Chongqing in 3 days

Dazu Rock Carvings day trip (the most important UNESCO World Heritage site in the Chongqing municipality — UNESCO inscription 1999): the Dazu Rock Carvings (the "Dazu shike" — the most extensive collection of cliff-face religious rock carvings in China and one of the most important in the world: over 50,000 individual carved figures (the most figures in any single Chinese rock carving site) spread across 75 cliff-face sites in the Dazu County (165km northwest of Chongqing)). The Dazu Rock Carvings (the most important tangible evidence of the fusion of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian religious art in a single location in China: the carvings (dating from the 9th century CE (Late Tang dynasty) through the 13th century CE (Southern Song dynasty) — the most important period for cliff-face religious art in Sichuan-Chongqing)). The Baodingshan carvings (the most important and the most elaborate of all the Dazu sites: the "Baoding Shan" (the "Precious Summit Hill") cliff sanctuary carved by the Buddhist monk Zhao Zhifeng (1159–1249 CE — the most important single patron of the Baodingshan carvings: the monk who commissioned and supervised the most ambitious single religious art project in the history of the Chongqing-Sichuan region)). The 31m reclining Buddha (the most important single figure in the Dazu Rock Carvings: the massive reclining figure of the "Nirvana Buddha" (the Buddha at the moment of final Nirvana (parinirvana — the most important single event in Buddhist theology: the final passing of the historical Buddha into the state beyond rebirth (the most desirable state in Buddhist soteriology))) carved from the living sandstone cliff.

Nanan Binjiang Road and the Chongqing skyline across the Yangtze (the most important cross-river perspective on the most dramatic urban skyline in China): the Nanan District (the "Nanan" — the "South Bank" district of Chongqing, on the south bank of the Yangtze River facing the Yuzhong Peninsula city center): the Nanan Binjiang Road (the most important riverside promenade in Chongqing: the 5km pedestrian walkway along the south bank of the Yangtze River facing the Chongqing city center skyline). The Chongqing skyline from the Nanan (the most dramatic urban waterfront view in China and one of the most spectacular in Asia): the Yuzhong Peninsula city center is most dramatically visible from the Nanan Binjiang Road (the skyscrapers of the Jiefangbei district and the Chaotianmen area rise directly from the cliff edge 100–200m above the Yangtze River — the most extreme urban cliff-building in the world: the CITIC Pacific Tower (the most important skyscraper on the Yuzhong Peninsula — the 65-storey, 295m tower that forms the most prominent element of the Chongqing skyline from the Nanan south bank viewpoint)). The Hongyadong cliffside complex (the most recognizable single building in the Chongqing skyline from the Nanan — the illuminated wooden stilted complex on the Jialing River cliff that is the most photographed structure in Chongqing, most clearly visible from the southern Nanan Binjiang Road vantage point)).

Ciqikou Ancient Town (the most important historic preserved neighbourhood in Chongqing — the "Ciqikou" (the "Porcelain Port" — "ci" (porcelain) + "qi" (vessel) + "kou" (mouth/port): the most literally descriptive ancient town name in Chongqing: the town was the most important porcelain trading port on the Jialing River in the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties)): the most intact preserved Ming and Qing dynasty commercial street architecture in Chongqing: the narrow stone-paved lanes (the most ancient paving in Chongqing: the grey limestone paving stones worn smooth by centuries of the most intense pedestrian trading traffic (the most important pedestrian surface in the history of Chongqing commerce)) lined with the most important traditional wooden shophouses (the "tongpuzi" — the traditional Chongqing timber-frame shophouse with the most distinctive overhanging upper story (the "piaolou" — the "floating building" — the cantilevered upper floor that maximizes the most limited urban land on the narrow cliff-edge sites of old Chongqing)). The "xiao mian" (the most important Chongqing noodle: the "small noodles" (the most modest and the most deceptive name in Chinese cuisine: the Chongqing xiao mian are the most intensely flavoured and the most complexly seasoned noodles in China (the most important dressing: the "yóu pō miàn" sauce (the hot chili oil + Sichuan pepper + sesame paste + garlic + ginger + Yibin preserved vegetables + soy sauce + vinegar sauce — the most complex noodle dressing in the world (by number of ingredients))))). The mao xue wang (the most iconic Chongqing communal spicy dish after the hotpot: the "mao xue wang" (the literally translated name: "blood in disorder" (the most evocatively macabre dish name in Chinese cuisine) is the most intensely spicy single pot of pork blood tofu + tripe + duck blood curd + bean sprouts in the most fierce mala broth).

Night Chongqing (the most spectacularly illuminated megacity in China after Shanghai — and the most dramatically situated city when seen at night): the Chongqing night skyline (the most dramatic urban night view in inland China: the skyscrapers of the Yuzhong Peninsula (the "city on the cliff") illuminated against the dark Yangtze River gorge (the most dramatic single urban nightscape in western China)). The bridge light shows (the most important night spectacle in Chongqing: the 14 major Yangtze River bridges in the Chongqing urban area (the most bridges over a single navigable river in any city in the world: the UNESCO-cited record for Chongqing: the most bridge spans over a major navigable river in a single metropolitan area) are illuminated with the most elaborate synchronized LED light shows in China (the most technologically advanced bridge illumination in inland China: each bridge has its own unique light show pattern that runs synchronously with the most dramatic classical and contemporary Chinese music)). The Yangtze River cruise at night (the most important night experience in Chongqing: the evening Yangtze River cruise from the Chaotianmen dock — the most dramatically lit urban waterfront cruise in China: the 1.5-hour cruise passes under the most illuminated bridges, past the most spectacularly lit cliffside buildings (the Hongyadong complex from the river at night is the most photographed single structure in Chongqing night photography) and provides the most complete view of the Chongqing city center from the river.

Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum (the most important museum in western China — the museum dedicated to the history, geology, ecology and culture of the Three Gorges and the entire Yangtze River basin): the Three Gorges Museum (the "Chongqing Zhongguo Sanxia Bowuguan" — the most comprehensive institution for the Three Gorges in China): the permanent collections: "The Formation of a Metropolitan" (the most important chronological exhibition of Chongqing history from the prehistoric Ba people to the most modern era), "Distant Ba" (the most important collection of artifacts from the Ba civilization — the most important pre-Chinese indigenous civilization of the Chongqing area: the "Ba" people (the "Banished People" of the most ancient Chinese chronicles) were the most important indigenous people of the Three Gorges region (the "Bazi" — the "Land of the Ba" — the Chongqing and eastern Sichuan region) before the Qin conquest in 316 BCE (the most important military event in the history of the Chongqing region: the Qin conquest of the Ba Kingdom that incorporated the most strategically important river junction in China into the Qin state (the precursor of the first Chinese empire))). "Splendors of the Three Gorges" (the most comprehensive exhibition of the submerged Three Gorges civilization: the artifacts rescued from the archaeological sites (the most important rescue archaeology project in Chinese history: the Three Gorges Dam construction required the most extensive underwater cultural rescue in Asian history — over 100,000 artifacts (the most artifacts rescued from a single infrastructure site in Chinese history) were collected from the 1,300+ submerged historical sites before the waters rose)).

Huguang Guild Hall (the most important and the most beautifully preserved Qing dynasty guild hall complex in China — the "Huguang Huiguan" (the "Guild Hall of the Hu and Guang [i.e. Hunan and Hubei] merchants")): built 1756 CE (the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty — the most culturally productive reign of the Qing dynasty (1735–1796 CE): the reign that produced the most important Qing architectural and literary works): the Huguang Guild Hall was built by the merchants from Hunan (formerly "Hunan Province" — the "south of the lake" province) and Hubei (the "north of the lake" province) who settled in Chongqing during the most important internal migration in Chinese history (the "Hú Guǎng tián Sì Chuān" — the "filling Sichuan from Huguang" migration: the Qing government-sponsored population movement from the Hunan and Hubei provinces (the most densely populated provinces in central China) to the Sichuan-Chongqing region (the most depopulated Chinese region after the devastating wars of the Ming-Qing transition of 1640s–1660s)). The guild hall complex (the most architecturally elaborate Qing-era merchant building in Chongqing: the most important rooms are the Yuwang Hall (the main ceremonial hall dedicated to the most important river deity in Chinese folk religion: the "Yuwang" (the "Rain King" — the Daoist deity of the Yangtze River)), the Qixin Hall and the most beautifully decorated opera stage in western China).

Yangtze River Cableway and the high-altitude city experience (the most dramatically situated urban cable car in the world): the Yangtze Ropeway (the "Changjiang Suodao" — the most important urban aerial transport in Chongqing): the 1,166m aerial crossing of the Yangtze River (the most dramatically positioned cable car crossing of a major navigable river in the world: the gondola departs from the Xinhua Road station on the Yuzhong Peninsula (the city center at 250m altitude above sea level) and descends to the Nanan station on the south bank of the Yangtze River (175m altitude — the most dramatic altitude change in an urban cable car crossing in China)). The most spectacular 3-minute urban cable car ride in Asia (the most frequently cited superlative for the Yangtze Ropeway in Chinese tourism promotion: the view from the gondola (the Yangtze River 100m below, the Chaotianmen confluence to the east, the Chongqing skyscrapers on the north bank and the Nanan hills on the south bank) is the most comprehensive aerial view of the Chongqing urban landscape). The Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2 (the "sky train" — the most unusual metro in China: the Line 2 elevated railway (the "Li Xiao Tao" line — the "Liziba-Xiaoshizi-Taohua Gorge" line: the most topographically challenging metro line in China) runs through the Liziba apartment building complex (the most dramatic instance of a metro line passing through a building in China: the Line 2 train passes through the 6th and 7th floors of the Liziba residential building — the most visually startling urban transit experience in the world).

Farewell Chongqing dinner (the mala xiang guo — the most important "dry hotpot" experience in Chongqing): the mala xiang guo (the "mala stir-fry" — the "麻辣香锅" (the "numbing-spicy-fragrant-pot"): the dry version of the Chongqing hotpot (the most versatile Chongqing spice application: the mala sauce applied not to a simmering broth but to a high-heat wok stir-fry)). The mala xiang guo preparation (the most interactive ordering experience in Chinese food culture: the customer selects the most desired ingredients from a display of the most varied raw ingredients (the most ingredient variety in any single Chinese restaurant format: the typical mala xiang guo restaurant offers 60–80 individual ingredients), then the chef stir-fries the selection in the most intense mala sauce in the most powerful wok flame). The most important mala xiang guo ingredients (the most popular selections in Chongqing): the lotus root (the "ǒu piàn" — the most texturally satisfying vegetable in the mala xiang guo: the thin lotus root slices (the "sliced lotus root") absorb the most mala sauce while retaining the most satisfying crunch), the potato slices (the most starch-rich ingredient: the potato absorbs the most sauce and provides the most satisfying filling bulk), the tripe (the "niǔdǔ" — the most textually complex meat: the honeycomb tripe (the reticulum of the beef stomach — the most elaborately textured meat surface in Chinese offal cuisine)).