Raffles City Chongqing 重庆来福士

About Raffles City Chongqing

Eight towers rise above the waterfront, with the long glass-covered Crystal spanning four of them. Moshe Safdie’s design draws on the form of sailing vessels, connecting the modern complex to the city’s river-trading setting. Start outside to understand the towers’ relationship to the confluence, then choose an observation experience if you want to enter the upper visitor areas.

The complex covers a site of 9.2 hectares. Four of the towers stand 250 meters tall and support the enclosed Crystal skyway; two taller towers, at 350 meters, connect to it by cantilever bridges, and two further 250-meter towers stand adjacent to the other six. The buildings are reinforced concrete with concrete-encased steel columns and steel floor spanning; the tallest point reaches 354.5 meters, with 79 floors above ground and three below.

In total the project contains 1.12 million square meters of space, including 150,000 square meters of offices, 1,400 residences, a hotel, a 235,000-square-meter shopping mall and landscaped grounds. The Crystal's exterior is built from about 3,000 glass panels and nearly 5,000 aluminum panels and set a record as the highest skybridge in the world linking the largest number of towers; it houses an observation deck, a park, restaurants and a private clubhouse.

What to look for

• The Crystal forms a horizontal glass-and-aluminium bridge across four towers.
• The waterfront reveals the towers against the meeting of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers.

Location & getting there

Getting to Raffles City Chongqing

Use Chaotianmen station on Metro Line 1 and follow the Raffles City signs into the complex. Confirm the separate entrance and ticket for any upper observation experience.