◇ 文圖|（加拿大）

“I was sweating through my shirt, tired from carrying everything I owned on my back, and confused by the seeming maze of streets, all on top of each other. In other words, I was hooked.”

“我汗流浹背，背上的行李愈發(fā)沉重，迷宮般的街道也弄得我昏頭轉(zhuǎn)向，這種感覺遍布全身。換句話說，我完全被迷住了?！?/p>

Spicy food, spicy girls, and getting lost 辛辣的食物，辣妹，還有迷路

My first year in China was spent in the hustle and bustle of Shanghai.

It was a culture shock to say the least, especially coming from a small town in Canada of around 15,000 people, a number that would fit in one of Shanghai’s apartment complexes. Everything was bigger, better,more convenient. Glamorous people were everywhere.

Money was flying at me from my high-paying teaching job, and being spent just as quickly in the fastpaced status culture.

I needed out.

Once my work contract was finished, I set off to find a different environment.

Thus began my half year of traveling throughout China, not knowing exactly what I was searching for,but knowing what I wasn’t.

I passed through the South, the crowds and modernity of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou quickly turning me off. I settled into the Guilin,Beijing, and Xi’an, only to find them to be super touristy towns. I met up with the pandas of Chengdu,but still couldn’t find the vibe I was looking for.

Then, as a single male, I decided to check out the almost mythical city of Chongqing, where I had heard the most beautiful women of China live. What single guy wouldn’t want to at least check to see if the rumours were true?

Three years later I’ve come to think of Chongqing as my second home.

I’ve grown to love this city, and am confident that if given a chance and the right mindset, you can too. Of course there are struggles, nothing in life is perfect,but this is true of any city in any country in the world.For me, Chongqing is as close to perfect as I’ve found, and these are the reasons why.

辛辣、油膩、超級(jí)美味的火鍋，當(dāng)之無愧是重慶最有名的菜肴

在上海的喧囂中，我度過了來中國的第一年。

對(duì)于來自加拿大一個(gè)只有1.5萬人口小鎮(zhèn)的我來說，上海密集的人口給我極大震撼。至少可以說，這是一次文化沖擊，因?yàn)閮H僅上海一棟公寓大樓里就有很多人。一切都好像變得更大、更好而且更便捷了，我身邊的人也都魅力四射。

在上海當(dāng)教師工資高，但在快節(jié)奏的文化狀態(tài)中，錢來得快去得也快。

我感覺我應(yīng)該離開這里了。

當(dāng)工作合同到期后，我決定重新出發(fā)，去尋找一個(gè)不同的環(huán)境。

于是，我開始了為期半年的中國之旅，雖然我不確定自己到底在尋找什么，但我十分清楚自己不想要什么。

我游歷了許多南方城市，不過，我很快就對(duì)香港、深圳和廣州的人潮和現(xiàn)代化感了到厭倦。沒多久，我又選擇了離開。我也曾在桂林、北京和西安住過一陣子，但這里擠滿了游客。我去成都看過熊貓，但仍然沒有找到我尋找的感覺。

最后，仍然單身的我決定去重慶看看。重慶是一個(gè)近乎神話般的城市，聽說中國最美麗的女人都在這里。有哪個(gè)單身漢不愿意去驗(yàn)證一下這個(gè)美麗的傳說呢？

三年后，重慶于我而言，已經(jīng)是第二故鄉(xiāng)了。

我漸漸愛上了這座城市，我也相信如果你有機(jī)會(huì)和正確的心態(tài)，那么你也一定會(huì)愛上它。當(dāng)然，在重慶生活也有艱難的時(shí)候，生活本不完美，這點(diǎn)對(duì)于世界上任何一個(gè)國家的任何一個(gè)城市而言，都是一樣的。

但是，于我而言，重慶已經(jīng)近乎完美，具體理由請(qǐng)讓我細(xì)細(xì)道來。

Adventure Abounds 歷險(xiǎn)比比皆是

I arrived in Chongqing after a 19 hour train ride into the sweltering summer heat.

Confident of my backpacking skills, I promptly set out to find my hostel in Jiefangbei. Which I couldn’t.The streets were confusing, the maps seemed to have roads on top of each other, and the simple act of getting to the riverside seemed impossible.

白天迷宮般的城市，到了夜晚就是璀璨

I spoke very little Chinese, and couldn’t understand the accents of all the Chinese people I encountered.

I got turned around in little side streets, walked through residential buildings to get down mountain sides, and got lost for hours.

I was sweating through my shirt, tired from carrying everything I owned on my back, and confused by the seeming maze of streets, all on top of each other.In other words, I was hooked.

Part of what makes life interesting for me is finding little spots that few others know of, or going on adventures and getting lost.

The excitement of not knowing what I could find,whether it’s an ancient tea shop, a secret doorway to a restricted roof area, or a new specialty coffee shop.

Chongqing seems to be uniquely good at getting me lost and introducing me to new experiences. Next time you’re trying to think of something to do, try packing away your expectations, picking a random metro stop and heading there with a friend or loved one to just explore the area. You never know what you might find.

炎炎夏日里，我坐了19個(gè)小時(shí)的火車來到了重慶。

出于對(duì)自己背包旅行能力的堅(jiān)定信心，下火車后我決定立即出發(fā)，去尋找我在解放碑預(yù)訂的旅店。但是，我根本就找不到。各條街道混亂交錯(cuò)，地圖上的道路也似乎重疊在了一起，就連到達(dá)江邊這樣簡單的事情，似乎都無法完成。

我?guī)缀醪粫?huì)說中文，也聽不懂他們的口音。

我在小巷里不停地穿行、掉頭，然后穿過住宅區(qū)、下山，就這樣迷路了好幾個(gè)小時(shí)。

我汗流浹背，背上的行李愈發(fā)沉重，迷宮般的街道也弄得我昏頭轉(zhuǎn)向，這種感覺遍布全身。換句話說，我完全被迷住了。

找到鮮為人知的小地方，或者是去冒險(xiǎn)甚至是迷路，都讓我的生活變得有趣起來。

下半城的滑板少年

在這個(gè)過程中，我可能會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)一家老茶館，一個(gè)通往受限區(qū)域的秘密入口，或一家新開的特色咖啡店。這種對(duì)未知事物的新奇感覺，讓我興奮不已。

在重慶，我似乎很容易就迷路了。但與此同時(shí)，我也有了很多新的經(jīng)歷。所以，下次在想你要做什么事情的時(shí)候，試著放棄目的地，隨便選擇一個(gè)地鐵站，和你的朋友或愛人一同去探索這個(gè)地方。你永遠(yuǎn)不知道你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)什么。

Convenient Transportation 便捷的交通

One of the prerequisites for exploring a city is being able to get around quickly and cheaply.

This is definitely one area where Chongqing shines with its large network of metro lines.

For significantly less than a cup of coffee you can travel the length of the city, and because everything is in pinyin, it is incredibly easy to read and know where you are.

Not to mention fast and reliable, often proving quicker than taking a taxi due to wait times and traffic jams.

With China’s investment in public infrastructure and ability to make new lines in relatively short times,the metro will only get better in the future.

Besides, who doesn’t enjoy watching the river flow by while riding Line 2?

要想探索一座城市，先決條件之一就是得有便宜便捷的交通。

在這一點(diǎn)上，重慶龐大的軌道交通網(wǎng)絡(luò)無疑是佼佼者。

花不到一杯咖啡的錢，就能游歷整個(gè)城市，所有地名都有拼音標(biāo)注，很容易就能讀懂它們，并且能夠知道自己所在的位置。

軌道交通的速度和可靠性就更加無需多言了。因?yàn)榈却龝r(shí)間短，而且不會(huì)堵車，所以選擇軌道交通出行遠(yuǎn)比出租車快得多。

隨著中國對(duì)公共基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的投資不斷加大，以及在較短時(shí)間內(nèi)建設(shè)新線路的能力，重慶軌道交通的未來只會(huì)變得更好。

況且，有誰會(huì)不喜歡在輕軌2號(hào)線上看江水流淌呢？

More City Centres = Less Crowds 更多城市中心=更少擁擠

Ask any foreigner what they don’t like about China and they will inevitably talk about the amount of people.

Whether it’s the people cramming into the subway systems, flooding the main walkways, or jamming up the streets, you can’t escape the fact that wherever you go in China, no matter the city, you will have to deal with lots and lots of people.

You can however mitigate the crowds by having the main centres of shopping and entertainment spread out, which is exactly what Chongqing does.

Whether you live in Jiefanngbei, Daping,Guanyinqiao, Shapingba, Nanping, Nanbin Lu, Beibin Lu, Jiulongpo, Yangjiaping, or any of the Tiandi’s,you live in a smaller city centre which acts to spread out the population and give more room for everyone.

This means that not only do you need to travel less, so does everyone else. Instead of everyone flocking to one super popular city centre like The Bund in Shanghai, many choose to stay closer to home instead, wherever that home happens to be.

More city centres for people to enjoy, and less crowds for everyone to contend with make Chongqing a less anxious place to live compared to many other Chinese cities.

在“貳廠”文創(chuàng)區(qū)，外國人也能找到很多消遣之道

如果隨便問一個(gè)外國人，他們不喜歡中國什么。十有八九，都會(huì)說人口數(shù)量。

無論是拼命擠進(jìn)地鐵的人潮，還是人行道上擁擠的人群，一個(gè)無法逃避的事實(shí)是：無論走到中國哪個(gè)地方，哪座城市，你都將不得不與許多許多的人打交道。

但是，通過分散主要的購物和娛樂中心，就可以有效減少人群的聚集。重慶就是這樣做的。

無論住在解放碑、大坪、觀音橋、沙坪壩、南坪、南濱路、北濱路、九龍坡、楊家坪，還是這片土地上的任何一個(gè)地方，事實(shí)上都是一個(gè)較小的城市中心。這樣的小型城市中心，不僅分散了人口，而且為每個(gè)人都提供了更多的生活空間。

也就是說，減少奔波的不光是你，所有人都能從中受益。不論住在哪里，大家出行時(shí)都傾向于選擇離家近的地方，而不是所有人都要涌到一個(gè)超級(jí)受歡迎的城市中心，比如上海外灘。

↓ 有誰會(huì)不喜歡在輕軌2號(hào)線上看江水流淌呢

與許多其他中國城市相比，重慶供人們休閑娛樂的城市中心更多，所以大規(guī)模的人潮擁擠就更少。相比于中國的其他城市，重慶人的焦慮感也會(huì)相對(duì)少一些。

Laid Back Culture And Helpful People 悠閑的文化和熱心的人

One of my biggest complaints about most Chinese cities, and Chinese culture in general, is the emphasis on status and material wealth.

It was one of the big reasons I was exhausted after living in Shanghai, as no matter how much money I made, it was usually spent before my next pay check.Of course, I made some terrible financial decisions,but the environment and culture you live in is a big factor in your decision making process, and being in Shanghai it is very easy to spend more money than you make.

From what I’ve seen most First Tier cities in China are the same, which is why the more laid back and community driven culture of Chongqing appeals to me.

Not everything here is about making and spending lots of money.

Instead there seems to be more of a community that values experiences, gathering together, and helping others. The locals are much friendlier, less likely to try to give you a “foreigner” price on goods,and more willing to help.

I still remember the first day I came to Chongqing,lost and looking for my hostel, and asked a local for help. The directions were on my phone, which being around 70 years old of course he couldn’t read. Instead of waving me away and going about his day, he promptly ran back up the two stories to his house to grab his glasses, then after looking at the map guided me for fifteen minutes to the door of the hostel.

These are the types of people, the type of culture,that make a city worth living in.

我對(duì)大多數(shù)中國城市和中國文化最主要的抱怨，就是過于強(qiáng)調(diào)地位和物質(zhì)財(cái)富。

這也是我在上海生活過后，感到精疲力竭的主要原因。因?yàn)闊o論我掙了多少錢，常常還沒到下次發(fā)工資，錢就花光了。當(dāng)然，這主要還是因?yàn)槲覀€(gè)人的財(cái)務(wù)決定不那么理智。但一個(gè)人所處的環(huán)境和文化，會(huì)對(duì)人的決策產(chǎn)生重要影響。在上海，太容易出現(xiàn)花的比掙的多這種情況了。

根據(jù)我的觀察，中國大多數(shù)一線城市差不多都是這樣，這就是為什么重慶悠閑的以社區(qū)為中心的文化吸引了我。

在重慶，很多事情都和賺很多錢或是花很多錢沒有關(guān)系。

相反，很多社區(qū)更重視體驗(yàn)、融合及幫助他人。重慶人都非常友好，不會(huì)因?yàn)槟闶且粋€(gè)外國人就故意抬高商品價(jià)格，反而更愿意提供幫助。

至今，我依然記得來重慶的第一天，在尋找旅店的途中，我迷路后向當(dāng)?shù)厝藢で髱椭慕?jīng)歷。一位大約70歲的老人，看不清我手機(jī)上顯示的道路方向。他本來可以擺擺手，把我扔下，忙自己的事情，但是，他卻迅速跑回家里，爬了兩層樓梯，拿來眼鏡，看清楚地圖之后，帶著我走了十五分鐘，然后把我送到了旅店門口。

這樣的人和這樣的文化，讓這座城市成為宜居之城。

Food, Food, And A Thriving Food Culture 美食，美食以及繁榮的飲食文化

Any discussion of why Chongqing is so great can’t be made without talking about the food and the culture surrounding it.

Spicy is of course the king of flavours here, making even the cheapest of dishes delightfully flavourful.

Xiaomian is a must, but really everything you find in a slightly dirty, hole-in-the-wall restaurant will be delicious. Some of the best food I’ve had here has been some of the cheapest.

Then of course, there is hot pot. Spicy, oily,terribly delicious hot pot. Chongqing’s most famous dish for good reason, eating this mix of chillies,butter, Sichuan pepper, and anything else that might taste good is an essential part of living in Chongqing.Even if you’re not a fan of the dish itself, the culture around it is fun for everyone. Sitting down with a big group of friends, eating delicious food, drinking cheap beer, playing drinking games, and being overly boisterous are what hot pot is all about, and the prevalence of it means that sitting and eating with friends is a regular occurrence.

Chongqing is a very “l(fā)ove it or hate it” city, but I would guess that those that hate it haven’t found their proper place.

There is a lot to offer here, especially if you’re looking to actually live and not just visit.

For me it was love at first sight (or more accurately, love at first bite), but for anyone living here if you sit down and actually think about all the good parts of Chongqing, I’m confident that you’ll end with a smile on your face.

任何關(guān)于為什么重慶這么棒的討論，都離不開重慶的美食和周邊文化。

毫無疑問，辣是這里的美味之王，辣味能讓最便宜的菜肴變成人間美味。

重慶小面，就是一道不能錯(cuò)過的美食。而且在這里，任何一家看起來破舊擁擠的小飯館都能吃到美食。在我吃過的最美味食物中，大部分都是最便宜的食物。

當(dāng)然，火鍋必不可少。辛辣、油膩、超級(jí)美味的火鍋，當(dāng)之無愧是重慶最有名的菜肴。享用這種由辣椒、牛油、四川花椒和其他美味食材混合而成的食物，是重慶生活中必不可少的一部分。即使你對(duì)火鍋本身不感興趣，但它的周邊文化對(duì)每個(gè)人來說都非常有趣。和一大群朋友坐在一起，吃著美味的食物，喝著便宜的啤酒，玩著喝酒游戲，盡情喧鬧，這些都是火鍋文化的精髓所在。而火鍋的流行，也能讓我們有更多機(jī)會(huì)和朋友們坐在一起吃吃飯。

重慶是一個(gè)讓人“要么喜歡，要么討厭”的城市，但我想那些討厭它的人，只是還沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)重慶適合自己的地方。

這里，可以帶給人很多東西，尤其是那些想要定居而不是旅游的人。

對(duì)我來說，一切均源于一見鐘情（或者更準(zhǔn)確地說，一吃鐘情）。而對(duì)任何一個(gè)居住在這里的人來說，如果你坐下來，認(rèn)真想想重慶所有美好的地方，相信你一定會(huì)會(huì)心一笑。