Chongqing - In the morning, visitors head to the "Cave Spaceship No. 1" to explore the "World of Earth's Core." In the afternoon, they enjoy tea and visit the Air Raid Shelter Bookstore, and in the evening, they savor a spicy and flavorful hotpot in a cave. This has become a unique experience for many tourists visiting Chongqing.
According to the Chongqing Municipal Office for National Defense Mobilization on April 25, the city is leveraging its unique resources to create new consumer experiences through the "Air Raid Shelter+" model. Last year, 15 projects attracted over 4 million visits and generated 60 million yuan ($8.23 million) in revenue.
The entrance of "Cave Spaceship No. 1" (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Office for National Defense Mobilization)
Experience the 'World of Earth's Core'
"Such a small mountain actually hides such a rich array of experiences inside!" On the morning of April 25, a group of tourists from Zhejiang Province were at the entrance of "Cave Spaceship No. 1" in Shapingba District. They were amazed by the AI-generated sci-fi photos taken during their experience.
"Cave Spaceship No. 1" is a 50 million yuan investment covering an area of 6,000 square meters, with more than 3,000 square meters of space inside the cave. The facility includes three main sections: an interstellar shelter, an underground city refuge area, and an interstellar escape zone. Through interactive missions, visitors can immerse themselves in the "underground world."
Yin Bo, the operations director of Chongqing Dongersan Cultural Tourism Co., Ltd., the project's operator, stated that in just over two years, the attraction has welcomed over 800,000 visits and generated more than 20 million yuan in revenue. Additionally, more than 20 physical stores have opened in the surrounding area.
Last year, after Zhejiang TV's "Keep Running" program filmed its 100th episode here, the project gained even more attention.
Liu Wang, director of the Shapingba District Office for National Defense Mobilization, explained that in addition to "Cave Spaceship No. 1," the district also successfully introduced Yonghui Supermarket into the underground project at Three Gorges Square and brought the Red Dragonfly flagship store to the entrance of project No. 31 on the Yubei Road, maximizing the value of the civil air defense assets.
Not far from "Cave Spaceship No. 1," they also utilized vacant land to develop a public civil air defense project with a total building area of over 25,000 square meters. This project, which serves over 20,000 residents in the area, has a total investment of approximately 250 million yuan. The project features a park on the ground level, a supermarket on the first underground floor, and parking spaces for vehicles across the second to fourth underground floors. This integrated development aims to address local issues related to shopping, parking, and leisure activities, contributing to the creation of a "15-minute high-quality life service circle," Liu added.
The air raid shelter bookshop in Jiulongpo District (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Office for National Defense Mobilization)
Turned into 'City Memory Museum'
"Would you take a picture for me?" On the afternoon of April 25, in Junge Bookshop, located in an air raid shelter in Jiulongpo District, a girl from Ukraine asked in English.
The owner of the bookshop, Gou Jun, also known as Junge, or Brother Jun, said that this year, foreign tourists have noticeably increased, not only from East Asia but also from Europe and the Americas.
Inside the air raid shelter, people will find Tianfu Cola and Laoyin tea everywhere, with corridor-style bookshelves filled with yellowing books lining the walls. There are also numerous old road signs and school emblems, making visitors feel as though they've traveled back to Chongqing in the 1990s.
Three years ago, the bookstore needed to relocate from its original site next to the railway. After learning about this, the Jiulongpo District Office for National Defense Mobilization assisted in securing the air raid shelter as the new location.
From just over 40 square meters to more than 400 square meters, the bookstore's space expanded tenfold, and its business model underwent significant changes.
"It used to mainly sell old books, but now it has become a cultural exchange space," said Gou. Inside the shelter, there are more than 12,000 old books and over 6,000 maps. The bookshelves are organized by district and county to help visitors find what they're looking for. Many people come here to explore the city's history. After visiting, some tourists even send old books from their homes as donations. Book clubs hold reading sessions, music performers shoot short videos here, and many university students come to film their graduation projects, including students from the Beijing Film Academy, Gou noted.
Leveraging the air raid shelter as a platform, Gou's bookstore has developed a range of cultural and creative products, including postcards and fridge magnets. Gou said that the number of visitors varies from dozens to as many as three to four hundred each day. The growing popularity has also inspired local residents to open small restaurants and other businesses nearby.
"The unique feature of Chongqing's air raid shelters is their large number and their location in central areas, making them easily accessible," said a representative from the Chongqing Municipal Office for National Defense Mobilization. There are other cultural and artistic projects, such as Gou's bookshop, as well as the Stone House Art Base, an air raid shelter-turned-bar near Liziba Rail Station, and an air raid shelter-turned-concert hall across from Shangqingsi bus station, the representative added.
"Underground City" hotpot restaurant (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Office for National Defense Mobilization)
Developing 'Super Underground City'
When it comes to cave hotpots, many are familiar with them, but the "Underground City" hotpot restaurant located between Longtousi Park in Yubei District and Jiujie in Jiangbei District has still managed to surprise many.
Inside this cave, which spans over 500 meters and covers an area of 5,000 square meters, visitors can admire artistic decorations, including kung fu diagrams, graffiti, and quote walls. Thousands of Kongming lanterns shine brightly from the ceiling. Every night, 218 tables are filled to capacity, with the largest seating up to 36 people at once.
This underground space comprises 18 large and small air raid shelters, covering an area of nearly 40,000 square meters, and was originally the site of a factory from the 1970s and 1980s.
In 2023, the project developer utilized the air raid shelter group to develop a cultural tourism town spanning approximately 60,000 square meters, with 20,000 square meters of cave space. The largest cave in the group has been converted into a hotpot restaurant, which has already generated annual revenues exceeding 30 million yuan, according to Zuo Le, the operation manager.
Next door, the "pack basket market" inside another air raid shelter opens every Saturday, with bamboo baskets filled with vegetables freshly picked by farmers at dawn.
"It's more comfortable than an open-air market, and you don't need an umbrella on rainy days," said Wang, a vendor from Shichuan Town in Yubei.
This "Super Underground City," which combines a vegetable market, tea house, and hotpot restaurant, has become a prominent feature. Zuo revealed that the investors plan to build a brand system based on the "Underground City," comprising one super-large store, two medium-sized stores, and N community stores.
Approximately, there are over 1,000 underground air raid shelters in Chongqing, covering more than 1 million square meters. A representative from the Chongqing Municipal Office for National Defense Mobilization stated that in recent years, the city has continued to implement the "Air Raid Shelter+" civil air defense project, aiming to better integrate air raid shelters with urban construction and economic development.
In terms of public service, the 3-kilometer-long underground civil air defense tunnel at Jiefangbei has been made available to support the underground ring road project, easing traffic pressure. The city's civil air defense cooling points have served nearly 25.5 million visits over the past 22 years.
Economically, the development has fostered diverse industries, including culture and museums, tourism, dining, and shopping. In 2024, 15 related projects saw their visit numbers surpass 4 million for the first time, with total revenue exceeding 60 million yuan, gradually becoming a new consumer landmark with distinct Chongqing characteristics.
The representative further explained that the city will continue to utilize air raid shelters to create distinctive consumer spaces, enhancing historical memory while maximizing the resources of these shelters, and leveraging unique spaces to inspire innovative consumption potential.
(Chongqing Daily contributed to this report.