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Explore the region
About Baixiangju Residential Complex
Commissioned in the early 1980s, architect Zhang Congzheng spent four years designing the complex for the workers of the Wanglongmen wharf, most of whom he found living in straw and bamboo shacks; it was completed and handed over in 1993, housing about 590 households. That same year the Wanglongmen cableway, a 178-metre passenger line designed by bridge engineer Mao Yisheng and reported as China's first passenger cableway, stopped running to make way for the construction of Binjiang Road.
To let residents reach their homes on the steep site without climbing unnecessary extra height, Zhang designed a public corridor partway up the complex, connecting the staircases of its six towers; he intended it to take over the recreation, childcare, leisure and medical functions that the street had served at the old wharf. To avoid the complex blocking the river breeze like a city wall, he set its towers perpendicular to the Yangtze rather than parallel to it, so units facing different directions could all see the river, and on each floor a staircase shaped like an open pair of scissors links four households. Zhang and his co-designers Sun Zhijing and Zeng Fanxiang won the Chongqing Excellent Engineering Design first prize in 1994 for the building, which stands about 1.2 kilometres from Jiefangbei and has since been used as a filming location for Better Days and Crazy Stone.
What to look for
- The public corridor partway up the complex, connecting the staircases of its six towers.
- The 'scissor stair' linking four households on each floor.
- The complex's orientation perpendicular to the Yangtze, letting units facing different directions all see the river.
- Locations used for filming Better Days and Crazy Stone.
Location & getting there
Getting to Baixiangju Residential Complex
Choose a precise starting address and return transport stop. Access to individual buildings, performances or viewing platforms is separate from access to public streets.
- Search for 白象居 with 重庆市 and 渝中区.
Find Baixiangju Residential Complex
白象居 · 渝中区
No reliable map pin yet: search by the Chinese name.
Sources & visit information
The linked sources support the identity and background described in this introduction. Opening hours, admission, activity availability and exact arrival arrangements have not been comprehensively checked. Confirm current visitor information with the venue; the original catalogue locality and editorial review flag are retained.