Chongqing night cruise: tickets, decks and boarding

The main choice is whether you want an ordinary ticket for moving around the open deck or a reserved seat. Pick your ticket style first, then match it to a boarding pier that fits your dinner and walking plans.

Choose your deck and seat

An ordinary ticket suits moving around and taking photos. You can book two-river night cruise tickets departing from Hongyadong or Chaotianmen Pier 7. For the boat series below, it includes the common outdoor viewing deck. Budget CNY 138–168 (≈ USD 21–25 ) per adult for an ordinary night ticket.

Public seats are limited and taken in arrival order. You can enjoy the open deck without buying a reserved seat. Choose reserved seating or a VIP area when sitting together matters more than moving between viewpoints. Private cabin decks are separate from the common deck. For skyline photos, move between viewpoints as the boat turns.

The two-river cruise (两江游) stays around central Chongqing on the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. For multi-night cabin trips heading downriver toward Yichang, see our Three Gorges cruise guide.

Pick a boat by its boarding pier

Choose a pier that fits your evening before choosing a boat's decorative theme. Hongya Cave works well when you want to explore its riverfront first. Chaotianmen suits an evening around Raffles City.

For a modern boat with large glass viewing windows, choose 朝天皓月 or 朝天星河 at Pier 7. For traditional red lanterns and Chinese palace-style roofs, choose 金碧皇宫 at Pier 9. The Hongyadong boats fit naturally into an evening spent around Hongya Cave.

The river views include Hongya Cave's illuminated stilt houses, Qiansimen Bridge (千厮门大桥), and Chongqing Grand Theatre (重庆大剧院). Near the junction of the two rivers, look up at Raffles City (来福士) and the towers along the Nanbin Road riverbank.

Reach the lower waterfront

For Hongyadong Passenger Pier, head down to the lower riverside road. It sits outside Hongya Cave's first floor along Jiabin Road and Jialingjiang Binjiang Road (嘉滨路、嘉陵江滨江路). Cangbai Road (沧白路) reaches the upper eleventh-floor entrance. Use our Hongya Cave guide to navigate between the street levels.

Xiaoshizi (小什字) on Metro Lines 1 and 6 serves this area. From the station, walk down toward the lower river road and the pier.

For Chaotianmen Piers 7 and 9, take Metro Line 1 to Chaotianmen (朝天门). Walk through or around Raffles City down to the numbered waterfront piers below. Our transport guide explains metro lines and station exits.

Expect outdoor stairs and floating ramps when walking down to the boarding pontoons.

Put the cruise after dinner

Eat dinner first around Jiefangbei or Raffles City, then walk down to your pier. Typical evening sailings run between 19:30 and 22:00. A departure around 19:30–20:30 leaves time for dinner beforehand and a drink or riverside stroll afterwards.

If you board at Hongyadong, view the glowing facade from the river road before stepping onto the boat. If you choose Chaotianmen, explore the plaza and the river junction before boarding. For later evening plans, check our nightlife guide.

Practical tips for boarding

• Use the exact pier and boarding window on your ticket. Arrive 30 minutes before that window for ticket checks and the walk onto the boat.
• Tickets use passenger names. Bring the original document used to book, including your passport if you booked with it, and the booking QR code or confirmation.
• For a Chinese-language WeChat booking, search 大美重庆 and open 订船票 → 两江夜游. Select the pier series and enter the passenger name and document number.
• Save the boat name and full Chinese pier name together. This helps you find the correct boarding line among neighbouring boats.