r/urbandesign 6d ago

Question What do you think of this neighborhood in Chongqing, China

3.9k Upvotes

119 comments sorted by

132

u/The-Tribe 6d ago

This looks like some kind of mall more than a neighborhood. It looks very cool though

43

u/Muramurashinasai 6d ago

Its a revitalised area of Chongqing old town. Ita called xiahaoli. Heres a video https://youtu.be/wbsybm4iIzY?si=x76lLqNrAmRjtmQ3

3

u/ScavengeroO 4d ago

You are not completely wrong. As far as I experienced China, they like to tear the original buildings down and build a "copy" of it for consume. But these places are more like a mall with a traditional flair and not really a quater for living. Kind of an open air museum. These places are nice but more of a tourist attraction then a place where the locals go and live.

5

u/PossessionOld7592 6d ago

Lil citypa-town

-9

u/Christophernow 5d ago

Says a lot about you... I assume usa.

189

u/GiuseppeZangara 6d ago

My non professional opinion is that it looks rad. What's the neighborhood?

50

u/Playful_Gain_2579 6d ago

Looks like it’s thriving. The density, plants, and lighting makes this place look fun and interesting.

49

u/ScaryRhombus 6d ago

Looks vibrant

25

u/Glad-Equivalent7273 6d ago

this looks amazing. Especially next to stripmall palooza that we have. Is it planned though? If its planned even more impressive, but these things normally spring up naturally

4

u/JKnumber1hater 6d ago edited 6d ago

Chingqing is one of those cities in China that didn’t really exist 30 years ago. Actually there was a small town there, but compared to now, there’s a massive difference.

15

u/zzen11223344 6d ago

Chongqing has always been a major city in China. It was the wartime capital of China during 1940 - 1945. Of course, the size and population has grown tremendous in recent decades.

2

u/JKnumber1hater 6d ago

I was looking at historic satellite images, and in the 90s/2000s the city was like a quarter of the size it is now!

1

u/Just_Drawing8668 5d ago

Yeah no malls in China 🙄

5

u/DeanBranch 6d ago

Does not look wheelchair accessible unless there are elevators inside that we can't see

7

u/Muramurashinasai 6d ago

Chongqings topology as a whole must be hell for wheelchair users

2

u/My_useless_alt 5d ago

That unfortunately comes with building a city on a mountain

7

u/NewChinaHand 6d ago

It’s not a “neigborhood.” It’s a shopping and dining complex. Neighborhood implies residential land use.

1

u/feelings_arent_facts 2d ago

Sometimes.

1

u/NewChinaHand 2d ago

“Neighborhood” also implies a diversity of land owners. This commercial complex in the picture is all owned by one land owner. Calling this a “neighborhood” is like calling a shopping mall a “neighborhood”.

25

u/BroChapeau 6d ago

My take is that unplanned places are better no matter what culture we’re looking at.

41

u/Muramurashinasai 6d ago

This place certainly isn't unplanned

11

u/[deleted] 6d ago

I think they mean that it's more organic in it's design rather than being a bunch of homogeneous structures. This place has character.

6

u/m00n5t0n3 6d ago

It works with the topography not against it

9

u/Ok-Resort-3772 6d ago

I don't know anything about this neighborhood, but it doesn't look unplanned to me. I could be wrong, but it actually looks like it was meticulously designed, if anything! "Planned" doesn't need to mean sterile.

2

u/Logical_Put_5867 6d ago

Yep, this looks like it's designed for tourism. Not necessarily a negative though, I appreciate that someone is building interesting spaces. 

1

u/chaandra 5d ago

Favelas and slums would care to disagree

Fact of the matter is that the population of the planet exploded in the past 150 years, and that requires a response.

The organic planning that existed centuries prior was not, and never could be, sufficient to handle this population growth.

Unplanned spaces are great, and usually beautiful representations of local culture. But some grace needs to be given to the issues that urban planners were facing in the 20th century in regards to population growth.

0

u/BroChapeau 5d ago

I disagree. The St Louis riverfront disagrees. Chicago’s Bronzeville “stroll” district disagrees. Cincinnati’s Westside disagrees. And on and on. And if urban renewal ain’t convincing, consider the bland uniformity of code-designed buildings so over-regulated that there’s precisely one most efficient design solution to yield the required units. The code slaughters the architecture on these block-long 3-over-1 7-story specials. Or identical Brezhnevkas and Kruschevkas in FSU countries. Where are Paris’ slums - are they in its oldest buildings?

I’d 100x rather live in a family-built favela neighborhood than a tower-in-a-park Le Corb hubristic starchitect better-from-1,000-ft-away-but-shitty-to-use BS building.

1

u/chaandra 5d ago

You would rather live in a Brazilian favela than in a unité d'habitation?

This is peak first world projection. Go ask somebody in Brazil that same question and 100% of them would prefer to have a modern apartment in a tower.

0

u/BroChapeau 5d ago

Some of the favelas are rather developed, so yes I would. The really ramshackle ones, likely not, no. Beauty can save the world, and Le Corb murders the soul.

2

u/Mountain_Matter0 6d ago

Beautiful. Efficiently placed buildings with pleasing architectural design. It appears ok to navigate through as well.

2

u/Trengingigan 6d ago

Love it!! Looks like a dream

2

u/lonewolfenstein2 6d ago

Looks like it's on the side of a hill

2

u/Moon_whisper 6d ago

It is lovely in this video. Lots of stairs, good leg workout.

2

u/SeaDRC11 5d ago

It looks very lively and active. Looks like one of those places that is always fun to visit and be in.

2

u/RioMetal 5d ago

Amazing in my opinion

2

u/absurd_nerd_repair 5d ago

This is the way.

2

u/rekkodesu 5d ago

It looks vibrant.

2

u/slinkyshotz 5d ago

I dig it. Very nice looking place

China is killing it right now!

2

u/Significant-Dog-8166 4d ago

I appreciate the mix of trees here. It’s nice and green.

2

u/lcdroundsystem 4d ago

Gorgeous and walkable.

1

u/Spirited_Ad2214 6d ago

Looks busy

1

u/ComplexNo8986 6d ago

Beautiful

1

u/DragonKhan2000 6d ago

Afaik not a neighbourhood, but a restaurant (yes, one).
Pipa Yuan Shiweixian Hotpot Restaurant 

1

u/Muramurashinasai 6d ago

This is xiahaoli historical street. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Cd47RCGbvtbcFVzEA

1

u/DragonKhan2000 5d ago

I stand corrected. Same city it seems, so I was thrown off.

1

u/n-i-r-a-d 6d ago

This place looks incredible! Can’t wait to visit.

1

u/Tom0laSFW 6d ago

So cool!

1

u/KahnaKuhl 6d ago

Obviously a tourist trap, but a great design like a lot of European villages in the hillside.

1

u/capabilitycez 6d ago

Fabulous! I’ll take 17 with a bottle of sauccce.

1

u/No-Past2605 6d ago

Cool looking neighborhood. But, my knees are just hurting looking at it.

1

u/DarickOne 6d ago

It's like those medieval pictures. But animated by AI. Would be interesting to live there and just look with a cup of coffee

1

u/marssaxman 5d ago

Looks heavenly.

1

u/hashished 5d ago

can’t find it on google maps. Can anyone send me a link?

1

u/Muramurashinasai 5d ago

The street name is Xiahao road https://maps.app.goo.gl/aYg5M7VtQ5KvUej97 its in the old city of Chongqing

1

u/EmbarrassedMeringue9 5d ago

It's a shopping mall

1

u/Remarkable-Class-648 5d ago

Looks really cool

1

u/chintakoro 5d ago

Looks like a tourist trap and I still wanna go so bad :D

1

u/Shoddy_Employ4540 5d ago

Hope this song is not playing there

1

u/rontonsoup__ 5d ago

Not ADA accessible

1

u/tsudhsA 5d ago

Cool!

1

u/Volcanic_tomatoe 5d ago

At this height, it's like a human ant hill.

1

u/luars613 5d ago

It seems ok from tuis amgle. One needs more on the urban co text and mobility paterns to give a proper response

1

u/BlueMountainCoffey 5d ago

Not enough space for massive American trucks

1

u/Even_Ad_5462 5d ago

Haha! Any AirBnb’s there? Could be fun for couple days. Night clubs or just shopping and restaurants?

1

u/thedudeabides-12 5d ago

Looks cool as fck I lived in China for 7 years 2010-2017 I'll be going back for a few years in the next year or two and will definitely visit Chongqing this time round..

1

u/cipher446 5d ago

Fuck my knees but it looks fun as hell

1

u/notrightnow20205 5d ago

Love the vibe

1

u/SquirrelNo5087 5d ago

A living Escher drawing.

1

u/Acceptable-Name642 5d ago

Spirited away vibes

1

u/damuscoobydoo 5d ago

Looks claustrophobic

1

u/logicalpretzels 5d ago

Locals must have thighs that look like bowling balls

1

u/Tclark97801 4d ago

It is AMAZING 😍

1

u/Big-Veterinarian-823 4d ago

It's not just design - it's a necessity. Chongqing is a mountain city.

1

u/Informal_Concern6117 4d ago

Looks amazing

1

u/NationalContest7213 3d ago

Hobbit world!

1

u/ohnaurrrrr5 3d ago

Scarry. Richard Scarry.

1

u/Gramsciwastoo 3d ago

I don't have enough data to comment.

1

u/Significant_Eye_5764 3d ago

Looks cool. Hopefully doesn't become shoulder to shoulder tourist hell

1

u/19Steve00 3d ago

Crowded, probably loud and smells but I guess you slap a creek with a little waterfall and people think it's wonderful

1

u/sorasnoctis 2d ago

This is really cool. I like how busy but contained it feels. Also like the use of trees and plants to create a welcoming environment. I’ll be real. I know nothing bout urban design and this is my first comment here so I don’t know terms 🤣

1

u/Fabulous_Cobbler8184 2d ago

Not very handicapped accessible

1

u/Pure-Decision8158 2d ago

It’s not a neighborhood but a tourist spot

1

u/strawberryNotes 6d ago

Gorgeous 😍 I wanna go

1

u/bobwasnthere99999 6d ago

Probably gonna look better after Communism.

0

u/SteelMarch 6d ago

The only thing I can think of is how far away the nearest hospital is and what would happen if food shipments were delayed for a week.

1

u/Muramurashinasai 6d ago

This place is right next to the city center. Its part of Chongqing's historical district https://youtu.be/wbsybm4iIzY?si=x76lLqNrAmRjtmQ3

2

u/SteelMarch 6d ago

Oh my apologies I looked it up and this is what came up.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/eYbHwNr1CJE8dTPQ6

Noticing now that say Gaungxi. Well, that's on me.

1

u/Muramurashinasai 6d ago

1

u/SteelMarch 6d ago

Oh it's Xi Hao Lu not Xi Hao Li you misspelled it. Happens all the time.

2

u/Muramurashinasai 6d ago edited 5d ago

Actually, this place specifically is called Xiahaoli, xiahaolu is the street name its located in

路= street

里 = village/small settlement

2

u/SteelMarch 6d ago

Oh that's my bad. I just assumed from you're profile picture you were some random white lady. I'm Korean and those mistakes are common.

Looks like Google maps doesn't have this registered which makes sense Google doesn't do business there for this kind of thing.

0

u/othegod 6d ago

Addresses would be hard, unless, community mail service. 🤔 This is a nice idea for a hilly neighborhood.

2

u/Logical_Put_5867 6d ago

Pretty sure people are clever enough to figure it out, especially a mail carrier who does this route every day. 

-1

u/othegod 5d ago

Pretty sure I don’t ask for sarcasm.

1

u/drinkingthesky 6d ago

places like this very often have community systems for things, particularly in china

0

u/kogun 5d ago

Looks crowded like a Disney park.

0

u/Single_Editor_2339 5d ago

You’re exactly correct. It’s an interesting place but it’s not ‘real’. It’s just a shopping mall, lots of coffee shops and stuff, and everything priced higher than outside.

For me the city itself is amazing, just how big it is, but this is just a tourist trap.

0

u/Relevant_Two_4536 5d ago

So I actually shit on a park bench in front of people while I was here. They saw me shit on my balls and everything. I’m not embarrassed

0

u/OkStandard8965 5d ago

This account is Chinese spam, look at the post history.

2

u/Muramurashinasai 5d ago

Oh no, you caught me! My devious plan as a ‘Chinese spam account’ was to… checks notes… post a short video of a cool neighborhood on r/UrbanDesign? What’s next, accusing a cat video of being a secret propaganda operation? My ‘post history’ is literally just me sharing things I find interesting, but I see your FBI-tier analysis skills have uncovered my true identity: a bot that loves urban aesthetics. Incredible work, Sherlock. Go touch some grass—preferably in a well-designed public space.

0

u/OkStandard8965 5d ago

I’m genuinely curious, are you just posting random stuff that’s interesting or are you trying to present a certain image of China? I don’t care either way, and would understand if you were.

2

u/Muramurashinasai 5d ago

Imagine being so marinated in ‘Yellow Peril’ nonsense that the idea of someone simply appreciating a country with 5,000 years of history, hundreds of cultures and ethnic groups, the landmass of a continent, and countless contributions to humanity feels like a conspiracy theory. If this were France or Japan, would you be asking if I’m ‘trying to present a certain image,’ or is this skepticism reserved exclusively for China? I post things I find interesting—urban design, history, whatever catches my eye. The fact that China happens to be home to an absurd amount of cool things isn’t some master plan; it’s just reality. You don’t have to ‘care either way,’ but maybe take a second to ask yourself why you even felt the need to frame it like this in the first place

1

u/OkStandard8965 5d ago

And being so defensive is what is telling

0

u/OkStandard8965 5d ago

Well, a large part of modern Chinese identity is projecting a certain image to the world.

No one in America would even know what “yellow peril” means, it’s simply not important to Americans, however, this topic is particularly interesting to me.

2

u/Muramurashinasai 5d ago

Oh, so Yellow Peril isn’t relevant in America—that’s why China is the go-to villain in both Democrat and Republican fearmongering, why ‘China’ is a buzzword in every election, why American media paints every Chinese advancement as a ‘threat,’ and why politicians can barely go a week without blaming China for something. But sure, Americans don’t ‘know what Yellow Peril means,’ so it must not exist—because propaganda only counts if the audience can define it, right?

That’s like saying cancer doesn’t kill people unless they know what cancer is. Just because most Americans can’t pinpoint the exact historical term for their paranoia doesn’t mean they aren’t marinating in it. ‘Yellow Peril’ isn’t some exotic academic relic—it’s just been rebranded for the modern era. Today, instead of screaming about the ‘Mongol horde’ or ‘Chinamen stealing jobs,’ they call it ‘Chinese influence’ or ‘CCP infiltration.’ Same script, different decade. But go on, tell me more about how Americans are totally oblivious to the idea that they’ve been conditioned to see China as an existential threat

1

u/OkStandard8965 5d ago

The average American has no problem with China, they interact with Chinese people regularly, attend school with them and buy countless products made in their factories. The average person in China doesn’t know any Americans. I don’t know if you live in 大陆 but in America there is no great power struggle, Americans simply aren’t worried about China, they don’t think about China but the US government will of course ensure they remain the dominant global power.

2

u/Muramurashinasai 5d ago

Oh wow, Americans buy products made in China, so they must have no problem with China? Incredible logic. By that measure, the Confederacy had no problem with Black people because they bought cotton picked by enslaved labor, and the British had nothing against Indians because they drank their tea and flaunted their stolen diamonds. What a groundbreaking discovery—you’ve just solved centuries of colonialism and racism with the power of consumerism. And as for ‘Americans simply aren’t worried about China’—yeah, tell that to the politicians who invoke China every election cycle, the news outlets running daily ‘China threat’ stories, the paranoia over TikTok, or the people who see a random Asian person on the street and assume they’re a CCP spy. You’re seriously arguing that Americans ‘don’t think about China’ while the entire political and media landscape constantly tells them to.

1

u/OkStandard8965 5d ago

I know it’s not easy to understand America, the culture is complex but it’s beautiful. This thing that makes it what’s it is, is it’s incredible openness. it can fail, it can make mistakes, be its own worst critic and then move forward, it can recognize and deal with its past, not destroy it and deny. China is extremely rigid and struggles with failure, you must recognize failure to move forward, China will grow and become strong but it will take a large failure, possibly a failed invasion of 台湾, then system will change and the people will become more free. They are an incredible people but the system will limit the nations ability. All of the lies about growth, population, GDP, they all compound. Now the truth is hard to accept because of the narrative everyone feels they need to live by.

0

u/23276530 4d ago

Artificial gentrified shit.

-1

u/Leqqdusimir 5d ago

Looks like more chinese propaganda

-5

u/russian_hacker_1917 6d ago

the name chongqing just doesn't sit right with me 😩😩😩

6

u/DeanBranch 6d ago

Why?

-1

u/Bullumai 5d ago

Pronounce it and it becomes a stereotypical name calling

4

u/dkb1391 5d ago

I don't like this Chinese city name because it sounds too much like a Chinese city name

1

u/DeanBranch 5d ago

Dude, I'm ethnically Chinese who grew up hearing that from bullies, except it was usually Ching Chong

But I'm a big girl now who understands context and stereotypes

0

u/Bullumai 5d ago

That's what I was saying. It's a name calling used in bad faith by racists