Day in Chongqing

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Taking the train to Chongqing was another long ride, so we opted for the hard sleeper. It was much more comfortable than the hard seat - I was actually able to sleep!

We arrived at Chongqing around 9am. It was raining lightly. The station was chaotic getting out; luckily the tour group that we signed up with had someone meet us at the train station. We went back to the tour office, settled up the bill for the cruise, dropped off our bags and had 9 hours to kill in the city. We were both getting a little hungry, so we headed out to find some food. During our trek we were able to see many interesting things in the city.

The city is undergoing huge development everywhere. In the inner city centre there were many buildings that were reduced to rubble. While many sites were in the process of putting up new, larger buildings. I was very surprised when I heard the population of the city. The inner downtown core has about 9 million - the greater area of Chongqing has roughly 30 million!!! That's hard to belive when you think that Canada only has about 33 million...

At 8pm we had to be back at the tour office so that we could board the boat that we would be using to cruise down the Yangtze River. In a few days I would be looking at massive gorges and the grand finally - The Three Gorges Dam.

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Photos

River View
Cranes also littered the skyline in Chongqing.

Hard Sleeper
It was a tight squeeze, but once I got into the bed, it was quite comfortable! 6 beds were in one area.

Waterfall
This waterfall was at the base of the hotel.

Old and new
A few buildings in the centre of the city were very old and run down. Construction has begun for most of them. The buildings in the background give you an idea of what will be built.

Shopping Mall
This shopping mall was right in the middle of the city square.

Construction
Another large bridge being built to cross the busy river.

A delicious meal
This was a noodle soup with onions and chile peppers. Soup + Beer = $1 :)

Party Boat
This boat was really lit up. We were a little angry that our boat was decorated like this one.

Ducks and Chickens
This picture was taken in the local supermarket. You can choose your bird, then they'll prepare it for you to take home. A little different from Loblaws...