Discover Chongqing
Shibati (Eighteen Steps)
十八梯
The old stepped lane that connected the upper and lower city, demolished and rebuilt as a heritage quarter of stilt houses, workshops and food streets descending the cliff. It is the reconstructed version of vanished Chongqing, done reasonably well.
The story
What makes this place special
Shibati, 'Eighteen Steps', was the stepped lane that carried people between the upper city at Jiaochangkou and the lower city at the Yangtze wharves — the route by which goods and porters moved up and down the cliff, and for much of the 20th century one of the poorest and most densely lived-in parts of Chongqing. The old quarter was cleared and the site rebuilt between 2017 and 2021, with some older buildings reconstructed in their original positions and at their original heights and some trees and remains kept. It reopened as a heritage-styled district on 30 September 2021 and by the time it had been open a few months held well over a hundred businesses.
What you’ll discover
A continuous stepped street descending the cliff from Jiaochangkou to the road at the bottom, flanked by rebuilt grey-brick and timber buildings now holding cafés, craft shops, noodle places and small exhibition rooms about the old neighbourhood. A cantilevered cliff-edge walkway along one side gives a wide view over the lower city. The descent is the experience; it is handsome, well made and frankly new.
A little local insight
Good to know before you go
- Start at the top at Jiaochangkou and walk down. The steps are long and continuous and climbing them is a serious effort in Chongqing's heat.
- The city balcony at Jiaochangkou, above the quarter, is free and gives you the view down over the whole stepped street before you enter it.
- Go into the small museum rooms about the old Shibati. They are the only thing here that is not a shop, and they are what makes the rebuild comprehensible.
- It links the upper city to the lower city on foot, which is genuinely useful — you can come down from Jiefangbei and continue towards the river rather than doubling back.
- Expect a reconstruction, not a survival. If you want unreconstructed old Chongqing, look at the stilt houses near Dongshuimen instead.
When to come
Early evening, when the lanterns are on and the temperature has dropped. The steps are brutal in midday summer heat.
Getting around
Hard. The whole quarter is a staircase down a cliff — that is literally what it is — and while the new build has handrails and even surfaces, there is no step-free route from top to bottom. A wheelchair user can use the viewing balcony at the top but not the street. A bad knee can descend slowly with a stick; do not plan to walk back up, take a taxi from the bottom.
Worth knowing before you go
Walk down rather than up - the whole thing is one long staircase - and finish at the bottom near the Yangtze, where you can pick up the cableway or a riverside bus.
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