Get to know Yuzhong District
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- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Chongqing
- Chinese name
- 渝中区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 23.00 km²
- Population · 2010
- 630,090
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The whole district covers 23.24 square kilometres. Nan'an (南岸区) faces it across the Yangtze to the east and south, Jiangbei (江北区) across the Jialing to the north, and Shapingba (沙坪坝区) and Jiulongpo (九龙坡区) adjoin it on the west. Ground rises from 167 metres at the sandspit of Chaotianmen (朝天门), where the rivers merge, to 394 metres at Eling (鹅岭), a steep fall that gives the district its hill-city landscape. Hot, humid and often misty, it is known as a "fog capital" and one of the three "furnace" cities on the Yangtze.
History
The peninsula was Jiangzhou (江州) of the Ba state (巴国) and, after the Qin conquered Ba in 316 BC, the seat of Ba commandery. The Song raised Gongzhou (恭州) to Chongqing prefecture in 1189, the origin of the city's name. After Peng Daya (彭大雅) extended the walls in 1240, the walled city directed the Southern Song mountain-fortress defence of Sichuan against the Mongols until it fell in 1278. The old city, enclosed by seventeen gates, took up about 2.4 square kilometres at the eastern tip.
Chongqing opened as a treaty port in 1891, and Baixiang Street (白象街) was its trading quarter. During the war against Japan the peninsula held the wartime capital's ministries and allied missions; the district counts 102 surviving wartime sites. Guiyuan (桂园) on Zhongshan Fourth Road is where the Double Tenth Agreement was signed. The area was named Shizhong District in 1955 and renamed Yuzhong in 1995.
What to see
Jiefangbei (解放碑), the octagonal 27.5-metre monument whose name now stands for the central business district, was finished in 1941 as the "Spiritual Fortress" and renamed the People's Liberation Monument by Liu Bocheng (刘伯承) in 1950. Hongyadong (洪崖洞), on the site of the old Hongya Gate, is a 4A-rated complex of stilt-house buildings stacked 13 storeys up the cliff, built in 2006. The Yangtze River Cableway (长江索道), running since 24 October 1987, is a 4A scenic area and a Chongqing protected cultural relic. At Liziba (李子坝) on metro Line 2, built in 2004, the monorail passes through the sixth and seventh floors of a residential and commercial building; a viewing platform has opened for visitors.
Highlights
- Jiefangbei 解放碑: Wartime monument of 1941, renamed in 1950; its name now stands for the central business district.
- Hongyadong 洪崖洞: 13-storey stilt-house complex on the cliff at the site of an old city gate.
- Yangtze River Cableway 长江索道: Running since 1987; a protected cultural relic of Chongqing.
- Liziba station 李子坝: Line 2 station where the monorail runs through a residential and commercial building.
- Guiyuan 桂园: Where the Double Tenth Agreement was signed.
Sources for this guide
历史沿革 · Yuzhong District People's Government, Chongqing
自然地理：渝中——主城之中 · Yuzhong District People's Government, Chongqing
解放碑 · Yuzhong District People's Government, Chongqing
洪崖洞 · Yuzhong District People's Government, Chongqing
长江索道 · Yuzhong District People's Government, Chongqing
李子坝 · Yuzhong District People's Government, Chongqing
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Yuzhong District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Hongyadong 洪崖洞
Jiefangbei 解放碑
Chaotianmen 朝天门
Raffles City Chongqing 重庆来福士
Three Gorges Museum 重庆中国三峡博物馆
Great Hall of the People (Chongqing) 重庆人民大礼堂
Liziba Station 李子坝站
Shibati 十八梯
Eling Park 鹅岭公园
Mountain City Trails 山城步道
Hongyadong and Two Rivers Night View 洪崖洞与两江夜景
Huguang Guild Hall 湖广会馆
Yangtze River Cableway 长江索道
Shibati Traditional Style District 十八梯传统风貌区
Liziba Train-Through-Building Viewpoint 李子坝轨道穿楼观景点
Baixiangju Residential Complex 白象居
Liberation Monument and Bayi Street 解放碑与八一街
Eling No. 2 Factory Creative Quarter 鹅岭二厂文创街区
Places to explore around Yuzhong District
Hongya Cave · 洪崖洞Hongyadong洪崖洞
Hongyadong is a modern recreation of Chongqing’s hillside architecture, built into the steep edge above the Jialing River. Layered commercial levels, projecting balconies and traditional-style roofs create its recognisable…
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Jiefangbei Square · 解放碑Jiefangbei解放碑
Jiefangbei’s monument stands within a pedestrian shopping district surrounded by high-rise offices and hotels. Its comparatively small scale becomes clear when seen against the glass towers, while the broad paved square provides…
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Historic view of Chaotianmen Square and wharves · 朝天门广场与码头旧貌 Capture date not established by the retained file page.Chaotianmen朝天门
Chaotianmen marks the meeting of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers at the end of the Yuzhong peninsula. The public square gives an open view of waterborne traffic and the banks facing the city, including the Grand Theatre. Raffles…
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Raffles City Chongqing · 重庆来福士广场 2019 年 9 月 3 日，来福士商场将于 9 月 6 日开幕营业Raffles City Chongqing重庆来福士
Raffles City occupies the tip of Chongqing’s Yuzhong peninsula where the Jialing meets the Yangtze. Eight towers rise above the waterfront, with the long glass-covered Crystal spanning four of them. Moshe Safdie’s design draws…
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Three Gorges Museum · 重庆中国三峡博物馆Three Gorges Museum重庆中国三峡博物馆
The Three Gorges Museum brings the Yangtze valley into central Chongqing through archaeological objects, regional art and displays about the modern city. The Three Gorges gallery includes a model of the dam, while Ancient Ba-Yu…
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The main entrance to Chongqing’s Great Hall of the People.Great Hall of the People (Chongqing)重庆人民大礼堂
Chongqing’s Great Hall of the People uses monumental traditional forms in a twentieth-century civic building. Its round, layered roof recalls the Temple of Heaven, while the broad approach faces the planted and paved People’s…
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A train going out from Liziba Station, Line 2Liziba Station李子坝站
At Liziba, Line 2 monorail trains pass through the middle floors of a residential building. The station and building were designed together, with noise-isolation measures separating railway operations from the homes above and…
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Shibati · 十八梯Shibati十八梯
Shibati is a stepped neighbourhood on the southern slope of the Yuzhong peninsula, substantially redeveloped between 2017 and 2021. Its stair streets now connect restored or recreated commercial buildings, shops and food…
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E'ling Park · 鹅岭公园Eling Park鹅岭公园
Eling Park occupies a narrow ridge above the Yuzhong peninsula, combining garden scenery with broad views over the city’s two rivers. Kansheng Tower, also called Liangjiang Pavilion, is its most prominent elevated landmark…
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The stone entrance arch of the Mountain City Trail (Shancheng Bu Dao), Chongqing · 重庆市山城步道入口牌坊 Source-recorded photograph date: 2019-01-20 08:54:36.Mountain City Trails山城步道
Shancheng Bu Dao is the collective heading under which Chongqing's municipal government lists a set of separate walking routes across the city, from riverside embankment walks to old roads. The Shancheng No. 3 Trail, which the district government places on the peninsula's south-facing slope, runs 1,748 metres from north to south and strings together a series of traditional blocks and historic sites, with its lowest point at the entrance to the Shancheng Lane quarter.
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Hongyadong and Two Rivers Night View (洪崖洞与两江夜景), Yuzhong District. Photograph: "202308 Hongya Cave at night from Qiansimen Bridge".Hongyadong and Two Rivers Night View洪崖洞与两江夜景
Hongyadong is a cliff-side quarter of stacked stilt-house buildings at 88 Jialingjiang Binjiang Road in Yuzhong District, Chongqing, standing on the riverside strip where the Jialing joins the Yangtze. It takes its name from Hongyamen, one of the gates of old Chongqing city.
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The Yu Wang Gong hall gate of the Chongqing Huguang Guild Hall, Yuzhong District · 重庆湖广会馆禹王宫门楼，渝中区 Source-recorded photograph date: 2014-04-21 13:14:42.Huguang Guild Hall湖广会馆
Huguang Guild Hall is a cluster of Qing-dynasty guild-hall buildings in Yuzhong District, Chongqing, raised above the Yangtze by migrant merchant communities during the 'Huguang tian Sichuan' resettlement of Sichuan. It is a National Key Cultural Relic made up of three named halls plus later reconstruction, and now also houses a migrant-history museum.
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A cabin of the Chang Jiang Suo Dao (Yangtze River Cableway) crossing the river above the Chongqing skyline · 重庆长江索道缆车跨越长江，背景为渝中区天际线 Source-recorded photograph date: 2012-03-27.Yangtze River Cableway长江索道
The Yangtze River Cableway is an aerial cable-cabin crossing of the Yangtze at Chongqing, recorded at 151 Xinhua Road in Yuzhong District. It opened in 1987 and the municipal government's own page describes it as the first aerial crossing built over the river.
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Shibati Traditional Style District (十八梯传统风貌区), Yuzhong District. Photograph: "十八梯".Shibati Traditional Style District十八梯传统风貌区
Shibati Traditional-Style District is a rebuilt quarter of stepped lanes in Yuzhong District, Chongqing, linking the upper and lower halves of the old city. It takes its name from eighteen stone steps at an old well on a Southern Song-era official road, and is now one of Chongqing's 29 municipally designated traditional-style districts.
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Liziba Train-Through-Building Viewpoint · 李子坝轨道穿楼观景点Liziba Train-Through-Building Viewpoint李子坝轨道穿楼观景点
Liziba Station is a stop on Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2 in Yuzhong District, built into floors six and seven of a residential-commercial building beside the Jialing river. Completed in March 2004, the district government describes it as China's first cast-straddle-type elevated monorail station built to coexist with such a building, and a dedicated public viewing platform was added below it in 2018.
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Baixiangju Residential Complex · 白象居Baixiangju Residential Complex白象居
Baixiangju Residential Complex is a 24-storey walk-up housing complex built into the hillside beside the Yangtze in Yuzhong District, Chongqing, completed in 1993 as modern housing for the workers of the old Wanglongmen wharf. Its architect Zhang Congzheng, drawing on Hong Kong residential buildings, set out to design low-specification, high-rise modern housing for the wharf area's poorest and most housing-insecure residents.
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Liberation Monument and Bayi Street · 解放碑与八一街Liberation Monument and Bayi Street解放碑与八一街
Jiefangbei is a monument at the centre of Yuzhong District, Chongqing, that has stood under three different names since 1940, and now gives its name to the city's central business district. Bayi Haochi Jie, a food street immediately beside it, is a cluster of snack vendors named in 2019 by Meituan Dianping as one of China's 'must-eat streets'.
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Eling No. 2 Factory Creative Quarter · 鹅岭二厂文创街区Eling No. 2 Factory Creative Quarter鹅岭二厂文创街区
Eling Erchang Creative Quarter occupies the former Chongqing No. 2 Printing Works atop Eling hill in Yuzhong District, Chongqing, a currency-printing works built in 1937 that closed and was converted into a creative-industries park after the factory relocated in 2012.
Read the place guide →Local life & food
Yuzhong District local specialties
渝中区特色美食 · 6 specialties to discover
Chongqing xiaomian 重庆小面
The noodles carry a layered spicy, numbing and savory dressing, with crunchy or pickled additions providing contrast. Broth changes intensity but does not automatically make a bowl mild.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →
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Chongqing hot-and-sour noodles 重庆酸辣粉AI illustration · AI 示意图
The noodles are translucent and elastic, with a slippery chew that carries sourness and chili. Crunchy toppings contrast with their softness.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →
Mountain City Sweet Rice Dumplings 山城汤圆Reference photo of a similar dish · 同类菜品参考照片
Mountain City Sweet Rice Dumplings (山城汤圆) are small glutinous-rice balls with a sweet sesame filling, made in Chongqing's Yuzhong (渝中) district by the Yu family, whose "Yuji Shancheng Xiao Tangyuan" (余记山城小汤圆) craft is on Chongqing's municipal intangible heritage list.
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Old-Style Spicy Hotpot 老火锅
Old-Style Spicy Hotpot (老火锅) is the name Chongqing (重庆) papers use for the city's hotpot in its older form: a pot of red, numbing-hot broth built on beef tallow, in which diners cook beef tripe, offal and vegetables.
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Chongqing noodles with peas & minced pork 豌杂面AI dish illustration / AI 菜品示意图
Expect tender peas, small meat pieces and springy noodles. A dry-mixed serving becomes rich and cohesive as the peas break down; a soup version keeps a looser texture. Chilli heat and pepper numbness are separate sensations.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →
Soft Tofu with Rice 豆花饭
Soft Tofu with Rice (豆花饭) is a set meal rather than a single dish: a large bowl of soft bean curd, a bowl of white rice and a small dish of dipping sauce.
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
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More dishes from across Chongqing are in the Chongqing food guide.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Yuzhong District covers the centre of Chongqing. Search for 渝中区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Hongyadong and Jiefangbei are less than 1 km apart. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Chongqing →More in Chongqing
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Photo: Hongyadong · Jonashtand · CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia thumbnail; fitted to the ranking-card frame.
Photo: Jiefangbei · Este Momento · CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikimedia thumbnail; fitted to the ranking-card frame.
Photo: Chaotianmen · zhanyoun · CC BY-SA 3.0. The exact downloaded source bytes are separately retained and hashed. Prepared JPEG is proportionally reduced to a maximum 720-pixel long edge; full frame retained, no subject alteration. Final website rendition: full frame retained, proportionally resized to at most 720 pixels and converted to WebP. No additional retouching or subject alteration. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Raffles City Chongqing · Junyi Lou · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and WebP compressed; subject not altered.
Photo: Three Gorges Museum · Nyx Ning · CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia thumbnail; fitted to the ranking-card frame.
Photo: Great Hall of the People (Chongqing) · Iswzo · CC BY-SA 4.0. Proportionally resized and converted to WebP without cropping, retouching or changing the photographed subject.
Photo: Liziba Station · David290 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and WebP compressed; subject not altered.
Photo: Shibati · 重庆轨交18 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and WebP compressed; subject not altered.
Photo: Eling Park · Nyx Ning · CC BY-SA 3.0. Wikimedia thumbnail; fitted to the ranking-card frame.
Photo: Mountain City Trails · kmahyyg · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Hongyadong and Two Rivers Night View · Jonashtand · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; EXIF orientation normalized, proportionally resized to at most 800 pixels and converted to WebP. No generated pixels or subject changes. Cards may crop the display.
Photo: Huguang Guild Hall · Zhangzhugang · CC BY-SA 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Yangtze River Cableway · 慕尼黑啤酒 · CC BY 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Shibati Traditional Style District · 重庆轨交18 · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; EXIF orientation normalized, proportionally resized to at most 800 pixels and converted to WebP. No generated pixels or subject changes. Cards may crop the display.
Photo: Liziba Train-Through-Building Viewpoint · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Baixiangju Residential Complex · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Liberation Monument and Bayi Street · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Eling No. 2 Factory Creative Quarter · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
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