Quick answer
Ride Rail Transit Line 2 to Liziba station: the train passes straight through the tower the station sits in. Watching from the viewing platform at street level below — about 1,367 square metres, purpose-built — is free, as we check it in August 2026. Trains pass every few minutes through the Line 2 operating day, from 06:32 to 23:49 with one later run at 00:13 (official working-day timetable), so you never wait long. Twenty to forty minutes covers it.
Station works until the end of 2026. Liziba station is being upgraded because it gets far more visitors than it was built for. Trains still stop as normal. Parts of the platform are closed until 30 November and the A hall until 31 October, so follow the signs to an open entrance. The city expects the work to finish on 30 December 2026 (Chongqing municipal government notice, 13 June 2026).
- Free to watch; the only cost is a metro fare if you ride there.
- Trains from both directions every few minutes — short waits.
- It is a 20–40 minute stop, best slotted between other Yuzhong sights.
Liziba in 2026: what is official and what is our own check
We separate the two deliberately. Re-checked on 13 August 2026.
| Detail | Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Station and line | Rail Transit Line 2, Liziba station — the train passes through the tower | Chongqing municipal government, August 2018 |
| Viewing platform | About 1,367 m², of which the photography area is about 840 m²; street level below the station | Chongqing municipal government attraction page, published 26 August 2026 |
| Cost to watch | Free | Our check, August 2026 — no official fee page exists |
| Viewing window | Working days 06:32–23:49 (first and last trains towards Jiaochangkou; last towards Yudong 23:13), plus one later run at 00:13. Holidays 06:32–23:50, later run 00:14 | Train times: official CRT timetable, data dated 29 September 2026. Platform hours: none published, so the metro day is our own working window (our check, August 2026) |
Why we label two of those figures as our own
The station, the pass-through and the platform are on the government record. What no official page publishes is a fee (there is none to publish) or platform hours — we searched municipal and district sources and found neither, so those two lines carry our own August 2026 check instead of a borrowed number. Guides that print an exact "opening time" for Liziba are quoting each other, not a source. The honest window is simply: when Line 2 runs, the show runs.
Getting the shot
Trains come from both directions every few minutes, so missing one costs you almost nothing. From the back of the platform you get the whole tower with the train mid-belly; closer in, the train fills the opening. The riverside light is best in the morning and again toward dusk. If photography is the point of your trip, our Chongqing photography tour times Liziba for light and pairs it with the Yangtze Cableway and river angles; for the wider network, see the metro guide.
How it fits into a Chongqing trip
Liziba is the city's shortest famous sight: free, fast and reliably strange. It slots naturally between Yuzhong stops — ride Line 2 along the river, hop off for the pass-through, continue on. Pair it with Hongya Cave for the evening and you have two of the city's icons on one axis.
Why does the Line 2 train go through a building at Liziba?
Because the station and the tower were built as one structure. Liziba station on Rail Transit Line 2 was completed in March 2004 as the first elevated straddle-type monorail station in China built into, and sharing, a residential and commercial building. The tracks run through floors 6 and 7 of the tower at 39 Liziba Zhengjie, on the Jialing River. Checked October 2026.
The figures come from the Chongqing municipal government’s page on the station, published 26 August 2026: a site of 3,100 square metres and 6,000 square metres of floor space. The train did not arrive later and cut through a finished block; the building and the station went up together. The same page records the large relief on the slope below the station, Soul of the Rock, by the artist Jiang Bibo. Its lower part shows people standing at a bridgehead looking out over the city; the upper part is a large head worked from the shape of the rock itself.
What time can you see the train, and how late does it run?
From 06:32 in the morning until after midnight. On working days the first Line 2 trains call at Liziba at 06:33 towards Yudong and 06:32 towards Jiaochangkou. The last train towards Yudong leaves at 23:13, the last towards Jiaochangkou at 23:49, and one later train that runs only as far as Tiantangbao passes at 00:13. Checked October 2026 against the official Chongqing Rail Transit timetable.
| Direction at Liziba | Working day first | Working day last | Holiday first | Holiday last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Towards Jiaochangkou (city centre) | 06:32 | 23:49 | 06:35 | 23:50 |
| Towards Yudong (away from the centre) | 06:33 | 23:13 | 06:32 | 23:14 |
| Last short run to Tiantangbao (same direction as Yudong) | — | 00:13 | — | 00:14 |
Source: the official Chongqing Rail Transit timetable, data dated 29 September 2026. The timetable gives first and last trains only, not the gap between them; at busy times trains come every few minutes, so the wait is short. Any change for a particular date is posted on the operator’s home page, so that is the place to look on the day. For photographs, the morning and late-afternoon light matters more than which train you catch.
How do you get to Liziba from Jiefangbei, Hongya Cave or the airport?
By Rail Transit Line 2, direction Yudong. From Linjiangmen, the Line 2 station for Jiefangbei and Hongya Cave, Liziba is the fifth stop, about 11 minutes on the official timetable. From Xiaoshizi on Lines 1 and 6 the official route planner gives 3 yuan, with changes. Leave by Exit 1, go down to street level and cross the road. Checked October 2026.
- From Jiefangbei or Hongya Cave: Linjiangmen (Line 2) → Huanghuayuan → Daxigou → Zengjiayan → Niujiaotuo → Liziba. Linjiangmen is about 500 metres from Hongya Cave, so the direct Line 2 ride is the simpler one.
- From Jiangbei Airport T3: Line 10 to Zengjiayan, then Line 2 towards Yudong for two stops. The official route planner gave 7 yuan on 28 September 2026.
- By car: the viewing platform was built with a coach drop-off area, so ask your driver for the platform rather than the station.
- During the works: while Hall A is closed, until 31 October 2026, go in and out through Exit 1. Our Chongqing metro guide keeps the exit notes current.
What else is there to see at Liziba once the train has passed?
The wartime museums on the slope above the station. The Stilwell Museum at 63 Jialing Xinlu and the Flying Tigers museum opposite at number 62 are both free, open 9:00–17:00 and closed on Mondays; the Stilwell Museum takes last entry at 16:30 and you register with your passport. Liziba War Relics Park lies between them and the river. Checked October 2026.
Do it downhill. Start at the two museums, walk down through the park past its wartime bank buildings, residences and pillboxes, and finish at the viewing platform at the park’s north end. Allow about 1.5 hours for the museums and 20 to 40 minutes for the train. Our Chongqing WWII history tour puts this stretch together with Huangshan and Jiaochangkou in one day, with the car dropping you at the top of the slope and collecting you at the bottom. On a Monday the museums are closed, though the Stilwell Museum opens on public holidays, so keep Liziba for the train and the park.
The platform itself is laid out in four parts: a coach drop-off area, a photography square, a glass-walkway viewing section and footpaths. The government page adds that two further paths are to connect it to Liziba Park and Jiabin Road. Add Hongya Cave after dark and the Yangtze cableway for the river, and you have a full Yuzhong day.
Timing and angles are local knowledge
Anjia is based in Chongqing, so light, crowd timing and which platform corner works are checked on the ground rather than copied from an article. During the trip, the local ground team can respond 24 hours to urgent questions, weather changes, hotel issues and route adjustments.
Want it timed for the light?
Send dates, travellers and your comfort level. We reply within 2 hours, 8:00–20:00 Beijing time, then support urgent in-trip questions 24 hours once you are travelling in Chongqing.
FAQ
Yes. Watching the monorail pass through the tower costs nothing, as we check it in August 2026. There is no official fee page for the viewing platform, and nothing on site charges admission; you simply walk up. The only money involved is a metro fare if you ride Line 2 to get there.
Whenever Line 2 is running. At Liziba the official Chongqing Rail Transit timetable (data dated 29 September 2026) gives working-day first trains at 06:32 towards Jiaochangkou and 06:33 towards Yudong, last trains at 23:49 towards Jiaochangkou and 23:13 towards Yudong, and one later run to Tiantangbao at 00:13; holiday times are within a few minutes of these. The platform has no published hours of its own, so the metro day is the window. Trains pass every few minutes at busy times.
At street level directly below Liziba station, on the Jialing riverside. The Chongqing municipal government’s page on the station, published 26 August 2026, gives the purpose-built platform as about 1,367 square metres, with a photography area of about 840 square metres, a coach drop-off area, a glass-walkway viewing section and footpaths. From the platform you look up at the tower and catch the train entering and leaving the building from either direction.
Rail Transit Line 2, the riverside monorail. Ride it to Liziba station and you have both experiences in one: from inside, the train glides through floors of a residential tower; from the platform below, you watch it happen. Line 2's riverside stretch is also one of the most scenic ordinary rides in the city.
Twenty to forty minutes is typical: a few passes of the train, photos from a couple of angles, and the riverside walk. It is a stop, not a destination. On our routes it usually slots between other Yuzhong sights rather than standing alone.
Yes for most visitors: it is free, quick and genuinely odd. Trains come from both directions every few minutes, so you rarely wait long for a pass. Stand back on the platform for the full tower in frame, or closer for the train filling the opening. Our photography routes time it for light and pair it with the riverside angles.
Because they were built together. The Chongqing municipal government’s page on the station (26 August 2026) records Liziba as the first elevated straddle-type monorail station in China built into and sharing a residential and commercial building, completed in March 2004, with the station on floors 6 and 7 of the tower at 39 Liziba Zhengjie. The train was part of the design from the start.
On working days the first trains are at 06:32 towards Jiaochangkou and 06:33 towards Yudong. The last are at 23:49 towards Jiaochangkou and 23:13 towards Yudong, with one later run to Tiantangbao at 00:13. On holidays: 06:35 and 06:32 in the morning, then 23:50, 23:14 and 00:14. Source: the official Chongqing Rail Transit timetable, data dated 29 September 2026.
The Stilwell Museum and the Flying Tigers museum face each other on Jialing Xinlu on the slope above the station, both free and closed on Mondays, and Liziba War Relics Park runs down from them to the viewing platform at its north end. Walk it downhill and allow about two hours in all. Our Chongqing WWII history tour covers this stretch together with Huangshan and Jiaochangkou.