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CHINA | Chongqing, China Travel Guide
Thursday, December 26, 2024
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Sightseeing in Chongqing
Sightseeing in Chongqing
Three Gorges Museum
At the top of the list of Chongqing's visitor attractions is the Three Gorges Museum. This new museum is the showcase for many of the artifacts frantically excavated in the race against the rising waters of the Yangzi, and is housed in a grand, modern building that faces the People’s Hall across Renmin Square. But, in spite of its state-of-the-art presentation and the fine quality of the museum’s displays, many of the halls only have cursory explanations in English, leaving a lot to the imagination.
The ground floor focuses on the Three Gorges Dam Project and you’ll find an impressive “cinepanorama” of the Three Gorges section of the Yangzi with shows at 10, 11 am, 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 pm, as well as a model of the dam complete with shiplocks, lifts and lights.
The second floor has a hall dedicated to Ba Culture and includes a mighty mammoth’s tusk, while a second exhibit traces the development of Chongqing as a settlement, complete with a mock-up of an old Chongqing street and all the businesses along it. On the third floor the Anti-Japanese War Exhibit has only an introduction in English and you’re left guessing for the rest, although you’ll recognize the replica of the Victory Monument if you’ve been downtown to Jiefangbei. There’s also a Han dynasty sculpture display and an insight into the folk traditions of southwestern China, as well as an ancient coin collection hall on this floor – the square space in the center of the circular coins represents the ancient belief that the earth was square and was circled by a round heaven. The top floor holds painting, calligraphy and porcelain exhibits, which are interesting if you haven’t already had your fill of such in other museums.
People’s Concert Hall
This 1950s building, modeled on Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, is far more impressive from the outside, particularly as the interior and the adjacent Renmin Hotel were undergoing renovation at the time of writing. Nevertheless, if you come to see the Three Gorges Museum, the Concert Hall dominates the opposite side of the square and can hold 4,000 people.
Luohan Temple
This small, intriguing temple to the east of Jiefangbei is definitely worth a visit. As you approach the temple you’ll see a collection of incense shops that lead to its entrance. Once inside, the first thing you’ll come across is a severely eroded but fascinating collection of Buddhist figures chiseled into the bare rockface. These were originally carved in the Song dynasty and are decorated with flowers, clothing and surrounded by incense, making for an atmospheric first impression of the temple. In the main temple complex itself you’ll find the luohan for which the temple is named, along with the usual collection of statuary to Sakyamuni and giant incense and candle burners. The temple is still very active and you’ll see plenty of monks in attendance, along with folk from all walks of life coming to pray.
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