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Roads built on 20-storey skyscrapers. Elevated trains whoosh through a residential high-rise. What looks like a street-level square is also the roof of a cliffside building.
It sounds like the set of a sci-fi movie, but this is Chongqing, a futuristic Chinese megacity where nothing is as it seems.
Located in southwest China, this sprawling metropolis straddles mountains and the meeting point of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers.
A bit like Hong Kong on steroids, its dizzying architecture, neon lights and ‘cyberpunk’ vibe have made it a must-see destination for Chinese and international tourists alike.
The concrete labyrinth has dazzled TikTok viewers from across the world, ever since Chongqing resident Jackson Lu (@journeyofjackson), revealed just how difficult it is to navigate the city.
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In a video that has amassed 38 million views, the 28-year-old tour guide films the descent from his 18th-story apartment, which has no elevator.
It doesn’t take as long as you might expect, because the ground floor is actually on the 12th floor.
Walking over a bridge, he pans the camera to show the apartments below.
‘They have to climb up, and sunlight is like a luxury to them,’ he says.
Jackson then makes his way to the subway station, which looks more like a fallout shelter, before riding on an elevated monorail that ‘feels like a rollercoaster ride’ and passes directly through residential buildings.
Finally, he reaches the city square. Solid ground at last, right?
Nope. He’s actually on the 22nd floor of his office building.
It’s like a living game of snakes and ladders.
Jackson then reveals a stomach-churning view of the drop below, capturing snarled up traffic by the riverside.
After work, he opts for a ‘relaxing’ bus ride home, which takes him on an overpass that’s ‘20 stories up in the sky’.
In another video, which has been viewed 15 million times, Jackson films himself attempting to find the ground floor in Chongqing, discovering more and more levels until he eventually finds the bottom.
‘We never really know what floor we’re on,’ he muses.
From trivia answer to tourist hotspot
Until a few years ago, Chongqing was largely a trivia answer: the world’s most populous city by some measures, with 32 million people in an area the size of South Carolina.
History buffs knew it as China’s wartime capital during World War II, after the invasion of mainland China by Imperial Japan between 1937 and 1946.
The city became a refuge for civilians fleeing conflict, soldiers, military staff, and government officials, which contributed to its growing population density.
In 1997, Chongqing was established as a municipality, granting it greater administrative autonomy and leading to rapid urbanisation.
Today, the population of the core districts is around 20 times larger than it was before the war.
It’s now home to over 30 million people, making it one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the world.
The demand for space, driven by explosive economic growth and urbanisation, led to a construction boom, resulting in the city’s skyline shooting upward, particularly in the last decade.
The city has 298 skyscrapers over 100 metres tall and 26 buildings exceeding 200 metres, ranking 15th worldwide for the number of skyscrapers and sixth in mainland China.
To put that into context, there are currently just 12 towers in London that exceed 200m.
Many people, especially tourists, struggle to find the ground floor.
There are even outdoor escalators that tourists can use to connect them to different levels of the city. It’s confusing, but they are still arriving in droves.
Chongqing welcomed 120 million overnight tourists last year, up 17% from 2023.
In the first half of this year, the city’s border checkpoints handled a record number of foreign nationals — but only 330,000, so overseas visitors who make it here can still brag about finding a hidden gem.
There are few direct flights from Europe and the US, so many travellers transit through Beijing, Shanghai, or other connecting hubs.
Many international visitors have to apply for tourist visas, including Felix Donaldson, a 29-year-old academic researcher from the UK, who spent a recent evening in Chongqing on a nighttime river cruise.
Jackson’s TikTok videos have attracted thousands of comments, with viewers baffled by the dystopian maze.
One wrote: ‘The whole city feels like an optical illusion.’ Others said they would be ‘constantly lost’.
One person gave a local perspective: ‘For those asking how Google Maps works, it doesn’t. I still get lost in my own city.’
Aside from marvelling at the architecture, tourists can explore Chongqing’s historic Ciqikou Ancient Town, enjoy the various street food options and even take a boat ride along the Yangtze River — the third longest river in the world.
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