Nanshan is the wooded ridge that forms the south bank of the Yangtze opposite the Chongqing peninsula, in Nan'an district, and it is the city's escape hatch from its own heat. The road up from Nanping climbs past gardens and viewpoints, and along it, tucked into the hillside and hidden behind trees, are some of the largest hotpot restaurants in the world. Several of them seat hundreds of tables across terraced gardens with their own ponds, pavilions, bridges and playgrounds, and on a cool evening the whole ridge smells of chilli and beef fat.
The meal
Chongqing hotpot is a pot of beef tallow and chilli paste, either as a single seething surface or divided into the nine-grid configuration that lets you park different ingredients at different temperatures. The standard order is tripe, sliced beef and liver, goose or duck intestine, eel, luncheon meat, fish balls, tofu skin, lotus root, potato and a plate of leafy greens, all cooked at the table and eaten with a dip of sesame oil, garlic and chopped coriander. The oil dip is not a sauce so much as a coolant: it carries the flavour and takes the edge off the chilli. Beer, sour plum juice and the local soybean milk are the usual things to drink with it.
Why up here
The ridge is ten to fifteen degrees cooler than the streets along the river in summer, which is the entire reason the restaurants grew up here, and the drive home afterwards gives you the city's lights from above. The garden restaurants charge more than a street shop - which in Chongqing still means a modest bill by international standards - and they come into their own for a long dinner with a group, since nobody is waiting for your table and the tables are far enough apart to talk.
Practical notes
You need a car or taxi; there is no convenient public transport to the upper ridge and getting a taxi back at midnight requires planning or a driver who waits. Go hungry but pace yourself, because the food keeps coming and the chilli accumulates; ask for the mild half if you are unsure, and do not be surprised if it is still hot. Vegetarians are catered for, but the pot is usually shared, so order a separate small pot if you want to keep it clean. Book on weekends, when the big garden restaurants fill up.
