Chongqing - The famous riverside in Chongqing Nan'an District called Nanbin Road became the place to be for overseas merchants in Southwest China nearly 130 years ago, when the first customs house was established in 1891, marking the point in history when Chongqing opened to foreign trade. 

Later, the English merchant Archibald John Little relocated his trade business Little & Co here in 1896, and now this cluster of 17 buildings nestled upon the steep riverbank hill has undergone a spectacular restoration project to become the Chongqing's Opening Port Heritage Park of today.

Archibald John Little (1838-1908) was a merchant and businessman from Manchester, England. John Little opened the era of steamship navigation on the Upper Yangtze when he finally set foot in Chongqing in 1898 aboard the Leechuan and established Little and Co. as the first foreign company in the city. He later set up the Leechuan Insurance Company, issued the first commercial postal stamp, and acquired mining rights from the Jiangbei Government.

The main historical buildings are the Former Site of Little & Co, the warehouse which is now Chongqing's Opening Port Heritage Museum, and the Sailor Lounge, which catered to high-ranking officials and merchants from overseas who enjoyed the homey environment of wooden furnishings, drinks bar, and western artwork, set during this era when the culture shock must have been felt difficult at times.

In addition, the park attracts visitors with a trendy retro-style food street, open-air terraces with live performances, and the Youth Culture Space, where young people take on the Inward Skateboard Park. The site has also released a line of culturally innovative products, including practical accessories and ice cream with a traditional lion design, meaning this new cultural landmark has something to offer people of all ages.

The restoration of this whole site took around three years to complete and blended Western and Chinese architectural styles. More than 30 historical experts studied photo archives to plan the restoration work that was carried out by over ten building craftsmen using original techniques. Meanwhile, teachers from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute painstakingly sampled a range of colors for the exterior of Little and Co in order for the building to recreate its former appearance most accurately.

Chongqing has continued to revitalize the Two Rivers and Four Banks area recently, which has given this city of mountains and rivers a whole new international feel. Nanbin Road has undertaken many similar restoration projects that have added rich historical and cultural connotations to the area. Top examples are the French Naval Barracks, Longmenhao Old Street, and the National Palace Museum Relocation Museum.

In this vlog filmed to explore this new cultural and historical landmark, James Alexander explores the heritage behind Chongqing's Opening Port Heritage Park, which has witnessed the remarkable development of Chongqing for over a century beside the Yangtze riverbank, and also experiences the food and entertainment outlets with their range of culturally innovative products. Since the park opened to the public on a trial basis in May 2023, locals and tourists can now add this special landmark to their list of must-visit places in Chongqing!

 (Guo Juntao and Zhang Hengyu, as interns, also contributed to this report)