11-storey cliffside complex · Best after dark · The defining image of Chongqing
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Hongyadong (洪崖洞) is the image most people picture when they think of Chongqing. An 11-storey stilted building complex — built in the traditional diaojiaolou style — constructed directly into the clifftop above the Jialing River in Yuzhong District. After dark, the entire facade illuminates in red and gold, its layers of windows and balconies reflected in the river below.
The complex houses restaurants, bars, teahouses, and shops across multiple levels, connected by staircases and lifts. It is open all day, but a daytime visit misses the point entirely — the atmosphere that has made Hongyadong one of China's most shared travel images only exists after sunset.
In 2019, social media users noted the striking visual similarity between Hongyadong at night and the bathhouse in Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away. The comparison spread globally, and Chongqing's international visitor numbers accelerated sharply. CTS Tours includes a Hongyadong evening visit — followed by a Jialing River night cruise past the lit facade — on Day 4 of the Fire & Fuzz Chongqing and Chengdu tour.
In 2019, a Japanese social media user posted a side-by-side comparison of Hongyadong at night and the bathhouse in Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away. The visual similarities were striking: layered glowing windows stacked up a cliffside, surrounded by steam and atmospheric light, overlooking water below.
The post spread globally. Studio Ghibli never officially confirmed any connection — and likely none exists — but the comparison accelerated Chongqing's rise as an international travel destination. The city's visitor numbers grew sharply from 2019 onward, driven in part by travellers who wanted to stand in front of the building that looked like it came from a film they loved.
The comparison works because Hongyadong is genuinely extraordinary: a real, functioning mixed-use complex built directly into a clifftop, illuminated at night in a way that has no real Western parallel. The Ghibli comparison helped people who had never been to China understand what they were looking at.
Chongqing hot pot dinner near Jiefangbei — your guide recommends local restaurants, not tourist traps.
Walk to Hongyadong (10 min). Enter the complex and explore levels via staircases and lifts. Free to enter.
Walk to Qiansimen Bridge for the full panoramic view — the entire lit facade reflected in the Jialing River.
Optional: Jialing River night cruise (45–60 min) — pass Hongyadong from the water at its most dramatic angle. Included in Fire & Fuzz tour.
Fire & Fuzz — 10 days from NZD $2,999
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View All China Tours →Day 4 evening includes Hongyadong visit plus Jialing River night cruise — the best way to see the lit facade from the water.
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Day 4 evening: Hongyadong after dark, followed by a Jialing River cruise past the illuminated cliffside.
