Megacities where the inhabitants move from home to workplace without ever reaching ground level might seem the stuff of science-fiction. But in one massive municipality, that urban nightmare is already a reality. And even though it’s the largest city in the world by population, the chances are that you’ve never heard of it.
Chongqing, in Southwestern China, has a resident population of 32million and covers a huge geographical area roughly the size of Austria. With multi-level highways, a monorail system that cuts right through through residential tower blocks, and a skyline studded with brightly lit skyscrapers, Chongqing looks like something straight out of Blade Runner.
Local TikTokker Jackson Lu explains that “sunlight is a luxury” for those who live on Chongqing’s lower levels. He describes how he lives on the 18th storey of an apartment building, and travels to work by walking down to the 12th floor, where there’s “a subway station that feels like the entrance to a fallout shelter.”.
The “subway” is actually a metro monorail system that glides over the city, cutting through residential buildings here and there. When Jackson arrives at his station, he steps out onto the main city square – which is on the 22nd floor of another giant multi-storey development.
Even Chongqing’s buses operate far above ground level, taking passengers on a vertiginous rollercoaster ride along narrow “flyovers” that stand on narrow stilts above the city streets. “Somehow the bus takes me 20 storeys up in the sky,” Jackson says.
