TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - If you've ever seen TikTok or Instagram content of a train seemingly entering a building, the location is Chongqing, China. Tourists and content creators are willing to queue and wait for the train to pass through the building and make it go viral.
Chongqing's uniqueness doesn't stop there. With a population of 32 million, the city boasts a gas station on the rooftop, sky buses, car elevators, multi-level riverside restaurants, and places that seem to be on the ground floor but are actually on the 22nd floor.
Reportedly, the unique characteristics of Chongqing have made it challenging for Google Maps, as well as the Chinese navigation apps Baidu Maps and AMap, to understand the city's unusual topography. Chongqing is one of China's national central cities and is a directly controlled municipality in Southwest China. The city is located approximately 1,800 km from China's capital, Beijing.
Malina, also known as Malinavibes, a travel vlogger who was one of the first to popularize this city on the Internet, shared her experience of being on the 22nd floor but seemingly on the ground floor. Her YouTube video shows streets that appear like ordinary sidewalks leading to endless precipices.
"Look closely here. You would think that we are on the ground floor, but in reality, we are on the 22nd floor of a storied building," she said, as cited by NDTV.
186 Percent Surge in Tourism
According to local media, Chongqing's tourism has skyrocketed since becoming viral on the Internet. The city welcomed 1.27 million tourists in 2024, a 183.6 percent increase from the previous year. The city is now among the top tourist destinations in China on social media platforms, especially TikTok, Instagram, and Xiaohongshu (an Instagram-like platform in China).
Why is this city built in a multi-level manner? Chongqing is a mountainous city located at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. Its terrain is extremely rugged. The city is essentially a series of highlands, hills, and cliffs connected by bridges, tunnels, escalators, and flyovers.
Due to its terrain, developers built vertically, rather than horizontally. Therefore, a building in Chongqing can have its entrance on the 1st, 10th, and 20th floors, depending on which side of the property it is on. This has earned the city the nickname 5D City or Cyberpunk City.
Building Design Complements the Terrain
For instance, the viral Liziba Station, where trains appear to enter an apartment building as if diving into its mouth, is not a unique design decision, but an urban necessity. Its design responds to the need for maximized space and connectivity in challenging environments.
In addition to its terrain, the city's infrastructure is also influenced by various historical events. For example, during World War II, Chongqing was China's wartime capital and endured heavy bombing. This led to the construction of shelters and underground tunnels, which later affected the city's layered urban structure. Moreover, the war accelerated the city's rapid expansion as refugees and government agencies moved to the city.
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