Jiefangbei Chongqing — Liberation Monument, the 8D City Core & Bayi Snack Street 2026

Q: What is the history of Jiefangbei?

Jiefangbei (解放碑) is a 27.5-metre monument completed on 10 October 1947 to commemorate China's victory in the War of Resistance against Japan (World War II), when Chongqing served as the country's wartime capital. That makes it the only monument in China built specifically for that victory. In September 1949 it was renamed the People's Liberation Monument, and it still stands at the centre of the Yuzhong commercial district.

Q: Where is Bayi snack street and what should I eat?

Bayi Road snack street (八一好吃街) is about a 5-minute walk from the monument — a roughly 350-metre lane packed with Chongqing snacks: suan la fen (sour-and-spicy sweet-potato noodles), chuan chuan (skewers dunked in chilli oil), xiao tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) and grilled sweet potato. Most dishes are ¥10–25. It's busiest in the evening (6–11 pm), and almost every stall takes Alipay or WeChat Pay.

Q: How far is Hongyadong from Jiefangbei?

It's an easy 15–20 minute walk. From Jiefangbei square the ground slopes downhill toward the Jialing River, ending at Hongyadong — the 11-storey complex of stilt houses that glows gold at night. The two pair perfectly in a single evening, downhill on the way there.

Q: How do I get to Jiefangbei by metro?

Take Metro Line 1 or Line 2 to Jiaochangkou station (较场口) and walk north for about 5 minutes to the square. Alternatively, Line 2 to Linjiangmen station (临江门), Exit B or D, also reaches it — and Linjiangmen is closer to the path down to Hongyadong.

What it is

Why Jiefangbei is where Chongqing begins

Picture this: you come up out of the metro, surface into a square, and there it is — a tall cream-coloured stone column with a clock near the top, ringed by giant LED screens, a Louis Vuitton, an Apple Store and a crowd moving in every direction. Then you look up. Skyscrapers rise in layers up the hillside behind it, some linked by walkways in mid-air, and somewhere a doorway on the "ground floor" turns out to be the tenth storey of another street. This is what people mean when they call Chongqing the "8D city," and its centre of gravity is right here.

Jiefangbei (解放碑), the "People's Liberation Monument," is a 27.5-metre column at the centre of the pedestrian core of Yuzhong District. Its history is the interesting part: completed on 10 October 1947, it was built to commemorate China's victory in the War of Resistance against Japan — the WWII years, when Chongqing was the country's wartime capital — which makes it the only monument in China built specifically for that victory. It was renamed to its current name in September 1949.

What sets Jiefangbei apart from most historic landmarks is that it was never roped off into a quiet museum. It stands in the middle of the busiest commercial district in the city, surrounded by a 36,000-square-metre pedestrian zone — free, never closed — and it's where locals meet, where visitors start their trip, and where everyone regroups before heading off to Hongyadong, the cable car or a hotpot dinner.

Jiefangbei pedestrian street, Chongqing — the tall Liberation Monument column standing amid the commercial district, neon screens and skyscrapers at night — Jiefangbei at night — the monument column in the middle of the pedestrian street, wrapped in the skyscrapers and screens of the 8D city

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Entry

Free

Square + streets open 24 hours

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Best time

After 5 pm

Lights on, then walk to Hongyadong

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Metro

Jiaochangkou / Linjiangmen

Lines 1/2 · 5-min walk

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Monument height

27.5 metres

Completed in 1947

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Bayi snack street

5-min walk

Dishes ¥10–25 each

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WFC observation deck

~¥120 (~฿600)

Floors 73–75 · two-rivers view

Around the monument

5 things to do around Jiefangbei

The area is compact but dense — one loop covers eating, shopping, a skyline view and a walk down to the river.

1

Photograph the monument

解放碑 · free · centre of the square

The cream-coloured octagonal column with a clock on top looks plain next to the giant LED screens around it — and that's exactly the appeal: a piece of 1947 standing still amid the luxury malls and modern screens. At night the surrounding billboards light the square up and make the best backdrop for a photo.
2

Bayi snack street (八一好吃街)

~350 m food lane · 5-min walk from the column

A narrow lane crammed with genuine Chongqing snacks — suan la fen (sour-and-spicy sweet-potato noodles), chuan chuan skewers dunked in chilli oil, xiao tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) and grilled sweet potato. Most plates run ¥10–25, Alipay and WeChat accepted everywhere, busiest in the evening. For the deeper dive, read Chongqing street food.
3

Go up the Chongqing Eye / WFC deck

Floors 73–75 · ~¥120 · 9.30 am–10 pm

The World Financial Center (环球金融中心) at 188 Minzu Road has the Hui Xian Lou observation deck on floors 73–75 — billed as the highest open-air high-rise deck in China. You get a 360-degree view over the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers and the Chongqing skyline; floor 75 is fully open-air. It's best at dusk. Reckon on about ¥120 (check before you go — prices vary by platform).
4

Shop the central malls

Yuzhong CBD · full international line-up

The Jiefangbei pedestrian street is the first commercial walking street in western China, and the square is ringed by Louis Vuitton, an Apple Store, Times Square and Wangfujing department stores. When it rains (Chongqing gets plenty) or the humidity bites, the malls connect underground and overhead — air-conditioned, with food courts inside.
5

Walk downhill to Hongyadong

~15–20 min · downhill to the Jialing River

From the square the ground slopes down toward the Jialing River and lands you at Hongyadong — the 11-storey complex of stilt houses that glows gold at night like something out of an animated film. Pair Jiefangbei and Hongyadong in the same evening: snacks at Bayi first, then arrive for the Hongyadong lights at dusk. More at Hongyadong.

Understanding the 8D city first

"Which floor is which" — the trap everyone hits here

🧭 Why maps and GPS get confused in Chongqing

Chongqing was built on hills at the meeting point of two rivers, so the city isn't flat the way most cities are — it stacks vertically. The result: "floor 1" of one building can be "floor 10" of another street sitting higher up the slope. You'll walk out of a mall you thought was at ground level and find yourself on an elevated bridge above a different road. GPS handles the horizontal distance fine but rarely knows how many floors you need to go up or down.

The simplest fix: read the signs in metro stations and malls telling you which street level each exit lands on — and don't be alarmed when a lift carries you up eight floors just to "step outside at ground level." That's normal here.

Chongqing skyline at night — skyscrapers stacked up the hillside above the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, illustrating the vertical 8D city — The Chongqing skyline at night — a city that climbs the hills, which is exactly why "which floor is which" becomes such a puzzle

🕕 When to come, and how to walk it efficiently

Jiefangbei square is at its best and busiest from late afternoon into the evening (after 5 pm), when the whole district's lighting comes on at once and you can carry the evening straight on to the Hongyadong lights. In the middle of a hot, bright day the area has little shade and the humidity is real — duck into the malls in stretches.

A clean half-day afternoon-into-evening route: metro to Jiaochangkou → photograph the monument → eat your way along Bayi snack street → go up the WFC deck as the sky starts to darken → walk downhill to Hongyadong for the lights. It all ends in one place, on foot, no taxis needed.

Tip: On Chinese public holidays (Golden Week in early October especially) this area gets so packed that walking slows to a shuffle. Avoid those dates if you can, or come earlier in the day before the tour groups.

Getting there

How to reach Jiefangbei

Metro is the most direct option — it brings you up right into the pedestrian street.

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Metro Lines 1 / 2

Jiaochangkou station (较场口)

Walk north for 5 minutes to the square — the most convenient interchange of the two lines

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Metro Line 2

Linjiangmen station (临江门)

Use Exit B or D — closer to the path down toward Hongyadong

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Walking from Hongyadong

~15–20 min (uphill)

Starting from the riverside means walking up the slope to the square — harder than the way down

Planning tip: Jiefangbei is the most popular place to stay in Chongqing because it's within walking distance of Hongyadong, the Yangtze River cable car and several metro lines — book a hotel here and you'll barely need a taxi within the city. The natural sequence: walk Jiefangbei + Bayi in the early evening → Hongyadong at dusk → save the cable car and hotpot for the next day.

Where to stay · what to eat

What's next around Jiefangbei

A central Yuzhong base — step out of the hotel and you're at the monument, the food and the cable car.

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Many sit in central Yuzhong, walking distance to Jiefangbei and Hongyadong

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The nine-grid red chilli-oil pot — the flavour this city invented

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Frequently asked

FAQ · Jiefangbei practical

Is Jiefangbei free to visit?

Yes. The square and pedestrian streets around the Liberation Monument are free to enter, 24 hours a day. The only costs come if you go up the Chongqing Eye / WFC observation deck (around ¥120 per person), eat at the Bayi snack street, or shop in the malls.

What is the history of Jiefangbei?

Jiefangbei (解放碑) is a 27.5-metre monument completed on 10 October 1947 to commemorate China's victory in the War of Resistance against Japan (World War II), when Chongqing served as the country's wartime capital. That makes it the only monument in China built specifically for that victory. In September 1949 it was renamed the People's Liberation Monument, and it still stands at the centre of the Yuzhong commercial district.

Where is Bayi snack street and what should I eat?

Bayi Road snack street (八一好吃街) is about a 5-minute walk from the monument — a roughly 350-metre lane packed with Chongqing snacks: suan la fen (sour-and-spicy sweet-potato noodles), chuan chuan (skewers dunked in chilli oil), xiao tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) and grilled sweet potato. Most dishes are ¥10–25. It's busiest in the evening (6–11 pm), and almost every stall takes Alipay or WeChat Pay. More at Chongqing street food.

How far is Hongyadong from Jiefangbei?

It's an easy 15–20 minute walk. From Jiefangbei square the ground slopes downhill toward the Jialing River, ending at Hongyadong — the 11-storey complex of stilt houses that glows gold at night. The two pair perfectly in a single evening (downhill on the way there, a steeper climb back).

How do I get to Jiefangbei by metro?

Take Metro Line 1 or Line 2 to Jiaochangkou station (较场口) and walk north for about 5 minutes to the square. Alternatively, Line 2 to Linjiangmen station (临江门), Exit B or D, also reaches it — and Linjiangmen is closer to the path down to Hongyadong.

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