Travel Notes #解放碑
Chongqing Luohan Temple: A Thousand-Year-Old Sanctuary Beneath the Skyscrapers
Luohan Temple sits right at the busiest corner of Jiefangbei — shopping malls on one side, a Northern-Song gateway on the other. With 500 clay arhats and a ring of cliff carvings, it makes the old saying "a great hermit hides in the city" feel literal.
Jiefangbei: The Monument That Beats at the Heart of Chongqing
There is a spot in Chongqing where time folds in on itself. A 27.5-metre stone spire stands at the centre of a swirling intersection, ringed by glass skyscrapers and flashing neon. This is Jiefangbei — the Liberation Monument — and it is far more than a landmark. It is the only monument in China dedicated to the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a silent witness to a city that refused to break, and today the pulsing heart of southwest China's most dazzling commercial district. To understand Chongqing, you must start here.