48 hours in Chongqing

But beyond the pollution and the grit, the booming western city is steeped in history and a fascinating microcosm of China's development, both good and bad.

Friday
6 pm – Lying between the Yangtze and Jialing rivers, Chongqing is first and foremost a port town. Begin your trip by hopping on one of the cable cars that span the rivers for a bird's eye view of the city's new skyscrapers, what's left of its ancient wooden houses and the barges loaded with coal ready to head downstream.

7 pm – Feast on the dish Chongqing is most famous for: the fiery Chongqing hotpot. It's China's answer to fondue, but a whole lot more spicy. Toss slices of raw beef and lamb, cabbage, duck's blood-infused tofu and countless other delicacies into your table's bowl of steaming, chili-laden broth. Then plunge your chopsticks in to fish out the cooked morsels, dip it in oil laced with cilantro and scallions and enjoy. Dull the spice by downing plenty of Chongqing beer. There are countless hotpot joints around town. One popular outlet is Jiafu Hotpot, which has several branches.

9 pm – Stroll over to Hongyadong, a garish complex of houses reconstructed to resemble the city's fast-disappearing ancient buildings. Perched above the river, it houses everything from massage parlors to dance clubs to Starbucks, where Chongqing's newly monied middle classes sip lattes by the river. At the stalls on the ground level, sample homemade peanut brittle, or better yet, a bowl of hot, sweet tofu pudding, perfect to cool tastebuds still burning from the hoptpot.

Saturday
9:30 am – Wander through Chongqing's bustling business district of Jiefangbei and down to the docks at Chaotianmen to get a sense of the city at its Planning Exhibition Gallery. The displays feature a fascinating overview of Chongqing's history as China's wartime capital in the 1940s to its ambitious vision of itself as the economic hub of western China.

11:30 am – Walking distance away, take in the Arhat Temple, a Buddhist temple built 1,000 years ago during the Song Dynasty that offers a peaceful respite from the city frenzy.

12:30 am – Dine on vegetarian food at the temple's restaurant. Try the fluffy steamed buns filled with greens, or, for the more adventurous, the faux meat and seafood stir-fried in pungent sauces and indistinguishable from the real thing, almost.

2 pm – Judging from the scores of new skyscrapers and the number of construction cranes that dot the horizon, you may fear there is nothing of the old city left. But for a taste of ancient Chongqing, head to Shibati, a neighbourhood of wooden shops and winding alleys where hawkers ply their wares and vendors serve up local snacks.

4 pm – Take a break from it all at the Shibati Teahouse on the edge of the neighbourhood, where you can sip tea and strike up a game of mahjong with the locals.

6 pm – Head back to the river for a dinner cruise. It's not exactly the Carribean, but viewed from the water, with a bit of imagination, the steep green hills rising through the city's smog have a poetry of their own.

9 pm – The nightlife may not be as glamorous as Shanghai's but there is something to be said for a local singer and the Chongqing scene's drink of choice, green tea and whisky. Check out Soho, on the city's main bar street, or Babi, a popular disco chain.

Sunday
10 am – Jump into a taxi and head north of the Jialing River to Red Cliff Village for a taste of the city's history. The complex was the hub for the Communist Party's representatives to the Kuomintang, or Nationalists, during the period when the two parties were allied to fight the Japanese. Mao Zedong himself lived here for a period in 1945, and history buffs will delight in the picture of him clinking glasses with arch-foe Chiang Kai-shek to toast Japan's defeat.

12 pm – Wander out through the streets of Shapingba, the fast-developing district that is home to Chongqing University, stopping at one of the hundreds of tiny shopfronts serving up plates of dumplings doused in vinegar and noodle soups.

1:30 am – Spend your final hours in the city relaxing at Pipa Mountain Park. Set on a hill overlooking Chongqing, the park was once the private residence of Wang Lingji, the region's leader during the Republican era. Join in a game of ping-pong at one of the outdoor tables, or explore the park's steep hills to work off all those dumplings.