Quick answer
Checked September 2026.
- Most of the signature sights in central Chongqing are free: Hongya Cave, Ciqikou, Shibati, the Liziba viewing platform, Eling No. 2 Factory, the Three Gorges Museum (permanent exhibitions) and the Hongyan Revolutionary Memorial Hall.
- Since October 2025 the Three Gorges Museum and Hongyan no longer need booking either.
- You need a ticket for the Yangtze River Cableway, the zoo, the People's Great Hall and the Raffles City Exploration Deck, and for sights outside the city such as Dazu Rock Carvings, Wulong and Jiuli City.
- Carry your original passport. Some mini programs only accept a Chinese ID card. If so, buy at a staffed ticket window.
The full table: tickets, booking and notes
Checked against official notices in September 2026.
| Attraction | Ticket | Booking | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Gorges Museum | Free (permanent exhibitions) | Not needed (since 1 October 2025) | Enter with your ID document. Closed Mondays, except public holidays. 9:00 to 17:00, no entry after 16:00. |
| Hongyan Village, Zhazidong and Baigongguan | Free | Not needed (since 1 October 2025) | Scan your own ID document at the entrance gate. 9:00 to 17:00. Occasional temporary closures. |
| Chongqing Art Museum (Guotai Arts Center, Jiefangbei, floors 5 to 7) | Free | — | Closed Mondays. 10:00 to 18:00, no entry after 17:30. |
| Hongya Cave | Free | Check the "Hongya Cave" (洪崖洞) WeChat official account before you go | Whether there is booking or a crowd limit depends on the account's notice for the day. The account also shows live crowd levels. |
| Ciqikou Ancient Town | Free | Not needed | An open old town that never closes. |
| Liziba monorail viewing platform | Free | — | Liziba station is being renovated, with some areas closed until the end of December. |
| Shibati | Free | Not needed | An open street district. |
| Eling No. 2 Factory | Free | Not needed | The Eling trestle walkway next to it needs real-name booking and is closed on Mondays (see below). |
| Baixiangju | A residential building, not a scenic site | — | When visitors crowd in, the community lets people in by batches. Keep your voice down inside. |
| Yangtze River Cableway | Paid | No need to book ahead | The WeChat account sells same-day tickets only. About one day a month it closes all day for maintenance. |
| People's Great Hall | Paid | — | 8:00 to 18:00, no entry after 17:30. Closed to visitors during meetings and events. |
| Chongqing Zoo (panda house) | Paid | Not normally; may be needed on public holidays | Opens at 8:00, no entry after 16:30. Panda house 9:00 to 17:00. |
| Raffles City Exploration Deck | Paid | Buy in the mini program or on site | 10:00 to 22:00. |
| Huguang Guild Hall | Paid | — | — |
| Nanshan One Tree viewing platform (Yikeshu) | Paid | — | Open about 9:00 to 22:30. |
| Two Rivers night cruise | Paid | Real-name tickets; booking ahead is advised | Bring your original passport to board. |
| Dazu Rock Carvings | Paid | You can buy online, but passport holders buy at the staffed window in the visitor centre | Ticket sales 8:30 to 16:00. Original passport and a face check at the gate. |
| Wulong (Three Natural Bridges, Longshui Gorge, Fairy Mountain) | Paid | Buy through the mini program, the WeChat account or travel platforms | September to April: 8:30 to 16:30. |
| Chiyou Jiuli City, Pengshui | Paid | Not needed | 8:30 to 17:30. |
Passports: when they work, and when to go to a staffed window
- Since 2024 China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism has been pushing every scenic site to keep a staffed ticket window. Where real-name booking is required, sites are asked to accept foreign passports as valid ID.
- In practice it differs from site to site. The one that spells out how passport holders buy is Dazu Rock Carvings: you buy at the staffed ticket window in the visitor centre, and at the gate your original passport is checked against your face.
- Where a mini program or a gate only accepts a Chinese ID card, go to a staffed window or ask the staff.
Things worth knowing
- The Yangtze River Cableway stops one day a month. Maintenance days announced so far in 2026: 31 March, 22 April, 27 May, 30 June and 29 July. All fell on a Tuesday or Wednesday at the end of the month. The cableway is closed all day and reopens at 8:00 the next day. Check its WeChat account before you go.
- The Eling trestle walkway needs booking. Since 25 November 2025 it has taken real-name booking, through the "Yuzhong Parks" (渝中公园) WeChat account or the "Eling Park" (鹅岭公园) mini program. Each booking covers up to 3 people. Since January 2026 the walkway has been closed on Mondays.
- The Beishan night tour at Dazu is back. It stopped for maintenance from 20 July 2026 and reopened on 21 September, 19:30 to 23:00.
- Hongyan sites occasionally close temporarily (for example, the Gele Mountain memorial hall closed to visitors on the morning of 30 September 2026).
- Around National Day and Chinese New Year, popular sights may bring in booking or crowd limits for a while. Over National Day 2025, Chongqing Zoo required booking and capped entry at 80,000 a day.
When it is less crowded
- Busy in the daytime: Liziba, Eling No. 2 Factory, the People's Great Hall and the area around the Yangtze River Cableway. Traffic police expect peak traffic from 8:00 to 19:00.
- Busy from afternoon to late night: Hongya Cave, Shibati and the Jiefangbei area, with peak traffic from 13:00 to midnight. On public holidays, from 16:00 the roads around Hongya Cave are under temporary traffic control, and cars cannot get to the entrance.
- Hongya Cave: the busiest time is early evening to late night. The "Hongya Cave" WeChat account shows live crowd levels, and when the site is full it limits entry on the spot.
- Three Gorges Museum: go in as soon as it opens. On public holidays there is already a queue outside before opening, and once 4,000 people are inside, one goes in for each one who comes out.
- Yangtze River Cableway: most people board at the north station (Xinhua Road, Yuzhong). The south station on Shangxin Street, Nan'an, is relatively quieter. Tickets are valid on the day only, and you queue by number range.
The peak traffic times come from the Yuzhong traffic police forecast for the 2026 May Day holiday. Ordinary days are a little quieter, but the pattern is the same.
National Day Golden Week (1 to 7 October)
- Yangtze River Cableway: 7:30 to 22:30 from 25 September to 7 October (normally 8:00 to 22:00).
- Hongya Cave: on 2 October last year, visitor numbers passed the site's maximum instant capacity at about 17:30. Crowd limits were brought in, and numbers did not fall back until 23:00. If you want the night view without the crush, see it once in the daytime, then look at it at night from Qiansimen Bridge or the opposite bank.
- Three Gorges Museum: over National Day last year, closing time was extended to 18:00. Check the museum's official notice for this year.
- For other sights, follow each site's WeChat official account for its National Day notice.
Free entry for seniors and children
- Children are counted by height or age, not nationality. At the zoo and on the Two Rivers night cruise, children under 1.2 m go free (on the cruise, one free child per adult).
- Seniors: Chongqing's rules give free entry from age 65, but sites apply this differently to foreign visitors. Bring your original passport and ask at the staffed window.
- The Yangtze River Cableway passenger notice says it is not suitable for visitors with heart disease, high blood pressure or a fear of heights, or for some older visitors with limited mobility. Children under 1.3 m must be with a family member.
Travel with us and we check all this
Which sight needs booking on which day, which window takes a passport, which day the cableway is closed: before you set off, we go through your itinerary and check each of these for you. It is part of how we plan our private Chongqing tours with a guide and car.
FAQ
No. Since 1 October 2025 no booking is needed. The permanent exhibitions are free and you enter with your ID document. It is closed on Mondays, except public holidays.
No, Hongya Cave is free. Before you go, check the "Hongya Cave" WeChat official account for any booking or crowd limit notice.
Passport holders buy at the staffed ticket window in the Dazu Rock Carvings visitor centre, and show the original passport at the gate for a face check. Ticket sales run from 8:30 to 16:00.
No. The WeChat account sells same-day tickets only, and you can also buy on site. About one day a month it closes all day for maintenance, so check the notice before you go.
Popular sights are at their busiest. From 25 September to 7 October the Yangtze River Cableway opens earlier, at 7:30. Hongya Cave is most crowded from early evening, limits entry when full, and the roads around it are under traffic control from 16:00. Go to the Three Gorges Museum as soon as it opens. For each site's own holiday notice, check its WeChat official account.
It differs from site to site. Chongqing's rules give free entry from age 65. Bring your original passport and ask at the staffed window. Children are counted by height, and most sites let children under 1.2 m in free.