Chongqing, China

They always say this one is sci-fi.

Money: everything in China is done through Alipay or WeChat (“Weixin” in Mandarin). I didn’t use cash and only saw it once.

However, distribution is not uniform. In Chongqing, the taxi drivers only take WeChat, while they take both Alipay and WeChat in Beijing. I found WeChat better across the board, but it’s actually pretty tough to get an account. I have one on my Android phone, but the iOS app keeps rejecting me.

That’s a panda-themed public restroom. You walk in there getting misted. It goes downstairs.

That’s a clocktower, and this area is colloquially called “Times Square.”

Next stop: Liziba station.

This location is way more touristy than you might expect. There are also falsehoods. Many websites say the metro goes through an apartment building. That’s not true. Everything in the building is some sort of low-rent tourist attraction or market. There are apartments close-by, but not in the actual building.

Chongqing is just about the coolest place in the world. 32 million people.