Hongyadong, Chongqing

An 11-storey complex of stilted, traditional-style halls clinging to the cliff over the Jialing River, famous for its golden night lights.

It is famous for its stacked halls, which light up in gold at night. People often compare it to the bathhouse in the 2001 Japanese animated film Spirited Away. Inside are shops, hotels and a food market, and the top floor has a viewing platform over the river.

Old stilt houses, new complex

The site is thought to have been a fortress from the time of the ancient Ba State through to the end of the Qing dynasty, and its story goes back to the Hongyang Gate from the early Ming dynasty in the 14th century. Wooden stilt houses called diaojiaolou lined the river bank until about 1949, when river shipping declined and they fell into disrepair. The local government tore them down from 2005, then built new buildings in the same stilt-house style.

Visiting today

Construction of the new complex began in 2006, led by the firm Shenzhen Huazhu Architectural & Engineering Design. The fourth floor is a food market known for spice shops, especially the numbing-spicy mala flavour of Chongqing cooking. Visitors can climb through the levels and look over the Jialing River from the viewing platform at the top. It is most popular after dark, when lanterns and golden lights switch on.

On the globe

The toy model shows the stilted, traditional-style halls stacked against the cliff above the river.