Art Museum (Guotai Arts Center)

Standing right in the heart of the Jiefangbei CBD, the Chongqing Art Museum is instantly recognizable for its architecture alone — a striking red-and-black lattice structure nicknamed the “chopstick building” (and sometimes compared to a bonfire or a traditional Chinese seal), built from interlocking wooden-style beams running north-south in red and east-west in black. The design draws on ancient Han-dynasty “Ti Cou” stacked-beam construction and Dougong bracket techniques, deliberately echoing traditional Bayu-region craftsmanship rather than following the glass-and-steel style of the skyscrapers surrounding it.

The museum itself opened in 2013, growing out of the former Chongqing Painting Academy, and occupies floors five and six of the wider Guotai Arts Center complex — a cultural hub with roots stretching back to 1937, when the site first opened as the Guotai Grand Theatre, a private residence turned cinema and performance venue that became a fixture of the city’s cultural life. The museum’s own collection runs to more than 10,000 pieces, focused on traditional Chinese painting, printmaking, and small sculpture, with particular emphasis on art from the Bayu region — the cultural heartland of Chongqing and the surrounding area.

Beyond the permanent collection, it’s worth visiting simply for the building itself, especially after dark, when the red lattice facade lights up dramatically against the surrounding CBD skyline — a favorite subject for night photography in an area already packed with photogenic landmarks like Hongyadong and Jiefangbei.

Admission to the permanent exhibitions is generally free, though visitors need to show ID or a passport to enter. The museum is closed on Mondays, except during national holidays.