Ciqikou Old Town Route

What Ciqikou is

Ciqikou is an old town west of central Chongqing, on a cliff facing the Jialing River. Its history reaches back to the Song dynasty, and it was once a river wharf so prosperous it was called "Little Chongqing." Its name comes from the porcelain (ciqi) fired here and shipped out by boat. As a hinge where river and land cargo changed hands, it drew boatmen, porters and traders, and the canteens and snack shops that fed them gathered around — the old town's food today is what they left behind. Around the stone-paved Main Street, Ming-and-Qing timber houses climb the slope, and beneath the eaves the sound of frying mahua and the hot smell of giblets fill the air. Groomed now as a scenic spot, it is also the origin of dishes like maoxuewang, born at this wharf and carried across the whole of Chongqing.

The old town's taste — snacks born at the wharf

Ciqikou's food grew out of the lives of those who worked the river wharf. Its emblem is maoxuewang. Cheap duck blood and offal simmered in a hot broth, the dish was made to fill the porters who hauled the cargo, and in time became one of Chongqing's emblematic jianghu dishes. To eat that plate where it began is the worth of this old town. The other lead is Chen mahua — twisted, fried dough sticks in many flavours, from sweet honey to spicy mala, and, keeping well, a souvenir staple. Add the mould-griddled yundou gao, the douhua-and-rice meal, and cold bingfen, and these plain, cheap snacks line the Main Street. There is nothing flashy here, but the "layer close to the ground" of Chongqing's food remains.

How to walk this route

Start at Ciqikou station on Rail Transit Line 1. Walk from the station to the town gate (the paifang) and enter the stone-paved Main Street from there. First sample the freshly fried Chen mahua and choose your flavour. A little further on, the hot smell of frying giblets and the iron moulds griddling yundou gao come into view. To eat properly, order chicken giblets or the maoxuewang that began here, with rice. When the heat piles up, settle yourself with the gentle douhua rice meal and cool your mouth with bingfen. The Main Street is full of slopes and steps and drops toward the river, so once you reach the wharf, rest on the view of the Jialing. Reckon about ninety minutes on foot, mixing standing snacks with pots and rice you sit for. Weekends and holidays get very crowded, so for an unhurried look, aim for early morning. Hours change, so confirm on the spot.