Chongqing's terrain made conventional underground railways impractical in places, so parts of the network run on elevated tracks and viaducts, and the city chose monorail rather than conventional rail for two of its lines. The result is a public transport system that doubles as a sightseeing route, and one station in particular has become an attraction in its own right.
Liziba
At Liziba station, on Line 2, the monorail runs straight through the middle of an eight-storey apartment building. The track occupies the sixth and seventh floors through a purpose-built opening, and the trains pass through with apartments above and below. The building and the station were constructed together in the mid-2000s with the track designed into the structure from the start, and the trains are rubber-tyred monorail cars, which makes the passage much quieter than it looks. There is a viewing platform outside, on the road below, where crowds gather to watch the trains emerge and disappear. It is one of the most photographed things in the city.
The ride itself
Line 2 follows the south bank of the Jialing river from the city centre for much of its length, elevated above the riverfront, and the views from the windows are better than anything you get from a tour bus. It passes over the water, runs behind the cliff of the river gorge, threads between tower blocks, and climbs and drops with the terrain. Line 3 is also monorail and runs through the crossing of the two rivers, giving a different but equally good view of the bridges and the skyline. A single ticket costs the same as an ordinary metro ride.
Other rail oddities
The system includes a number of unusual structures: deep station escalators cut into the hillside, long inclined walkways connecting the street level to the platforms, and stations that enter a hillside tunnel on one side and emerge from a building on the other. For anyone interested in engineering, the network is as interesting as the city it serves, and because it was built for commuters rather than visitors, it remains entirely functional and cheap.
Practical notes
Fares are low and paid with a transport card, a phone app or a ticket machine; the machines may not accept foreign cards, so it helps to buy a card or use cash at a service window. Trains run from around six in the morning until about eleven at night, and are extremely crowded at rush hour. To see Liziba, ride Line 2 to Liziba station and leave the building to find the viewing platform, then continue on the same line in either direction for the riverfront views. Photography from the train is easiest at off-peak times when the windows are not crowded.
