Get to know Wanzhou District
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- Administrative area
- District · 市辖区
- Part of
- Chongqing
- Chinese name
- 万州区
- Local areas
- District guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 3,457.00 km²
- Population · 2013
- 1,753,500
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
History
Wanzhou has been a county seat for more than 1,800 years, since a county was set up in the Eastern Han. Li Bai (李白), Du Fu (杜甫) and Huang Tingjian (黄庭坚) all stayed here, and the Three Kingdoms general Gan Ning (甘宁) and the poet He Qifang (何其芳) were born here. Long known as the "gateway to eastern Sichuan" (川东门户), it was opened as a treaty port in 1902 and had a customs house from 1917. After 1949 it was the seat of the Wanxian prefecture; it became the prefecture-level city of Wanxian in 1992 and a district of Chongqing after the municipality was created. For the Three Gorges project the district relocated and resettled 263,000 people, which the district government calls the heaviest resettlement task of any Chongqing district or county.
What to see
The Xishan Clock Tower (西山钟楼) in Xishan Park (西山公园) was begun in 1930 and finished in August 1932: a square tower 50.24 metres high with 12 storeys and a double-layered octagonal spire. Its ground-floor hall holds an 8-metre stone tablet, recut in 1964 with poems by Mao Zedong, and the tower is a national key protected site. A culture-and-tourism quarter, planned with hotpot, grilled-fish and old-street zones, backs onto the Tianshengcheng site (天生城遗址), another national protected site.
Wanzhou Waterfall (万州大瀑布), in Ganning (甘宁镇) on the north bank of the Yangtze, is 151 metres wide and 64.5 metres high on the Qinglong River (青龙河); the district government bills it as Asia's largest single-drop waterfall by area. The scenic area has the old Lu'an Bridge (陆安古桥) and a Guanyin cave, and Ganning is the source of the Ganning drum music (甘宁鼓乐), on Chongqing's intangible heritage list. The Three Gorges Pinghu (三峡平湖) area and the Chongqing Three Gorges Migration Memorial Museum (重庆三峡移民纪念馆) are also rated 4A scenic areas.
Food and local products
Wanzhou is officially titled "China's home of grilled fish" (中国烤鱼之乡). Its "three food specialities" (美食三绝) are Wanzhou grilled fish (万州烤鱼), noodles with minced-meat sauce (杂酱面) and Wanzhou gege (万州格格). Local products named by the district include ancient red tangerines (古红桔), Tan Mujiang (谭木匠) wooden combs, Shixian Taibai (诗仙太白) liquor and Yuquan (鱼泉) pickled mustard tuber.
Highlights
- Xishan Clock Tower 西山钟楼: A 12-storey clock tower finished in 1932; a national key protected site.
- Wanzhou Waterfall 万州大瀑布: 151 metres wide and 64.5 metres high, on the Qinglong River in Ganning.
- Tianshengcheng site 天生城遗址: A national protected site, with a culture-and-tourism quarter backing onto it.
- Wanzhou grilled fish 万州烤鱼: One of Wanzhou's three food specialities.
Sources for this guide
万州简介_重庆市万州区人民政府 · Wanzhou District People's Government, Chongqing
西山钟楼_重庆市万州区人民政府 · Wanzhou District People's Government, Chongqing
万州大瀑布群旅游区_重庆市万州区人民政府 · Wanzhou District People's Government, Chongqing
天生城文旅街区_重庆市万州区人民政府 · Wanzhou 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 Wanzhou District
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Wanzhou District
Wanzhou Grand Falls, Wanzhou District · Local life & food
Wanzhou District local specialties
万州区特色美食 · 7 specialties to discover
Wanzhou roasted fish 万州烤鱼AI dish illustration · AI 菜品示意图
Roasting adds browned flavor while the sauce gradually softens the fish and seasons the vegetables. Spice and sourness vary with the chosen style.
Source ↗Read the dish guide →
Wanzhou Small Basket-Steamed Dishes 万州格格
Wanzhou Small Basket-Steamed Dishes (万州格格) are steamed dishes that people in Wanzhou District (万州), Chongqing, call gege; outside the district the same kind of food is usually called zhengcai (蒸菜, 'steamed dishes') or longlong (笼笼, 'steamer baskets').
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Wanzhou Minced Meat Sauce Noodles 万州杂酱面AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Wanzhou Minced Meat Sauce Noodles (万州杂酱面) take their local character from Wanzhou broad-bean paste, local soy sauce and specially prepared red chilli oil.
Read the dish guide →
Wanzhou Basket-Steamed Mutton 万州羊肉格格AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Wanzhou Basket-Steamed Mutton (万州羊肉格格) is the mutton kind of gege (格格), the name people in Wanzhou District (万州), Chongqing, use for steamed dishes that are usually called zhengcai (蒸菜) or longlong (笼笼) outside the district.
Read the dish guide →Wanzhou Basket-Steamed Pork Intestines 万州肥肠格格AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Wanzhou Basket-Steamed Pork Intestines (万州肥肠格格) is listed among the local specialties of Wanzhou District, Chongqing. The name includes 肥肠 (intestines).
Read the dish guide →
Wanzhou Grilled Pork Brain 万州烤脑花
Wanzhou Grilled Pork Brain (万州烤脑花) is listed among the local specialties of Wanzhou District, Chongqing. 烤 describes roasting or grilling.
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
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Wanzhou Zhajiang Noodles 万州炸酱面Reference photo of a similar dish · 同类菜品参考照片
Wanzhou Zhajiang Noodles (万州炸酱面) are noodles with a cooked minced-meat topping. Writer Li Xiao (李晓) remembers a particularly hands-on version at the Song family noodle shop in the old town of Wanzhou (万州), where the meat sauce and chilli seasoning were prepared separately.
Read the dish guide →
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More dishes from across Chongqing are in the Chongqing food guide.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Wanzhou District is about 225 km in a straight line from central Chongqing. Search for 万州区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Start with Wanzhou Waterfall. 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: Wanzhou Waterfall · STW932 · CC0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.