Chongqing Tours: City Days, Night Cruises and Day Trips

The Stops Most Days Share

Five stops come back on almost every city day.

Liziba Station is where Line 2 runs straight through a building on its sixth and seventh floors. The station was completed in March 2004, and a dedicated viewing platform of about 1,367 square metres faces the tracks. Classic Chongqing City Day Tour with the Yangtze Cableway, Chongqing 8D Mountain City Small-Group Day Tour, Chongqing City Highlights Day Tour with an English Guide, Chongqing Cyber City Private Day Tour, Chongqing 8D Hidden Highlights Private Day Tour and Premium Private Chongqing Highlights Tour all include it.

The Yangtze River Cableway opened on 24 October 1987 as the first aerial passenger crossing of the river and now takes more than 4 million visits a year. The fare is $4.50 (CNY 30) one way or $7.49 (CNY 50) return, and it runs 7:30-22:30 from 1 March to 31 October and 7:30-21:30 from 1 November to the end of February. The north station sits at 151 Xinhua Road, about 20 metres from Exit 5B of Xiaoshizi Station on Lines 1 and 6. The cableway ticket is in the price on the classic city day, the 8D small-group day, the City Highlights day and the 8D private day.

Hongyadong is a free 13-storey stack of stilt houses climbing the cliff at the Yangtze-Jialing confluence. Take Line 2 to Linjiangmen and walk about 500 metres. Every city day on this page stops there or ends there.

The Jiefangbei monument is 27.5 m tall, was completed in 1941 and is open 24 hours at 177 Minzu Road. The 8D small-group day and the premium private tour stop there.

Ciqikou Ancient Town on the Jialing River is free to enter and reached by Line 1. The classic city day, the City Highlights day and the 8D private day include it, and the premium private tour adds it on its second option.

What Each City Day Puts in the Price

The paid pieces of a city day are the Yangtze River Cableway, the Sky Platform 131 deck, the Crown Escalator, the Great Hall of the People and Luohan Temple. The table below fills in what each listing covers from the entries and inclusions printed on its own booking page. Read it before you compare prices, because a $45 ticket and a $165 ticket do not carry the same gates.

Small Group, Private or by Metro

Three formats shape the day. Chongqing 8D Mountain City Small-Group Day Tour caps the group at 8 travellers and runs even if the minimum group size is not met.

Classic Chongqing City Day Tour with the Yangtze Cableway runs as a shared group of up to 10 with a driver-guide who introduces things on the car but does not go inside the sights. Its private option puts an English-speaking guide beside you inside every attraction.

Chongqing City Highlights Day Tour with an English Guide guarantees one seat per guest and accepts no solo bookings. Under 18s must be accompanied, guests aged 70 and over sign a health certificate with a family member, and ages 80 and over are not accepted.

Chongqing Cyber City Private Day Tour is a private day on buses, metro and the Crown Escalator, with taxi or Didi rides paid on the spot.

Premium Private Chongqing Highlights Tour is door to door, with an air-conditioned vehicle and a driver.

Going Alone Between the Same Stops

The whole circuit works without a tour. Chongqing Rail Transit charges by distance, from $0.30 (CNY 2) for the first 4 km up to $1.35 (CNY 9) for 40 to 55 km, then 1 yuan for each extra 20 km. Pay by transit QR code in the WeChat Transit QR Code mini-program or the Alipay Transport section.

The cableway north station is about 20 metres from Xiaoshizi Exit 5B. For Hongyadong, ride Line 2 to Linjiangmen and walk about 500 metres. The Great Hall of the People entry is $1.20 (CNY 8), and the Three Gorges Museum beside it on Renmin Road is free. Police can run random identity checks, so carry the original passport on the day.

Two Rivers Night Cruise

Two Rivers Night Cruise with VIP Seats and Live Show runs 50 minutes from Chaotianmen Dock along both rivers, past the confluence, with a VIP seat, live onboard performances and light snacks and soft drinks. It is not a full meal. Give your full name and passport number exactly as on your passport when booking, because they are needed for ticket issuance, and note the platform QR code is not the boarding pass. The official e-ticket arrives by message on the day of boarding.

Yangtze Night Cruise and Illuminated Chongqing Private Tour is the private version, 3-4 hours with hotel pickup, an English-speaking local guide, the cruise ticket and bottled water. It adds a stop at Hongyadong lit up, and alcoholic drinks are extra.

Rooftop Viewpoints

Chongqing Night View Tour to Hidden Viewpoints spends 3 evening hours with a private guide moving between viewpoints around the Chongqing Grand Theatre and Longmenhao Old Street by 3 taxi rides and 1 metro ride, all in the price. Food, drinks and hotel pickup are extra. The listing says it is not suitable for people with mobility impairments, and guides work in English, Spanish, Italian or French.

The 1949 Show

Chongqing 1949 Grand Theater Show Ticket is a 75-minute immersive performance set on the eve of Chongqing's liberation in 1949, staged on a 360-degree rotating circular stage at 54 Ciqikou Zhengjie Street. The seat is in the price. An English headset rents free at the ticket office against a refundable deposit per person, paid in cash, WeChat Pay or Alipay and returned after use.

The platform QR code is not valid, so check your messages for the correct one.

Night Tours Side by Side

The evening options run from a 50-minute cruise to a 4-hour private food walk, and the figures below come from each listing's own price and inclusions. Compare length against what the price actually covers before you book.

The Food Tours

Chongqing Food Tour with Night Views is a 3.5-hour walk with food at 4 restaurants, a traditional dessert to finish and unlimited local beer and soft drinks, capped at 12 travellers. Meet at Linjiangmen Subway Station Exit 2 at street level, where the station serves Line 2 and the guide waits outside.

Private Chongqing Food Tour and Night View is a 4-hour private walk for 2 to 10 people with 4 to 5 food and drink stops, taxi and Didi rides included and a private local guide in English, Spanish, Italian or French. It ends with a panoramic night skyline view of the Yuzhong peninsula. Halal and flexitarian options are available. Meet at Linjiangmen Station Exit 1.

Spice and Pacing

Tell your guide your spice level at the start. Chongqing hotpot runs hot, and the guide can steer the order to suit the table.

Both walks run into the evening and finish with a skyline view. One note on the private option: the listing for Private Chongqing Food Tour and Night View does not recommend it for pregnant travellers or travellers with poor cardiovascular health.

Food on the City Days

Lunch and dinner sit outside the price on the city days. Meals and drinks are excluded on Classic Chongqing City Day Tour with the Yangtze Cableway, Chongqing City Highlights Day Tour with an English Guide, Chongqing Cyber City Private Day Tour, Chongqing 8D Hidden Highlights Private Day Tour and Premium Private Chongqing Highlights Tour. On the City Highlights day and the Cyber City day a local restaurant lunch is an optional extra, and the Cyber City day leaves taxi rides to you.

If food matters most to you, book a dedicated food walk and keep the city day for the sights.

240-Hour Visa-Free Transit

The 240-hour transit policy covers nationals of 57 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia. Entry is through 65 designated ports in 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. You need an ordinary passport and an onward ticket with a confirmed seat and departure date to a third country or region.

The stay is capped at 10 days and counted from 00:00 on the day after entry. After landing, go to the temporary entry permit counter in the arrivals hall. Travel, business, family visits and reunions are allowed.

Work, study and news reporting are not, and still need the proper visa.

30-Day Visa-Free Entry

Separately, ordinary-passport holders from the countries on China's unilateral visa-free list can enter for business, tourism, visits to relatives and friends, exchanges or transit for up to 30 days. The 30 days are counted from 00:00 on the day after entry. GOV.UK confirms UK nationals can enter China visa-free for stays of up to 30 days until 31 December 2026.

The United States is not on this list, so Americans use a visa or the 240-hour transit.

Arrival Card, Registration and Passport

Foreign nationals can submit the China Arrival Card online before travel through the NIA website, the 12367 app or WeChat and Alipay mini-programs. A saved QR code works for border clearance. GOV.UK advises a passport valid at least 6 months after arrival with 2 blank pages.

Visitors must register their place of residence within 24 hours of arrival, and hotels do this at check-in, though anyone staying in a private home registers themselves. Carry the passport itself, since police run random identity checks and printed copies are not accepted. Train tickets are sold under real names, and two bookable tours ask for passport details at booking: the Two Rivers Night Cruise with VIP Seats and Live Show needs your full name and passport number exactly as printed, and the Wulong Three Natural Bridges with Longshui Gorge or Fairy Mountain needs each traveller's passport number, date of birth and nationality.

Paying and Staying Connected

Alipay and WeChat Pay are almost universal in Chongqing, and both accept linked Visa or Mastercard cards. Outside major cities cards may be refused and ATMs are scarce, so carry some cash, and check notes before accepting them because counterfeits are common. Google, YouTube, Facebook and X are blocked in China.

Didi accepts foreign mobile numbers and international cards, so ride-hailing works without a local SIM. Emergency numbers are 110 for police, 119 for fire, 120 for medical rescue and 122 for road accidents.

The 4-Day Cruise

The 4-Day Yangtze River Cruise from Chongqing to Yichang costs $1,200 per person on a Century Cruises ship. The price covers 3 nights in a cabin, all meals and a bilingual Chinese and English guide onboard. Sailings run on Century Victory on Wednesdays, Century Oasis on Saturdays and Century Glory on Sundays, per the listing.

Smart casual dress is required for the Captain's Welcome Reception. Extras sit on top: a cruise service charge per adult aged 12 and over, optional shore excursions, a single room supplement of 75% more for solo travellers wanting a cabin alone, and pier or hotel transfers. All sales are final, so this ticket is non-refundable.

The Gorges and the Dam

From west to east the Three Gorges are Qutang, Wu and Xiling, cut where the Yangtze passes through Wushan in Chongqing's north-east. Below them stands the Three Gorges Dam, with a crest at 185 m and a length of 2,309.5 m, per the Ministry of Water Resources. Travellers short of time can take the one-day public cruise from Fengjie to Maoping, about 7 hours through all three gorges.

On that departure the ship leaves Baotaping Wharf in Fengjie at 9:00 and arrives at Maoping Port around 15:30.

A Shorter Taste of the River

Not every traveller wants four days on the water. Within the city, the Two Rivers Night Cruise with VIP Seats and Live Show runs 50 minutes from Chaotianmen Dock along both rivers for $58 per person, with a VIP seat, a live show and light snacks but no full meal. The Yangtze Night Cruise and Illuminated Chongqing Private Tour costs $138 per person for 3-4 hours with hotel pickup, a private guide and the cruise ticket in the price.