Chongqing: A Mountain City Racing To Become A Global Consumer Destination

CHONGQING, China, Oct 12 (Bernama) -- Nestled among mountains and rivers in western China, Chongqing is accelerating its rise as an international consumption center, drawing global visitors with its unique landscape, industrial strength and open, inclusive retail environment.

Walking through the city, immersive consumption scenes appear at every turn. Renovated air-raid shelters have been reborn as "Mountain City Cave Havens," hosting bars, restaurants and immersive performances, while cave hotpot restaurants - one of which seats more than 1,300 diners at a constant 25°C - have become visitor favorites. Chongqing's consumer power has grown by leaps and bounds: in 2025, total retail sales of consumer goods reached RMB 1.67 trillion, ranking first among Chinese cities and welcoming more than 500 million visitors a year. A strong manufacturing base - new-energy vehicles, motorcycles and laptops - keeps fueling the market, while the city has continuously topped China's night-economy rankings for four consecutive years. More than 2,800 domestic and international brands and over 2,000 first stores have now settled here, including 325 Fortune Global 500 companies that chose Chongqing as their first stop in western China.