Jiefangbei - Liberation Monument - is the centre of Chongqing, a pedestrian square ringed by department stores and towers, in the Yuzhong district on the peninsula between the Jialing and the Yangtze. It is where the city shops, meets and takes its bearings.
The monument
The structure now standing on the square is a stone obelisk with a clock and inscriptions, completed in 1947 as a monument to victory in the war against Japan, and renamed after 1949. Before that, from 1940, a plain wooden tower called the Spiritual Fortress stood on the same spot as a symbol of resistance during the bombing of Chongqing, when the city was the wartime capital. For decades the monument was the tallest thing in the district; today it is dwarfed by the towers around it, and that contrast is part of what it now means.
The district
The square and the surrounding streets form one of the busiest retail districts in western China, with flagship stores, food halls, basement shopping malls and rooftop restaurants. The upper levels of the shopping centres are largely food, and late in the evening the streets fill with people eating grilled skewers and cold noodles from stalls. It is loud, bright and crowded, and it gives a good sense of how many people live in this city.
Practical information
Jiefangbei is served by Metro Line 2 at Linjiangmen and Line 1 and 6 at Xiaoshizi, both a few minutes walk away. The square itself is free and open at all hours, and it is safest to walk there in the evening when the crowds are out and the lighting is good. Note that Chongqing is extremely hilly: what looks like a short walk on the map can involve a long staircase, and the metro may take you through a building rather than under it.
Nearby
The Yangtze cableway station, Hongya Cave, the Huguang Guild Hall and the riverside promenades are all within a twenty-minute walk or a short taxi ride, which makes the area a convenient base for a first day in Chongqing.
