and everyone wants the same photograph. On a weekday evening you can usually find a spot along the railing without much shoving.

One warning about the weather, and it is a big one. Chongqing is called the fog city for a reason. On a hazy night the view flattens into a grey smear and there is nothing to see. Check the air quality and humidity on the day. If it has rained and cleared, go immediately, because those are the best nights.

The hotpot street is the real prize

Here is what most visitors miss. Halfway up Nanshan there is a stretch of road that is nothing but hotpot restaurants, and it is where locals actually go. Not one famous place. Dozens of them, tables spilling onto terraces, all serving the same thing: a cauldron of beef tallow and chilli, and plates of tripe, beef, potato slices and greens.

It is not a tourist experience. It is a Chongqing experience. Bring a local if you can, order roughly two plates per person to start, and remember that the mild pot is still spicy.

Making a half day of it

Go up around 4pm. Walk a small section of the Nanshan trails, which are pleasant and almost empty, then eat hotpot at 6, then get to the viewpoint for sunset. That is a very good afternoon and evening, and it costs almost nothing beyond the taxi.

Pack layers. The hill is cooler than the city, and the mist that makes the view difficult also makes it cold.

Two other things sit on the same ridge if you want to stretch the day. There is an old botanical garden with big trees and very few people, and a stretch of Taoist temple above the hotpot road that is worth twenty minutes for the smell of incense alone. Neither appears in most guidebooks, which is precisely why they are still pleasant.

An honest note on the photo

The famous One Tree shot, the one with the whole peninsula glowing, requires a clear night and a decent camera with manual settings. Phone photos in low light will look like orange soup. If photography is the point of the trip, bring a tripod and go on a weekday.

If it is not, just stand there and look. Honestly, that is better.

Originally published on 71Asia Tours blog.