The bombing site at Jiaochangkou, Yuzhong District, Chongqing

By Keqiao Cheng, EDITOR

The air raid shelters of Chongqing saved thousands of lives from Japanese bombing during the wartime from 1930s to 1940s. Afterwards many of them were used for factories. Now the tunnels dug into the hillsides of this western metropolis of China have begun a new life.

When walking on the streets of Chongqing, you will see every now and then an arch-shaped door carved on the rocks of a hillside. That is the air raid shelter.

Historical archive of Chongqing after the bombing in September, 1940

During the wartime, people dug a lot of air raid shelters by taking advantage of the mountainous terrain of this city, and formed a huge bombing shelter system. It is said that the underground shelters in Chongqing reached 110 million square meters.

Historical archive of citizens who were about to move inside the shelters when the bombing began

As the provisional capital of China, Chongqing was a key target of bombing for the Japanese army. To protect the military industry and guarantee the production, many military factories moved to these underground channels.

Historical archive of people working at the provisional factories in the bombing shelter

It has been seven decades since the war ended. However, the wartime air raid shelters have not been abandoned, but repurposed for work and leisure.

In this city, do not be amazed when seeing a restaurant, a gas station, a museum or whatever in these former bombing shelters.

Some wine merchants even renovate the bomb shelters into wine cellars and meanwhile, run a bar inside. In the hot summer, these cellars are very popular among citizens because of its cool temperature of about 16℃ to 20℃ and the wine-related recreation.

A customer is buying wine in a cellar built in an air raid shelter

Dongting Hot Pot (Chinese: 洞亭火锅), a famous air raid shelter restaurant at Lianglukou, Yuzhong District, Chongqing

A gas station of Sinopec built in an air raid shelter, Yuzhong District, Chongqing

A former shelter now is a public dining area at Shangqingsi, Yuzhong District, Chongqing