Night Economy Becoming a New Engine for Chongqing to Build an International Consumption Center City

In the height of summer, the mountain city grows ever more vibrant when nights fall. On July 11, the long-awaited 2025 Chongqing Night Life Festival kicked off grandly at Yangjiaping Pedestrian Street in Jiulongpo District, synergizing with the 3rd Chongqing International Beer Culture Festival to ignite Chongqing’s summer night consumption enthusiasm. A citywide, summer-long night consumption feast officially commenced, inviting residents and tourists to embark on a dynamic summer night journey blending “international flair and Bashu charm.”

The event is jointly hosted by Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development, Chongqing Municipal Administration of Sports, Chongqing Municipal Bureau of City Management, the Foreign Affairs Office of Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, and Jiulongpo District People’s Government of Chongqing Municipality, showcasing the unique charm of Chongqing’s night life through diverse business forms, innovative scenarios, and tangible benefits, while injecting robust night-economy momentum into Chongqing’s efforts to become an international consumption center city.

Decoding the Night’s Secrets, Painting a Picture of Chongqing’s Vitality

“Chongqing has ranked first among China’s top 10 night economy influential cities for four consecutive years, and the night economy has become a new driving force of building Chongqing into an international consumption center,” stated Zhang Yongwu, Director-General of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, at the opening ceremony. This year’s Chongqing Night Life Festival, with the theme of “Love Chongqing · Lively Nights” and the focus on summer consumption trends, created more than 100 consumption scenarios, and launched more than 200 themed activities such as “Exploring the Lively  Night City” and the Sichuan-Chongqing Urban Night Economy Carnival, collaborating with over 1,000 enterprises to ignite the city’s lively spirit and spur new consumption hotspots.

During the opening ceremony, the festival’s mascot, “Wu Du Du,” unveiled the “Map of Chongqing’s Five Night Treasures” through a vivid and interactive performance. The five treasures cover “Shopping, Entertainment, Dining, Wellness, and Culture, all at night time,” and introduced 17 check-in routes tailored to different groups such as families with children, trendsetters, photography enthusiasts, literature and art lovers, sports enthusiasts, and outdoor adventurers.

Deeply integrating premium cultural and tourism resources from Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality, the event also covered the “Tianfu (Sichuan) Summer Travel Guide” to offer convenient access for tourists nationwide to enjoy a colorful summer in Sichuan and Chongqing. All the efforts can deepen consumption cooperation within the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-Hub Mega Region and contribute to building the Bashu Cultural Tourism Corridor.

Meanwhile, video connections were made between the main venue and  several distinctive nighttime consumption sites across various districts and counties such as Baguocheng, Tianshengcheng Site in Wanzhou District, the 9th Street, Mountain City Alley, and Puti Ancient Town in Changshou District, bringing the passion and vitality of Chongqing’s summer nights to a climax and extending a warm invitation to the nation and the world to experience Chongqing’s lively night.

Local Charm on Full Display, Lighting Up the City’s Night

On the opening night, the “Map of Chongqing’s Five Night Treasures” and “Recommended Itineraries to Explore Chongqing’s Nights” were simultaneously launched on the Douyin topic page for “# Chongqing Never Sleeps”, with active promotion by multiple “Chongqing’s Night Explorers and Ambassadors.”

Offline, over 150 recommended check-in spots for experiencing Chongqing’s nights and over a hundred exclusive discount offers were thoughtfully arranged across the city, accompanied by ongoing supporting activities such as the “Must-Visit Guide of Chongqing’s Nights.”

Drawing on their distinct strengths, districts and counties across Chongqing rolled out over 200 nighttime consumption events with diverse themes, collectively lighting up a “one district, one feature” nighttime consumption landscape. For example, Yongchuan District leveraged the SCO Film Festival 2025 to launch the “A Movie Ticket to Explore the City” Film Consumption Carnival; Changshou District held a Beer & Hotpot Festival in the Puti Ancient Town with the charm of the old times; Nan’an District held the Bu Ye Nanbin (Nanbin’s Night and Life Festival) to innovatively create a riverside “cool breeze zone”; Fuling District staged dual celebrations of the Water Sound Wave Festival and Land Beer Festival; and Wanzhou District capitalized on its title as “Hometown of Grilled Fish” to host the Three Gorges Food & Grilled Fish Festival.

To bring more tangible benefits to the public, the event partnered with platforms and financial institutions like Ele.me, Taobao Flash Sale, and China UnionPay to pool together over RMB100 million in nighttime consumption incentives, continuously energizing the night economy. Additionally, it collaborates with DiDi, Amap, Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank, and others to offer numerous travel discounts, making it easier to enjoy the lively Chongqing’s nights.

“As the launching base of the Chongqing Night Life Festival, Jiulongpo District offers multidimensional night life scenes and immersive summer night experiences, painting a vivid picture of a city that grows more vibrant by night,” said Qin Changde, Secretary of the CPC Chongqing Jiulongpo District Committee. He added that the district will collaborate with business circles, commercial complexes, and well-known brands to host a variety of themed events such as the “Hi-Beer Parade” and “Beer King Challenge,” while activating signature food streets like MixC, Jiulong Ecool Industrial Park, and Minzhucun, allowing consumers to experience the unique charm of Jiulongpo firsthand.