[Video] Chongqing's bustling 'underground businesses'
08 Mar 2024society
By Yi Jina
Video Journalist, ThinkChina
Dubbed the "8D magical mountain city", Chongqing is famous for its complex and perplexing urban landscape. You may have seen one of its trains passing through a residential building or the deepest metro station in China, but have you heard of its underground city?
During WWII, Chongqing built over 1,600 air-raid shelters across the city. Spanning over 1.1 million square metres of space that could accommodate over 600,000 people, these sites were built on a scale unmatched by other cities in China.
Today, over 90% of these shelters have been repurposed into various establishments, ranging from hotpot restaurants and museums to wine cellars and even gas stations. These bustling "underground businesses" attract over 1 million visitors annually and provide employment for more than 100,000 people. Even as war ends and peace prevails, these shelters remain an integral part of Chongqing's cityscape, bearing cultural, economic and historical significance.
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