The South Bank in Half a Day: Nanbin Road, Danzishi, Longmenhao and Huangjueya
Choose between a riverside South Bank half-day and a hill route through Nanshan. Moving between them wastes the limited time, so pick river or hill first and only then add nearby stops.
The short answer
Pick the river or the hill; there is no metro up Nanshan. River: cableway or Line 6 to Shangxinjie, then Longmenhao, Ciyun Temple (1.2 km) and Danzishi (another 2.5 km), then the Loop line back, about two hours with stops. Hill: Huangjueya for lunch, then the Huangshan wartime residences or the botanical garden by bus 384.
The riverside is free: Longmenhao, Nanbin Road, Ciyun Temple, Danzishi and the Planning Exhibition Hall. On the hill, the Huangshan residences are ¥18 and the botanical garden ¥15-16 (¥30 February-May). The cableway is ¥30 single, and Yikeshu is ¥30 from March to October.
Only the Planning Exhibition Hall and Sanmao's house (by platform listings) close. The Huangshan residences open every day, despite older guides, and so does the botanical garden. The streets never close. Check the cableway's monthly maintenance day instead.
The cableway is the view but needs a same-day WeChat ticket and can queue an hour at the north station on holidays. Metro Line 6 to Shangxinjie exit 2 lands in the same place. If you take the cableway, ride it south-to-north at dusk from the shorter-queue south station. See the night-view page.
Free: be at Danzishi's upper terrace or the Longmenhao river platform as the lights come on. Paid: go to Yikeshu on Nanshan, 5 minutes by taxi from Huangjueya. From November to February, check for fog first. See the night-view page.
Side by sideEach cell ends with the date of the notice it was checked against
Swipe sideways; the first column stays put
Longmenhao Old Street
龙门浩老街Open the place →- What you see & how long
- Where the cableway lands: a restored treaty-port hillside of brick villas and stone lanes under the Dongshuimen bridge, with 1930s-40s American, Italian and Belgian legation buildings. It is a restoration, not a survival. Time on site: not published · 2026-09-16
- Ticket / price
- No ticketing for the street. The cableway is ¥30 single / ¥50 return, the published ceiling from 1 January 2025 · 2026-09-16
- Hours & closed days
- Street open all day; shops roughly 10:00-22:00; cableway 8:00-22:00. No closing day, but the cableway shuts for maintenance almost one weekday a month · 2026-09-16
- Booking & ID
- Nothing to book for the street. Same-day cableway tickets go on sale from 7:45 (7:15 on holidays) on the operator's WeChat official account · 2025-03-24
- Getting there
- Metro Line 6 / Loop Shangxinjie exit 2 to the cableway south station; the street runs downhill from there to the river under the bridge. Buses 304 / 318 / 320 to Longmenhao, 3 minutes · 2026-09-16
- Photos & crowds
- The best spot for the peninsula is the riverside platform under the bridge, not the lanes. On holidays the street takes over 50,000 visitors a day and the north cableway station can queue an hour; the south station is the better door · 2025-03-24
- Don't get this wrong
- Not Ciqikou, the older 'ancient town' 15 km west in Shapingba. Not the cableway's north station either, which is on Xinhua Road in Yuzhong · 2026-09-16
Nanbin Road & Ciyun Temple
南滨路 · 慈云寺Open the place →- What you see & how long
- The south bank's riverside road, looking across at the whole lit peninsula. The stretch that matters is the 4 km from Longmenhao to Danzishi, with Ciyun Temple halfway. About two hours with stops · 2022-12-28
- Ticket / price
- Free road. Ciyun Temple has been free since April 2013 (the temple's Weibo via Sina, 2013) · 2013-05-13
- Hours & closed days
- No hours for the road itself. Ciyun Temple is 8:00-16:30 according to Ctrip, while other platforms say it stays open to 18:00; the temple has confirmed neither · 2022-12-28
- Booking & ID
- None published for the road or the temple · 2026-09-22
- Getting there
- Metro Line 6 / Loop Shangxinjie and walk down, or Loop Danzishi at the other end. Buses 338 / 373 / 375 run the length. Ciyun Temple is 1.2 km from Longmenhao · 2026-09-22
- Photos & crowds
- Much of the river is blocked by hotels and hoardings. The open river views are at three places: under the Dongshuimen bridge at Longmenhao, the Ciyun Temple terrace, and the Danzishi steps. From June to September the lowest terrace floods · 2026-09-22
- Don't get this wrong
- Not Changbin Road or Jiabin Road, which are the peninsula's own riverside roads; Nanbin Road is the bank you look at them from. It is also not Nanshan, the hill above · 2026-09-22
Danzishi Old Street
弹子石老街Open the place →- What you see & how long
- A brand-new 'old street' of 2018: a kilometre of stepped lanes climbing 80 m from the river. The one genuinely old building is the 1902 French naval barracks. The reason to come is the terrace facing the confluence. Give it an hour at dusk · 2026-09-21
- Ticket / price
- Free (no ticketing, district tourism table) · 2026-01-30
- Hours & closed days
- Open street; shops 10:00-22:00 (district tourism table, 2026). The lanes themselves never close · 2026-01-30
- Booking & ID
- None published · 2026-09-21
- Getting there
- Loop line Danzishi exit 2 or 3, then downhill through the street to the river. Buses 119 / 338 / 373 / 375 stop below at Nanbin Road ICBC · 2021-04-25
- Photos & crowds
- Stand on the upper terrace near Baisuifang for the full confluence, with Chaotianmen and Raffles City ahead and the Grand Theatre to the left. It is best at dusk as the lights come on · 2021-04-25
- Don't get this wrong
- Not the Treaty Port Heritage Park at Ma'anshan, 3 km upstream by the cableway, which has the exhibition hall. Not Longmenhao either: Longmenhao is a restoration of real buildings, while Danzishi is new build · 2026-09-21
Huangjueya Old Street
黄桷垭老街Open the place →- What you see & how long
- A 600 m street of 175 restored or rebuilt timber houses on the Nanshan ridge, at the top of the old Huangge stone path. It includes the house where the writer Sanmao was born; give the house 15 minutes. It is Nanshan's place to eat · 2023-05-26
- Ticket / price
- Free street. At Sanmao's house, 2026 platforms say buying a souvenir from ¥10 gets you in · 2026-03-05
- Hours & closed days
- No hours published for the street. Sanmao's house is open Tuesday-Sunday 10:00-18:00 according to Qunar; call 023-62316868 first · 2023-05-26
- Booking & ID
- None published · 2026-09-22
- Getting there
- Buses 346 / 347 / 384 to Huangjueya or Chongwen Road; a 10-15 minute taxi from the cableway south station. On foot, the Huangge path from Qianqu Road near Shangxinjie is 3.6 km of steps, 60-80 minutes up · 2023-05-26
- Photos & crowds
- The district said in 2023 the 600 m street averages over 10,000 visitors a day; weekends and the October holiday are busier · 2026-09-22
- Don't get this wrong
- Not Huangjueping, the graffiti street by the art academy in Jiulongpo across the river. Not a Song-dynasty survival: the houses are 2016-2019 restorations · 2026-09-22
Huangshan Wartime Sites Museum
黄山抗战遗址博物馆Open the place →- What you see & how long
- Chiang Kai-shek's wartime residences of 1938-46 on a forested spur of Nanshan: Yunxiu Lodge, Song Meiling's Pine Hall, the US military mission's quarters, air-raid shelters. There are 15 buildings on a loop of hill paths; the loop takes two hours · 2024-05-13
- Ticket / price
- ¥18 adult; under-18s and over-65s free, students and 60-64s half price · 2026-01-30
- Hours & closed days
- Daily 9:00-18:00 (5 March-15 October), 9:00-17:30 (16 October-4 March); ticket sales stop an hour before closing. No closing day listed · 2026-01-30
- Booking & ID
- WeChat official account, Ctrip or Meituan (district table), or the ticket office at the gate. Concessions need valid ID; whether a passport works at the gate is not published · 2026-01-30
- Getting there
- 1 Nanshan Botanical Garden Road. Bus 384 runs direct; a taxi from the cableway south station takes 20-25 minutes. No metro anywhere near · 2026-01-30
- Photos & crowds
- The Wangjiang pavilion at the top looks down on the peninsula and the confluence; it is clearest on winter mornings, while summer afternoons are hazy · 2024-05-13
- Don't get this wrong
- Not Hongyan or Gele Mountain, which are the Communist wartime museums. Not Huangshan in Anhui. And not free or closed on Mondays, whatever older guides say · 2026-01-30
| Compare | Longmenhao Old Street | Nanbin Road & Ciyun Temple | Danzishi Old Street | Huangjueya Old Street | Huangshan Wartime Sites Museum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you see & how long | Where the cableway lands: a restored treaty-port hillside of brick villas and stone lanes under the Dongshuimen bridge, with 1930s-40s American, Italian and Belgian legation buildings. It is a restoration, not a survival. Time on site: not published · 2026-09-16 | The south bank's riverside road, looking across at the whole lit peninsula. The stretch that matters is the 4 km from Longmenhao to Danzishi, with Ciyun Temple halfway. About two hours with stops · 2022-12-28 | A brand-new 'old street' of 2018: a kilometre of stepped lanes climbing 80 m from the river. The one genuinely old building is the 1902 French naval barracks. The reason to come is the terrace facing the confluence. Give it an hour at dusk · 2026-09-21 | A 600 m street of 175 restored or rebuilt timber houses on the Nanshan ridge, at the top of the old Huangge stone path. It includes the house where the writer Sanmao was born; give the house 15 minutes. It is Nanshan's place to eat · 2023-05-26 | Chiang Kai-shek's wartime residences of 1938-46 on a forested spur of Nanshan: Yunxiu Lodge, Song Meiling's Pine Hall, the US military mission's quarters, air-raid shelters. There are 15 buildings on a loop of hill paths; the loop takes two hours · 2024-05-13 |
| Ticket / price | No ticketing for the street. The cableway is ¥30 single / ¥50 return, the published ceiling from 1 January 2025 · 2026-09-16 | Free road. Ciyun Temple has been free since April 2013 (the temple's Weibo via Sina, 2013) · 2013-05-13 | Free (no ticketing, district tourism table) · 2026-01-30 | Free street. At Sanmao's house, 2026 platforms say buying a souvenir from ¥10 gets you in · 2026-03-05 | ¥18 adult; under-18s and over-65s free, students and 60-64s half price · 2026-01-30 |
| Hours & closed days | Street open all day; shops roughly 10:00-22:00; cableway 8:00-22:00. No closing day, but the cableway shuts for maintenance almost one weekday a month · 2026-09-16 | No hours for the road itself. Ciyun Temple is 8:00-16:30 according to Ctrip, while other platforms say it stays open to 18:00; the temple has confirmed neither · 2022-12-28 | Open street; shops 10:00-22:00 (district tourism table, 2026). The lanes themselves never close · 2026-01-30 | No hours published for the street. Sanmao's house is open Tuesday-Sunday 10:00-18:00 according to Qunar; call 023-62316868 first · 2023-05-26 | Daily 9:00-18:00 (5 March-15 October), 9:00-17:30 (16 October-4 March); ticket sales stop an hour before closing. No closing day listed · 2026-01-30 |
| Booking & ID | Nothing to book for the street. Same-day cableway tickets go on sale from 7:45 (7:15 on holidays) on the operator's WeChat official account · 2025-03-24 | None published for the road or the temple · 2026-09-22 | None published · 2026-09-21 | None published · 2026-09-22 | WeChat official account, Ctrip or Meituan (district table), or the ticket office at the gate. Concessions need valid ID; whether a passport works at the gate is not published · 2026-01-30 |
| Getting there | Metro Line 6 / Loop Shangxinjie exit 2 to the cableway south station; the street runs downhill from there to the river under the bridge. Buses 304 / 318 / 320 to Longmenhao, 3 minutes · 2026-09-16 | Metro Line 6 / Loop Shangxinjie and walk down, or Loop Danzishi at the other end. Buses 338 / 373 / 375 run the length. Ciyun Temple is 1.2 km from Longmenhao · 2026-09-22 | Loop line Danzishi exit 2 or 3, then downhill through the street to the river. Buses 119 / 338 / 373 / 375 stop below at Nanbin Road ICBC · 2021-04-25 | Buses 346 / 347 / 384 to Huangjueya or Chongwen Road; a 10-15 minute taxi from the cableway south station. On foot, the Huangge path from Qianqu Road near Shangxinjie is 3.6 km of steps, 60-80 minutes up · 2023-05-26 | 1 Nanshan Botanical Garden Road. Bus 384 runs direct; a taxi from the cableway south station takes 20-25 minutes. No metro anywhere near · 2026-01-30 |
| Photos & crowds | The best spot for the peninsula is the riverside platform under the bridge, not the lanes. On holidays the street takes over 50,000 visitors a day and the north cableway station can queue an hour; the south station is the better door · 2025-03-24 | Much of the river is blocked by hotels and hoardings. The open river views are at three places: under the Dongshuimen bridge at Longmenhao, the Ciyun Temple terrace, and the Danzishi steps. From June to September the lowest terrace floods · 2026-09-22 | Stand on the upper terrace near Baisuifang for the full confluence, with Chaotianmen and Raffles City ahead and the Grand Theatre to the left. It is best at dusk as the lights come on · 2021-04-25 | The district said in 2023 the 600 m street averages over 10,000 visitors a day; weekends and the October holiday are busier · 2026-09-22 | The Wangjiang pavilion at the top looks down on the peninsula and the confluence; it is clearest on winter mornings, while summer afternoons are hazy · 2024-05-13 |
| Don't get this wrong | Not Ciqikou, the older 'ancient town' 15 km west in Shapingba. Not the cableway's north station either, which is on Xinhua Road in Yuzhong · 2026-09-16 | Not Changbin Road or Jiabin Road, which are the peninsula's own riverside roads; Nanbin Road is the bank you look at them from. It is also not Nanshan, the hill above · 2026-09-22 | Not the Treaty Port Heritage Park at Ma'anshan, 3 km upstream by the cableway, which has the exhibition hall. Not Longmenhao either: Longmenhao is a restoration of real buildings, while Danzishi is new build · 2026-09-21 | Not Huangjueping, the graffiti street by the art academy in Jiulongpo across the river. Not a Song-dynasty survival: the houses are 2016-2019 restorations · 2026-09-22 | Not Hongyan or Gele Mountain, which are the Communist wartime museums. Not Huangshan in Anhui. And not free or closed on Mondays, whatever older guides say · 2026-01-30 |
Chongqing Planning Exhibition Hall：Free, on Danzishi Square below the old street: a giant model of the central city and a flying cinema. Tuesday-Sunday 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:30, closed Mondays, no booking since July 2024. Give it 90 minutes before the walk. It is in Nan'an, not at Jiangbeizui or Chaotianmen as many guides say. Before the walk, not on a Monday.
Nanshan Botanical Garden：Next door to the Huangshan residences on the same ridge. ¥15 in January, June, November and December, ¥16 July-October, ¥30 in the February-May flower season, ¥50 with the glasshouse, and none of these covers Yikeshu. Open 9:00-17:30, according to the district table. Worth it for the cherry blossom and camellias of February to April; for the skyline, go to Yikeshu. Spring flowers, after Huangshan.
Nanshan Yikeshu viewing garden：The paid night-view platform on Nanshan, ¥30 March-October and ¥15 November-February. Keep the evening of the hill half-day for it: it is a 5-minute taxi from Huangjueya. Check the fog before you go and call a ride before 21:00. Full comparison on the night-view page. The evening of the hill half-day. → See “Where to See Chongqing's Night Skyline”
Yangtze River Cableway：How you cross to Longmenhao: 1,166 m over the Yangtze from Xinhua Road to Shangxinjie, ¥30 single / ¥50 return. It is the one stop here that still needs booking: same-day tickets are sold from 7:45 on the WeChat official account. It is closed one weekday a month. Metro Line 6 to Shangxinjie is the no-queue alternative. See the night-view page. Crossing the river in the morning. → See “Where to See Chongqing's Night Skyline”
One by one
Longmenhao Old Street
龙门浩老街The start of the riverside half-day, because the cableway lands here and the south station usually has the shorter queue. Come for the buildings and the angle back at the peninsula, not for 'old Chongqing life'. The street is a restoration built from salvaged bricks, and the shops are cafés for photographers. Before you plan around the cableway, check its monthly maintenance day. For the first stop off the cableway.
Open the place →Nanbin Road & Ciyun Temple
南滨路 · 慈云寺A road, not a promenade, but the classic angle on the peninsula at night, and free. Walk it from the cableway past Ciyun Temple to Danzishi, west to east, timing it to reach the confluence as the lights come on. The riverfront restaurants charge for the view, so eat a street back or up at Huangjueya. For the riverside walk at dusk.
Open the place →Danzishi Old Street
弹子石老街The end of the riverside walk, and the one place on Nanbin Road that gives the peninsula head-on rather than at an angle. Almost everything here was built in 2016-2018. The French barracks is a restaurant and events space, so look at it from outside. Come at dusk, give it an hour, and take the Loop line home. The Planning Exhibition Hall is on the square below. For the confluence at dusk, then the Loop line home.
Open the place →Huangjueya Old Street
黄桷垭老街The meal and the junction of the hill half-day. Teahouses, hotpot and spring-water chicken cost less than on Nanbin Road, and the street links Laojun Cave, the botanical garden and the Huangshan residences. Sanmao's house is worth a 15-minute look. The real experience is walking up the 3.6 km Huangge path, but it is all steps, with no shade on the lower half. For lunch or dinner on Nanshan.
Open the place →Huangshan Wartime Sites Museum
黄山抗战遗址博物馆The one paid stop, and the other half of the wartime capital: where the Nationalist government actually ran the war. It costs ¥18 and is open every day. The residences are strung along a real hill path, so allow two hours, not forty minutes, and take closing time seriously. Read a little about Chiang, Song Meiling and Stilwell before you go. Pair it with the botanical garden next door, not with an evening on Nanbin Road. For a hill afternoon with some history.
Open the place →