A Day in the Museum – Ciqikou, Chongqing(624 views)

Release date:2010-03-02 11:48:24

The seemingly ceaseless rattle of the overcrowded train brought me to Chongqing, city of spice and fog. After two days on a hard train seat – how do the locals do it? – I was in desperate need of a bed so I decided to forgo the cheaper option of a local bus in favour of a taxi to get from Jiefangbei’s train station to Ciqikou traditional village in Shapingba. However, in my mad lust for sleep I overlooked the fact that it was 6:30am and that I had told the hostel I would arrive at around 8. Sure enough, as I dragged my suitcase down the nearly empty streets, the wheels grinding loudly against the grey flagstones, I came upon my hostel still closed up cosy for the night. It seemed rude to wake them so I decided to wait until a reasonable hour and watch the sunrise through the fog. Soon, I had the pregnant hostel cat for company, which seemed to understand my predicament and would periodically scratch at the door, meowing loudly. Fast forward an hour and a half and finally I got to bed…but sleeping in is difficult at this touristy end of Ciqikou. Come around 9 am the streets begin to buzz: Chongqing locals sometimes come and hang out in the restaurants and tea shops by the river, but the streets are also filled with visitors from across China, Asia, and the rest of the world.

Arriving by the main gate, you will be met with a few main streets full of souvenir shops, restaurants, traditional tea houses, coffee bars equipped with wifi, and, oddly, a couple of amusement park style haunted houses - the place seems to get weirder as the years go by. There are certainly many cool knick knacks here and if you are pressed for time in your visit to Chongqing, then Ciqikou is almost a condensed form of the region’s ancient Ba culture - almost. In the many shops you can find examples of traditional Chinese embroidery in many guises such as purses and wine bottle coverings; graceful paintings adorning fans and scrolls; paper cuttings; and wooden carvings. Although, to be fair, you can find exactly the same souvenirs in other cities throughout China, still here you can wander through the humid streets and get a sense of what Chongqing was like in the 1600s when the village of Ciqikou began to be built up because of its successful porcelain industry. Wander further than the shops full of curios and you will find streets of dilapidated houses along the ragged flagstones where locals play mahjong and the ever popular ‘Landlord’ card game. Away from the touristy Zhengjie Road, which presents picture perfect Ming architecture, you can see the houses that never really recovered their former grandeur after the Japanese bombing of Chongqing during WWII. A network of paths enables visitors to explore the hills with all their winding alleys and stacked courtyards.

Off the main street is the deceptively humble entrance to Bao Lun temple (5 Yuan for entry). Story has it that the heir to a Ming dynasty throne fled to Ciqikou in an attempt to escape his murderous uncle. The henchman followed close at his heels, so in desperation he hid in a well, Shen Shui Jin, which can still be seen in Ciqikou. When he was out of danger, he decided to become a Buddhist monk in Bao Lun temple. Bao Lun’s main temple was built during the Ming dynasty and reputedly, it was built without nails. The high platform of the temple provides great views of the surrounding area.

At the end of Chinese New Year, Ciqikou is a pretty place to witness the Lantern festival. On the banks of the old docks below elaborate tea houses, friends and family gather to light the flames beneath simple red lanterns. Gently, they encourage them to fly as though they were releasing baby birds. Above Jialing River and the oddly beautiful jutting edge of an elevated highway the lanterns begin to float up like fireflies amongst the crackling fireworks streaming from balconies and courtyards marking the end to Chinese New Year celebrations.

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