CHONGQING – From the main entrance of Baixiangju, located along a busy road in Chongqing municipality, the residential compound’s three buildings appear no taller than 15 storeys.
But step inside the greying compound built in the early 1990s and a different scene unfolds. Unit numbers show that the apartments closest to the main entrance are on the 11th floor, while those at the end of the corridor sit on level 16.
Look down from the linkway connecting the blocks to the entrance and the true height of the buildings is revealed – they rise about 25 storeys high. The lower floors, hidden by steep slopes, extend downhill and open out through different entrances and exits.
Welcome to one of Chongqing’s most iconic examples of why the municipality is dubbed China’s “8-D magical city”, where navigating its buildings feels like stepping into a multidimensional maze.
With about three-quarters of Chongqing’s land covered by mountains, its urban planners have had to build differently, creating a complex, multi-layered landscape that defies conventional logic but powers a thriving metropolis.
The city’s evolution into a model for megacity governance offers lessons in adapting to geographical constraints, while also serving as a cautionary tale about the risks of heavy infrastructure investment and rising local government debt.
From far, Baixiangju looks like any other high-rise residential complex in Chongqing.
Upon closer look, what appears to be its ground level main entrance is actually the 11th floor of the closest building.
A sloping road connects various entrances on different levels at different buildings in the complex.
There are no lifts in the complex, only staircases.
Tourists are drawn here to take photos of this architectural maze.
Singaporean Marcus Yeo, who visited Chongqing in June, told The Straits Times at Baixiangju in Yuzhong district that he was drawn to the city after watching Instagram videos of its buildings.
“I just couldn’t comprehend what the city was like when I watched the videos. There are some really intriguing buildings here that have become mazes because of the varying heights of the slopes that they are constructed on,” said the 33-year-old information technology consultant.
The city planners have built around natural obstacles to turn Chongqing into China’s largest city by land size – about 82,400 sq km – and by population, with 31.9 million people, based on official data.
Today, it is both an industrial powerhouse and a social media sensation, with its unique cityscape drawing tourists and content creators alike.
Chongqing’s rapid development is rooted in both necessity and ambition – from its role as China’s capital during World War II to its designation as one of the four municipalities, and now an important engine of growth in the country’s western region.
For more than six decades, the urban population in China has grown significantly. World Bank data shows that it increased to 65 per cent in 2023, up from 16 per cent in 1960 when records started.
Chongqing is one of the fastest-growing Chinese cities, having overtaken Guangzhou in 2022 to be the country’s fourth-largest economy, after financial centre Shanghai, capital Beijing and tech hub Shenzhen.
Its gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.7 per cent in 2024 on the back of strong manufacturing. That was higher than the national average of 5 per cent.
In 2025, the city is aiming for a growth rate of 6 per cent – 1 percentage point higher than the national target – even as China faces rising external pressure, including tensions with the United States over trade and tariffs.
Turning mountains into a metropolis
While mountains and rivers are part of the distinctive landscape of the south-western municipality, they also make city planning unusually complex, said Mayor Hu Henghua.
Three-quarters of its land is mountainous, almost double that of the national average for a Chinese city.
Chongqing is built on mountainous terrain
This poses challenges to urban planning, construction and governance, Mr Hu said in response to a question from ST during a media conference of local and foreign journalists in May.
Officials have thus prioritised public transport, with rail transit at the forefront, weaving through the hilly terrain to ease pressures from population density and high car ownership.
Mr Hu noted that in Chongqing’s central urban area, often called the central city, there are at least 2.3 million cars, with the number increasing each year. As at 2023, about 10.5 million residents lived in this central area, which spans nine districts covering 5,467 sq km.
Analysts told ST that Chongqing’s rapid development, including its extensive public transport network, is built on its history as China’s wartime capital, when migrants from all over the country sought refuge in the city.
During World War II between 1937 and 1945, Chongqing’s population reportedly more than doubled to over one million.
Many migrants chose to live in established settlements, including traditional stilt buildings, along mountainsides and near the riverbanks in Yuzhong.
These homes were built high enough to avoid floods, but not “so high up that water supply would be too costly, given how expensive pumping systems were”, said Professor Huang Jingnan at Wuhan University’s School of Urban Design.
As the population continued to grow, new settlements formed in other parts of Chongqing separated by natural barriers, such as mountains and rivers, resulting in the various sub-centres today in what urban planners call a polycentric approach, he added.
Unlike commuters in other cities, those in Chongqing need more time – sometimes up to a day – to travel from one sub-centre to another as they have to cross mountains and rivers, said Prof Huang, whose doctorate thesis was on Chongqing’s development.
Professor Liu Yong at Chongqing University’s School of Management Science and Real Estate said: “Due to topographical and transportation constraints, mountainous cities often encourage the development of integrated, functionally complete and independently operating centres or clusters, forming effective functional alternatives (to a single urban core).
“Each centre tends to achieve a good balance between employment and housing, potentially approaching the true definition of a functionally multi-centred city.”
One such example is Shapingba district, west of Yuzhong. It is a hub for science, education and healthcare, with 16 higher education institutes, including Chongqing University, as well as innovation and medical research centres. It also includes a variety of residential estates.
“This multi-centre model is both a passive adaptation to challenges, such as natural barriers, uneven terrain, scarce land and inconvenient transportation, and an active choice shaped by the environmental constraints of mountainous areas,” Prof Liu added.
Much of this modern layout can also be traced to history. During the Japanese invasion and China’s subsequent Third Front movement in the late 1960s to 1980 – a national campaign to develop industrial and military facilities inland for fear of invasion – flatlands in Chongqing quickly filled up.
As the population growth outpaced housing supply, the authorities extended construction into the steeper terrain.
Chongqing is unique compared with other cities in mainland China in this regard because nowhere else would you get buildings constructed on slopes beyond 25 degrees.
A steeper slope gradient can increase the danger of landslides, especially in places with heavy rainfall.
But Chongqing’s unique subsurface conditions make it possible to construct buildings on slopes steeper than 25 degrees.
Unlike most cities that sit on thicker layers of sand and soil, Chongqing hits bedrock relatively quickly and the sturdiness provides sufficient support for buildings even on inclines.
Geotechnical advancements have also enabled Chongqing to overcome its terrain, particularly in connecting its many sub-centres in the districts. The various districts, such as Yubei, Bishan and Yongchuan, are linked by a network of multi-storey expressways, mountain tunnels and mega bridges.
The number of bridges has grown from some 4,000 in 1997 to more than 20,000 today. The municipality is also home to the most complicated expressway – the five-level Huangjuewan Interchange.
Professor Fan Peilei at Tufts University’s Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, who has published papers on urban planning in the municipality, said: “Geographical constraints are no longer impediments to Chongqing’s development, thanks to technological advancements.”
A curse to some, a magnet to others
Chongqing’s built environment has drawn national attention, winning over netizens on social media with viral videos of sloping cityscapes and mind-bending split-level developments.
One of the most talked-about sites is Baixiangju, the residential landmark in Yuzhong district, one of Chongqing’s oldest metropolitan areas.
Visitors go to the compound to experience what has been dubbed “the curse of every delivery rider in the city”.
It is not the lack of lifts or the high floors that the riders dread – it is the confusing maze of entrances and exits. One wrong turn can send them in the opposite direction.
Another attraction is Kuixinglou, an ancient temple that now houses a hospital and tourist shops. Visitors may think they are on the ground floor when they arrive at the medical facility. But two short bridges connect the facility to the 22nd storey of another building housing mainly hotels.
Rising from the bedrock: Kuixinglou’s ingenious design
Tour agency operator Chen Ming, 31, said that developers back then constructed buildings with entrances and exits on different floors as a way to avoid building lifts, which would have incurred higher costs.
“The main issue during the municipality’s earlier development years was to build quickly and cheaply to accommodate rapid urbanisation,” recalled Mr Chen.
The Chongqing native, who goes by guoer_chongqing on Instagram where he has more than 6,600 followers, said that tourists have approached him for tours to the popular places that he featured on the social media site.
Tour agency operator Chen Ming:
Tourists are often very impressed with the twists and turns in areas such as Baixiangju and Kuixinglou, though they are not always a fan of the many staircases.
Chongqing “consistently ranks among the top destinations” for domestic tourists in China, Mr Edmund Ong, general manager at Trip.com Singapore, told ST. He noted that total bookings – including flights, accommodation and admission tickets to attractions – grew 131 per cent in 2024 from a year ago, the highest growth rate among similar cities nationwide in the same period.
For Trip.com Group, international travel to Chongqing grew 115 per cent in 2024 from the previous year. The company’s businesses include CTrip, China’s largest online travel platform, and Skyscanner, a popular international travel site.
During China’s long holidays, such as Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and National Day, crowds converge at Hongyancun station, reportedly the world’s deepest metro stop at 116m underground, and Hongyadong, a complex of stilt buildings.
The city has also drawn foreign tourists like Mr Lucas Meijer, 31, from the Netherlands.
He told ST that he picked Chongqing as one of three Chinese cities to visit in his 10-day trip in June because of the social media hype. The other two cities were Shanghai and Beijing.
“The videos on social media portray Chongqing to be this cyberpunk city with old but interesting buildings full of neon lights. The nightlife seems very rich too,” said Mr Meijer, who works in education.
“Chongqing has certainly lived up to my expectations, but I cannot say I’m a fan of the food here, which I think is a bit too salty, oily and spicy for my liking.”
Powering growth in the western region
The challenges of developing Chongqing have raised questions about why the central government granted it the status of a municipality in 1997, a designation that carries more weight than that of a province.
Chongqing was carved out of Sichuan province to become the fourth municipality under the direct control of the State Council or Cabinet, alongside Beijing and the port city of Tianjin – both in the north – and Shanghai, the financial hub in the east.
Municipalities hold “particularly important positions in China’s politics, culture and economy”, according to official documents.
Chongqing by the numbers
Chongqing is not only the youngest municipality, but also the only one in the western region, which fuels a strong sense of local pride and underscores its role as a driver of inland growth.
The city was selected for both strategic and symbolic reasons. Its location at the intersection of the Yangtze River, Eurasia’s longest river, and the Jialing tributary allowed it to flourish as a trade port as early as 1890 during the late Qing Dynasty. Chongqing’s early sub-centres were also developed along the northern and southern riverbanks.
This legacy of connectivity and commercial ambition is visible in modern developments such as Raffles City Chongqing – a landmark complex by Singapore’s CapitaLand – which now stands on the same peninsula once shaped by river trade.
Singapore and Chongqing are also celebrating the 10th year of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity, a government-to-government project that aims to boost the economic growth of western China by increasing the region’s connectivity to South-east Asia and other parts of the world.
In addition, officials had wanted tighter central oversight of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. The massive project is now the world’s largest hydroelectric power station and prevents flooding in the Yangtze River, which had previously resulted in significant economic losses and millions of deaths throughout China’s history.
Beyond the official reasons, many locals believe that the central government’s commitment to the municipality also reflects Chongqing’s great contribution to China’s security during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Chongqing’s mountainous landscape had allowed residents and top government officials to hide in underground bunkers and mountains to escape air strikes. It was China’s last stronghold before the Japanese surrendered in 1945.
Today, Chongqing continues to carry strategic weight. It has been tasked by the central government to develop into a logistics hub and international consumption centre.
It is also a core part of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, a national initiative to drive growth in the western region. Rolled out by Chinese President Xi Jinping in January 2020, it contributed about 6.5 per cent to the national GDP in 2024, up from 6.3 per cent in 2019.
To meet its strategic goals, Chongqing invested 101.3 billion yuan (S$18 billion) in public transport infrastructure in 2024, an increase of 3 per cent from 2023, according to officials. Historical transport spending figures are not publicly available.
Taxi driver Huang Jun, 45, considers his home town a source of pride.
“Chongqing played such an important role in protecting China during World War II,” he told ST. “I have never considered leaving the city for better work opportunities because I don’t think I can live without the delicious hotpot and other local specialities here.”
But food is not the only thing that keeps him rooted in Chongqing.
“The other cities I’ve travelled to during my holidays, including Beijing, Wuhan and Shanghai, all feel so vast and flat,” he said. “I don’t think I can get used to looking into the horizon and not seeing mountains.”
Chongqing’s model: Unique but instructive
Experts tell ST that Chongqing’s urbanisation model is unlikely to be replicated elsewhere, given its distinctive topography and the scale of China’s financial commitment to its development.
Still, there are lessons that other cities – even those built on plains – can learn from Chongqing, Prof Liu noted.
While cities can create multiple centres, these often remain highly dependent on the core centre in areas such as jobs and infrastructure, and lack the integration needed to function independently, he said.
“Chongqing’s approach of adapting to natural terrain, preserving the ‘mountain-water’ pattern, separating clusters with greenbelts, promoting organic urban dispersion, and encouraging intensive and vertical development, offers a valuable model for many other Chinese cities,” he added.
Prof Huang said Chongqing’s urban planning experience amid the challenging terrain is instructive for developing cities in China – particularly those in the mountainous western region – given the country’s urbanisation drive.
What worked for Chongqing should work anywhere else that has mountainous terrain.
During an official visit to Chongqing in April 2024, President Xi said that it should “thoroughly implement a people-centric development philosophy and actively explore new paths for modern governance of megacities”.
This includes bridging the gap between rural and urban areas, using technology for smart governance and promoting urban renewal, according to Mr Xi.
State media and other government institutions have lauded Chongqing as a trailblazer in how megacities can be governed.
The National Academy of Governance, a school for middle- and senior-level civil servants in China, noted in a report in April 2025 that Chongqing has been installing intelligent street lights that can automatically adjust their brightness levels, and building digital platforms that consolidate public data for smart governance.
For example, at the city and operations management centre, a giant screen displays thousands of real-time indicators such as traffic flow, air and water quality and public safety. This allows officers to swiftly detect and resolve issues in the sprawling metropolis.
Officials from other local governments, such as those in northern Hebei and neighbouring Hunan and Sichuan provinces, have conducted trips to Chongqing to study urban planning strategies.
At a municipal event organised by the ruling Communist Party of China in April, Chongqing party secretary Yuan Jiajun told local and foreign delegates that the key to governing a megacity is to break down traditional siloed governance.
“The key is cross-department, cross-level collaboration,” Mr Yuan said in response to a question from Pakistani Senator and former federal minister of information Anusha Rahman Ahmad Khan.
He cited public services like registration of newborn babies as an example of improved efficiency.
“The process of applying for household registration status, birth certificates and social security documents can now be completed, and delivered to the home, within five days,” he added.
Digital governance is a global effort. Chongqing is ready to share its experiences and explore universal pathways for megacity governance.
Chongqing University’s faculty of architecture and urban planning has international collaborations and exchanges with varsities in different countries, including Britain, the United States and Italy.
The faculty also offers dual-degree programmes for undergraduates and postgraduates with overseas schools, such as the University of Sheffield, University College Dublin and University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
However, Chongqing’s track record in urban development is not without blind spots.
It was among 12 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions called out by the State Council in official documents as early as end-2023 to “strictly control new projects, support only essential projects and suspend or slow down ongoing ones” to reduce financial risks arising from high local government debt.
Finance Minister Lan Fo’an said that the “hidden debt” of local governments had reached 14.3 trillion yuan as at the end of 2023, with the authorities pledging to reduce the amount to 2.3 trillion yuan by 2028. No specific breakdown by provinces or municipalities was provided.
Subsequent media reports noted that in November 2024, China’s Cabinet further restricted new debts and state-funded projects in 12 heavily indebted regions, including Chongqing.
Prof Huang also warned of wastage resulting from local governments building public transport lines to areas that may be underutilised.
“Maintaining these underutilised stations and transport lines can weigh heavily on local government finances, which can, in turn, hurt urban planning in the longer term,” he said.
Local governments’ coffers have already been hit by a crackdown on developer debt by Beijing in 2020, which has resulted in reduced land sales and incomplete development projects.
For now, Chongqing is forging ahead with plans to further develop its various city centres, with technology powering the next phase.
Mr Hu, the Chongqing mayor, told reporters that digitalisation is helping the city tackle future development challenges, particularly in managing the complexities of megacity governance.
“We widely utilise artificial intelligence (AI), digital twins and real-world 3-D visualisations,” he said, referring to the municipality’s digital platform that enables governance across the municipal, district and street levels.
“With technological empowerment and AI, we can conduct precise ‘medical examinations’ and real-time profiling of the city, making governance smarter, more efficient and more accurate.”
But for many visitors, it is Chongqing’s old-school charm and incredible architecture that leave the strongest impression.
Malaysian tourist Poh Zhenmin, 28, who works in finance, visited the city in June.
One highlight for him was Hongyancun metro station, where it takes about eight minutes and seven escalators to get from the platform to street level.
Speaking to ST at the station, Mr Poh said: “I love the experience of going up the escalators as a tourist – that’s what I’m here for. But I can’t imagine this as part of daily life. So much time is spent commuting, dealing with stairs and probably just getting lost along the way.
“I have mad respect for the residents and the strength of their legs.”