Liziba Monorail Chongqing — The Train That Runs Through a 19-Storey Building 2026

Q: Does the Liziba monorail really run through a building?

Yes. Liziba station is built inside a 19-storey residential building, and Line 2 trains pass through floors 6–8. Floors 1–5 are commercial space, and floors 9–19 above the track are apartments where people actually live. The building and the rail line were designed and constructed together as a single structure — the track was not bored through an existing building — and a dedicated noise-reduction system keeps train noise from disturbing the residents above.

Q: Is Liziba free to visit?

The viewing platform (观景台) is free — no ticket, no entry fee. It is a public space built specifically for watching the train pass through the building, covering about 1,376 square metres with room for around 5,000 people. If you also want to ride through the building yourself, you simply pay the normal metro fare (about ¥2–5 / ฿10–25).

Q: How often do the trains come — will I have to wait?

Line 2 trains pass roughly every 2–4 minutes during normal hours, so you barely wait at all. Have your camera ready on the viewing platform and the next train will soon emerge from the building. It is one of the easiest shots to get in all of Chongqing.

Q: When is the best time to visit Liziba, and which angle is best for photos?

The best times are about an hour before sunset, when the light is soft and the shadows are flattering, or early morning around 07:00–08:00 when there are almost no crowds. After 19:00 the city lights and the train's own lights come on, giving an almost dreamlike shot of the glowing train slipping out of the dark building. The classic angle is from the viewing platform below, facing the building, waiting for the train to emerge from floors 6–8 so you frame both the full train and the whole block.

Q: How do I get to Liziba — which metro line and station?

Take Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2 (the blue line) to Liziba station — the station is the building the train runs through. Leave by Exit 2, where a lift takes you down to the viewing platform beside the Jialing River. Allow about 20–40 minutes here, and you can walk on to Eling Park on the same Yuzhong ridge nearby.

What it is

Chongqing's 8D city starts at Liziba

Picture this: you are standing on a viewing platform beside the Jialing River, looking up at a grey 19-storey apartment block, when an entire metro train slides out of the middle of the building at around the sixth floor, then disappears quietly into the other side — and two or three minutes later another one comes. It is not a trick of editing, and it is not a model. It is a working metro station that the people of Chongqing use every single day.

Liziba is a station on Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2 in the Yuzhong District, and it has become the icon of the "8D city" — the nickname locals give Chongqing, a place built layer upon layer across steep hills between two rivers, where the ground floor of one building can be the rooftop of another and roads and bridges cross at several levels at once. Here the apartment block and the rail line were designed and built together as a single structure, not bored through an existing building. Floors 1–5 are shops, floors 6–8 are the station and the track, and floors 9–19 above are apartments where people genuinely live — engineers fitted a special noise-reduction system so the trains do not disturb the residents overhead.

What makes Liziba worth the trip is that it is free — no ticket, no queue. The city built a dedicated viewing platform (观景台) of about 1,376 square metres, with room for around 5,000 people, purely so visitors can watch and photograph the train running through the block. You only need 20–40 minutes here, but you walk away with the picture that will say "Chongqing" for years.

A Chongqing Line 2 monorail train emerging from the middle of a 19-storey apartment building at Liziba station beside the Jialing River — Liziba — a Line 2 train slides out of floors 6–8 of an apartment block, the defining image of Chongqing's 8D city

🎫

Entry

Free

The viewing platform is a public space

🕕

Open

06:30–23:00

Follows Line 2 operating hours

🚇

Metro

Line 2, Liziba station

Exit 2 has a lift to the platform

🏢

The building

Train through floors 6–8

19 storeys · floors 9–19 lived in

🚆

Trains every

2–4 minutes

An easy shot, barely any waiting

⏱️

Time needed

20–40 minutes

Then walk on to Eling Park

Understanding it

5 things that prove Liziba is real, not Photoshop

Before you tilt your camera up for the next train — here is how the building actually works

1

Building and track were built together

One structure · not cut in later

The most common misconception is that someone drilled the track through an old building. In reality the apartment block and the rail line were planned and constructed together as a single structure from the start, so the track passes cleanly through the middle of the building without compromising its stability.
2

Which floor is what, exactly

8D made simple · a 19-storey block

Floors 1–5 are commercial space, floors 6–8 are the station platform and the track the train runs along, and floors 9–19 above are residential. Put simply, people are asleep in their beds above a working metro station — that is Chongqing's "8D" character condensed into one building.
3

People really live here — and it is quiet

Built-in noise reduction

Plenty of visitors wonder how anyone upstairs copes with the noise. The answer is that the station was designed from the outset with dedicated sound-damping and vibration-absorbing equipment, so what reaches the apartments is far quieter than you would expect — an engineering solution that lets residents and trains share a single building.
4

The viewing platform sits "below" the train

观景台 beside the Jialing River

The city built a public viewing platform at the foot of the building, on the Jialing riverside, so visitors can look up and frame the train emerging from the block in full. It covers around 1,376 square metres and holds up to 5,000 people, and you reach it easily by lift from the station.
5

In service since 2005

Line 2 · a straddle-type monorail

Liziba sits on the Line 2 monorail, which has been running since 2005 — this is not a recent tourist gimmick but a transit system locals have relied on for many years. Its social-media fame came much later; the train was always just doing its job.

What you can do here

Shoot it from the platform or ride straight through

📸 Photograph the train through the building

What most people come to do is head down to the viewing platform (观景台) at the foot of the building, then tilt the camera up and wait for the train to emerge from floors 6–8. Because trains pass every 2–4 minutes, you hardly wait at all — set up, frame the shot, and the next one arrives. Compose so you catch both the full train and the whole building, and you get the version that tells the whole story.

This is the popular spot, so it can get busy in the middle of the day and you may have to jostle for an angle. For more breathing room, come early morning or after dark, as noted below.

Tip: the platform is right on the Jialing riverside — reach it easily by lift from the station's Exit 2, no long detour required.

🚆 Ride through the building yourself

The angle many people forget is that you can ride straight through the building. Liziba's platform sits in the middle of the block (floors 6–8), so just tap in as normal, board a Line 2 train and ride through the stretch where the track threads through the structure — look out of the window and you can see that you are genuinely "inside" the building. It is a completely different experience from watching from below.

The standard metro fare is about ¥2–5 (฿10–25) depending on distance, paid by Alipay or WeChat QR scan, or a transit card. You can do both in one visit: ride through one stop, then come back to shoot from the viewing platform.

The Chongqing skyline, towers stacked across hills between two rivers, showing the city's vertical 8D layout — Chongqing — a city built in layers across hills between two rivers, which is exactly why a train through a building like Liziba can happen here

🕕 When to go, and the best angle

Daytime is good for seeing clearly how the train passes through the middle of the block — the structural lines read sharp and obvious. The hour before sunset gives the softest light and the best shadows, while after 19:00 the city lights and the train's own lights come on together for an almost dreamlike shot — a glowing train slipping out of the dark building.

To avoid the crowds (around 10,000 people stop by here each day), come around 07:00–08:00 in the morning, when it is very quiet and the early light is lovely. The classic angle is from the viewing platform below, facing the building, timed for the moment the train is emerging so you frame both the full train and the block in one shot.

Getting there

How to reach Liziba

The best way is simply to ride Line 2 to Liziba station — because the station is the building the train runs through.

🚇

Rail Transit Line 2 (blue)

Liziba station (李子坝)

Leave by Exit 2; a lift takes you down to the viewing platform beside the Jialing River — easiest option

🎟️

Fare

~¥2–5 (฿10–25)

Alipay / WeChat QR scan or a transit card, if you also want to ride through the building

🚕

Taxi / DiDi

Ask for "李子坝轻轨站"

Use Amap or Apple Maps rather than Google Maps, which does not work in China

Planning tip: Liziba sits on the same Yuzhong ridge as Eling Park, which has the classic two-rivers skyline viewpoint, and it is not far from the Jiefangbei core and Hongyadong. Visit Liziba mid-morning, then head up to Eling Park in the late afternoon to catch sunset — an easy single day.

Where to stay

Hotels near Liziba and central Chongqing

Stay around Yuzhong and Jiefangbei — a few stops on Line 1 or 2 from Liziba

10 best hotels in Chongqing

Riverside and city-centre picks near the metro, easy for sightseeing

View →

6 luxury hotels in Chongqing

Two-rivers and 8D-skyline views from the upper floors

View →

The full Chongqing guide

Where to stay, what to see, what to eat and how to get around the 8D city

View →

Frequently asked

FAQ · Liziba before you go

Does the Liziba monorail really run through a building?

Yes. Liziba station is built inside a 19-storey residential building, and Line 2 trains pass through floors 6–8. Floors 1–5 are commercial space, and floors 9–19 above the track are apartments where people actually live. The building and the rail line were designed and constructed together as a single structure — the track was not bored through an existing building — and a dedicated noise-reduction system keeps train noise from disturbing the residents above.

Is Liziba free to visit?

The viewing platform (观景台) is free — no ticket, no entry fee. It is a public space built specifically for watching the train pass through the building, covering about 1,376 square metres with room for around 5,000 people. If you also want to ride through the building yourself, you simply pay the normal metro fare (about ¥2–5 / ฿10–25).

How often do the trains come — will I have to wait?

Line 2 trains pass roughly every 2–4 minutes during normal hours, so you barely wait at all. Have your camera ready on the viewing platform and the next train will soon emerge from the building. It is one of the easiest shots to get in all of Chongqing.

When is the best time to visit, and which angle is best for photos?

The best times are about an hour before sunset, when the light is soft and the shadows are flattering, or early morning around 07:00–08:00 when there are almost no crowds. After 19:00 the city lights and the train's own lights come on, giving an almost dreamlike shot of the glowing train slipping out of the dark building. The classic angle is from the viewing platform below, facing the building, waiting for the train to emerge from floors 6–8 so you frame both the full train and the whole block.

How do I get to Liziba — which metro line and station?

Take Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2 (the blue line) to Liziba station — the station is the building the train runs through. Leave by Exit 2, where a lift takes you down to the viewing platform beside the Jialing River. Allow about 20–40 minutes here, and you can walk on to Eling Park on the same Yuzhong ridge nearby.

10 best things to do in Chongqing

Hongyadong, Liziba, Jiefangbei, the river cableway and more — all in one guide

View →

Eling Park · two-rivers viewpoint

Kansheng Tower on the Yuzhong ridge — the best 8D skyline panorama at dusk

View →

Hongyadong · the gold-lit stilt complex

An 11-storey Diaojiaolou complex on the Jialing River, lit gold after dark

View →