Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street (解放碑)

The 1947 monument that became the heart of Chongqing’s CBD

Jiefangbei (解放碑 Jiěfàngbēi, literally “Liberation Monument”) is a 27.5-meter stone obelisk erected in 1947 to commemorate the victory of the Chinese people in the War of Resistance against Japan. The monument stands at the center of a roundabout in Yuzhong district, the most central point in Chongqing. Around it, the city has built its densest concentration of skyscrapers, luxury malls, restaurants, and night life.

In 2026, Jiefangbei is the Times Square of central China. The original 1947 monument is now almost lost among the surrounding skyscrapers — but it remains the symbolic heart of Chongqing. The pedestrian streets, shopping arcades, and 200+ restaurants within a 10-min walk are what most visitors actually come for.

What the foreigner experience looks like in 2026

Jiefangbei is one of the most foreigner-friendly areas in Chongqing. The pedestrian streets, malls, and monument are all open access — no tickets, no ID check, no guided tour required. Every shop and restaurant accepts Alipay or WeChat Pay; cash (¥100-200) is a useful backup. English signage is widespread in the major malls and chain restaurants, less so in the small street-food stalls.

The main thing to know is that Jiefangbei is more of a place to experience than a single attraction. The monument itself is small (27.5m, smaller than a 10-story building) and easy to miss in the middle of a roundabout. What makes the area worth visiting is the surrounding 2 km² of:

• 5 covered shopping malls (IFS, Raffles City, Metropolitan Tower, Times Square, Wangfujing)
• 3 pedestrian food streets (Bayi, Shaanxi Road, Minzu Road)
• 200+ restaurants, with 30+ dedicated Chongqing hotpot places
• The Yangtze Cable Car north terminal (10 min walk west)
• Hongya Cave (10 min walk south)

The 1947 monument: from war memorial to CBD

The Liberation Monument was commissioned in 1940 by the Nationalist government (then based in wartime Chongqing) and completed in 1947, after the war ended. The original inscription reads “抗战胜利纪功碑” (Victory of the War of Resistance Monument) — commemorating China’s 8-year war with Japan. After the 1949 Communist victory, the inscription was changed to “人民解放纪念碑” (People’s Liberation Monument), giving the area its current name.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Yuzhong district was still a dense low-rise neighborhood of mixed shops, restaurants, and small residences. The monument stood in a busy commercial area, but not a particularly distinctive one. The transformation came in the 2000s, when Chongqing’s economy boomed (helped by the 1997 direct-control municipality status and the 2010s automotive and electronics manufacturing growth) and the surrounding neighborhood was demolished and rebuilt as skyscrapers.

By 2020, the monument was a 27.5m stone obelisk completely surrounded by 200m+ skyscrapers. It is now legally protected as a cultural relic, but it is also dwarfed by the buildings that grew up around it. The contrast — a 1947 stone monument in the middle of a 21st-century CBD — is the visual identity of Jiefangbei.

The 5 malls, 3 food streets, 1 monument

The Jiefangbei area is best understood as a 1 km² grid of 5 malls + 3 food streets + 1 monument, all connected by covered walkways. The full walking tour is 2-3 hours.

The 5 malls:

• IFS (国金中心) — luxury international brands, the rooftop sculpture garden (free viewing deck, panoramic Jiefangbei view)
• Raffles City (来福士) — the iconic Moshe Safdie-designed building with the horizontal sky-bridge (¥88 rooftop observation deck, 250m high)
• Metropolitan Tower (美美时代百货) — mid-range, Korean and Japanese brands
• Times Square (大都会) — high-end, European luxury
• Wangfujing (王府井) — Chinese department store chain, more accessible pricing

The 3 food streets:

• Bayi Food Street (八一好吃街) — the most famous, with neon-lit entrance and 50+ stalls. Best for the night-market vibe.
• Shaanxi Road (陕西路) — older, more local, fewer tourists. Better for the authentic experience.
• Minzu Road (民族路) — a mix of street food and sit-down restaurants, lined with hotpot chains.

The monument:

• The obelisk itself, surrounded by 4 streets (Minquan, Zourong, Minzu, and Yingbin). The Chinese characters on each side change every 30 years — the current set is from 2010.

Where to eat: hotpot, hotpot, hotpot

Jiefangbei is the single best place in Chongqing to try mala hotpot. The area has 30+ dedicated hotpot restaurants, ranging from ¥80/person neighborhood places to ¥200/person luxury chains. The 3 most famous:

• 珮姐老火锅 (Pei Jie Hotpot) — the most famous, the most photographed, the longest lines (2 hours on weekends). Worth it once.
• 晓宇火锅 (Xiao Yu Hotpot) — the locals’ choice, no-frills, no English menu, no decorations. The food is better than Pei Jie and the price is half.
• 刘一手 (Liu Yi Shou Hotpot) — the chain choice, standardized menu, English-friendly, consistent quality. Good for first-timers who want to know what they’re getting.

For non-hotpot options, the food streets have everything: Chongqing small noodles (¥15-30), sour-spicy sweet potato noodles (酸辣粉, ¥15-25), grilled skewers (¥5-15 each), and bubble tea. There are also 20+ international restaurants within a 5-min walk: Japanese (Ichiban, Sushi O), Korean (Gangnam BBQ), Italian (Pizza Marzano), French (Le Café).

Final tip

Eat at 晓宇, not 珮姐. The 2-hour line at 珮姐 is not worth the same food at half the price next door. For first-timers, 珮姐 is the cultural experience; for second-timers, 晓宇 is the better meal. Both are within 10 min walk of the monument.