Chongqing East Railway Station 2026: New HSR Hub Guide

Which Chongqing HSR station is your ticket actually from?

Chongqing now has three separate HSR stations, and they are not interchangeable. The newest — Chongqing East — makes this more confusing for foreign travellers because Trip.com and 12306 English UIs frequently show all three as just “Chongqing.”

Chongqing North (重庆北站) — original primary HSR terminus on the Yubei / Jiangbei side. Most historical services. See our Chongqing North guide.

Chongqing West (重庆西站) — opened 2018 in southwest Shapingba district. Many 2024-2025 Chengdu G-trains shifted there. See our Chongqing West guide.

Chongqing East (重庆东站) — this article. Opened June 2025 in southeast Nan'an district Chayuan area. The gateway for the Yuxia (渝厦, Chongqing–Xiamen) HSR line — Wulong South, Qianjiang, Zhangjiajie and Changsha.

These three stations are 14-25 km apart from each other, on opposite sides of the city, and connected by entirely different metro lines. Always verify the Chinese station name printed on the ticket — written as 重庆北, 重庆西, or 重庆东. If a booking confirmation just says “Chongqing,” look at the train number itself: search it on 12306 or Trip.com and the 出发站 (departure station) field on the train detail page is definitive.

Fast facts

Fact	Detail
Chinese name	重庆东站 (Chóngqìng Dōng Zhàn)
Type	High-speed rail (HSR) station
District	Nan'an district (南岸区), Chayuan (茶园) area, southeast
Opened	27 June 2025 (newest of three Chongqing HSR stations)
Metro	Line 6 'East Station Segment' (东站段); same-platform change at 刘家坪 (Lines 24 + 27 under construction)
Headline line	Yuxia HSR (渝厦, Chongqing–Xiamen) — Wulong South · Qianjiang · Zhangjiajie · Changsha
To CKG airport	~83 min via Line 6 → 红土地 → Line 10
To Jiefangbei	~50 min via Line 6 to 小什字 + walk
Taxi to CKG / centre	~¥85-110 / ~¥50-70 (Amap-metered Jun 2026)
Around the station	Still building out — 1 restaurant POI within 500m; hotels mostly 民宿

Why the area is still building out

Foreign travellers arriving at Chongqing East are often surprised by how little is around the station compared to Chongqing North or any first-tier Chinese HSR hub. The honest reason: the station is so new that the planned commercial neighbourhood around it hasn't finished construction yet.

A May 2026 Amap restaurant-density search within 500m of the station returned exactly one POI — and that POI is the 重庆东站项目职工餐厅, the construction-workers' cafeteria for the station's own ongoing construction project. Within 1.5 km the picture improves slightly but most of what you find is residential towers, half-finished commercial buildings, and the “Aozi Guangmao” (澳兹广茂) mixed-use complex which houses the existing hotel cluster.

Practically what this means for your trip:

Eat at the station's in-house food court — domestic chains (Lao Xiang Ji, KFC, McDonald's, Sichuan noodle counters) inside the station, ¥25-50.
Don't plan to “go for dinner” near the station — there's nowhere to go yet. For a real Chongqing meal you metro out to Jiefangbei (~50 min) or taxi to Nanping (~15 min).
Stay close to the station, not in the neighbourhood — the in-tower hotels at Guangmao Avenue 7 are the safe bet; venturing further into the surrounding blocks finds you in mostly-residential areas with limited services.

The commercial dining grid will likely arrive 2026-2028 as the area builds out and as Line 24 / Line 27 (planned metro lines) come online. For now, treat the station as a transit-utility point, not a place to spend hours.

Metro access — Line 6 only, partial segment

As of 2026, the metro line serving Chongqing East is Line 6 East Station Segment (东站段), which opened with the station on 27 June 2025. It runs as a branch between Chongqing East and 刘家坪 (Liujiaping), where you change onto the main Line 6 to continue toward central Chongqing.

The key thing travellers get wrong: the 刘家坪 change is a same-platform transfer — you step across to the train on the opposite side of the same platform, no long connecting passage. For a typical traveller heading toward central Chongqing or the airport, the routing is:

Chongqing East metro station → take Line 6 East Station Segment toward 刘家坪 (~14 min, via 桃花桥 and 百乐园)

At 刘家坪, step across to the opposite platform for the main Line 6 — a same-platform change, no long walk

Continue on main Line 6 to your destination (or transfer at 红土地 for Line 10 to CKG airport)

Two traveller notes from the platform: coming off your high-speed train you transfer to the metro without a second security check, and 刘家坪 is a step-across same-platform change (no stairs with luggage). One catch — as a new branch line the East Station Segment can run shorter hours than the main metro, so if you arrive late at night, check the last-train time or plan a taxi/DiDi.

Two more metro lines — Line 24 and Line 27 — are under construction at Chongqing East and will arrive over the coming years (no fixed opening date). For now, plan on that one quick same-platform change at 刘家坪 on virtually every metro trip out of this station.

Getting from Chongqing East to CKG Jiangbei Airport

This is the slowest HSR-to-airport route of the three Chongqing stations. The metro path (Amap routing June 2026):

Step	Leg	Time
1	Line 6 East Station Segment from 重庆东站 to 刘家坪	~14 min
2	Same-platform change at 刘家坪 (step across to main Line 6)	~2 min
3	Main Line 6 to 红土地 (Hongtudi)	~23 min
4	Transfer at 红土地 to Line 10 north	~5 min
5	Line 10 to CKG T3 or T2	~34 min
—	Total including transfers (fare ¥7-8)	~83 min

Compared to the 33-minute direct Line 10 connection from Chongqing North to CKG, this is almost three times as long. If your trip plan is a tight fly-in-then-HSR-out connection, prefer Chongqing North.

Taxi / DiDi from Chongqing East to CKG: ~40-55 minutes off-peak, about ¥85-110 metered (~34.7 km on Amap at Chongqing's daytime rate, June 2026). Recommended if you have a tight HSR-to-flight window. Foreign card via Alipay International works on DiDi (see our DiDi for foreigners guide).

Recommended buffer: at least 2.5 hours between airport arrival (off plane) and HSR departure from Chongqing East. Three hours if you arrive at CKG during evening peak (5-7pm).

Getting from Chongqing East to central Chongqing

To Jiefangbei (Yuzhong CBD)

Metro Line 6 East Station Segment → 刘家坪 same-platform change → main Line 6 → 小什字 (Xiaoshizi) → walk 10-15 minutes to Jiefangbei. About 50 minutes total door-to-door, ¥5-6 fare (Amap routing June 2026). Compare to ~31 minutes from Chongqing North.

Taxi / DiDi: ~35-50 minutes off-peak, about ¥50-70 (~21 km). Preferable if you have luggage you don't want to drag through two metro segments.

To Hongyadong

Same Line 6 routing — exit at 小什字 and walk ~10 minutes to Hongyadong. Allow ~60-65 minutes door-to-door. See our Hongyadong night view guide.

To Guanyinqiao (Jiangbei CBD)

The big Jiangbei shopping and hotel district. Metro is ~57 min: Line 6 East Station Segment → 刘家坪 same-platform change → main Line 6 to 江北城 → transfer to Line 9 to 观音桥 (or continue on Line 6 to 红土地 and switch to Line 3). Taxi ~35-50 min off-peak. This is the closest major chain-hotel cluster to the station if you want a recognised brand rather than the 民宿 around the station itself.

To Nanping (Nan'an district commercial center)

Nanping is the nearest big commercial district, but it sits across 南山 (South Mountain) — about 17 km by road, so a taxi is ~25-35 minutes and meters around ¥40-55 (the “15 min / ¥20-30” some guides quote is too low). The direct surface bus 345 runs from the station toward 南坪南路 but is slow (~58 min). Useful for a meal or quick shopping if you have a 3-4 hour gap between trains.

HSR routes from Chongqing East

Chongqing East is the Chongqing terminus of the new Yuxia high-speed railway (渝厦高铁, the Chongqing–Xiamen corridor; the Chongqing East–Qianjiang section opened 27 June 2025). The headline journeys, with the railway's published opening-period fastest times:

Destination	Fastest	Notes
Wulong South (武隆南)	~34 min	From ¥76. The new gateway to the Wulong karst — see our Wulong day-trip guide. Wulong South is ~30 min onward to Xiannü Mountain / Three Bridges.
Qianjiang (黔江)	~61 min	Southeast Chongqing, on the Qian-Zhang-Chang line.
Zhangjiajie (张家界)	~2-2.5h	From ¥222, as little as ~2h on the fastest peak-season trains. The fastest rail link yet to the “Avatar” mountains — see Chongqing → Zhangjiajie.
Changsha (长沙)	~3h53m	Hunan capital; onward to Wuhan, Nanchang and the southeast network.
Yichang (宜昌)	varies	Selected services routed here vs Chongqing North — handy for Yangtze cruise departures. See Yangtze River Cruise.

Times are the line's published opening-period bests (重庆市政府网 / 本地宝 / 12306) and vary by train — confirm your exact service on 12306 or Trip.com. For Chengdu, Xi'an or Beijing, services typically still use Chongqing North or West. Use our HSR Rail Map to visualise the corridor and which Chongqing station serves it.

Beyond high-speed trains, the April 2026 timetable change also moved several long-distance regular-speed (K-series) services from Chongqing North to Chongqing East — long-haul trains to Guangzhou, Huizhou, Fuzhou and Ningbo on the southeast coast. If your ticket is a slower K-train to that region, check whether it now starts at 重庆东.

Hotels near Chongqing East

The accommodation pattern at Chongqing East differs from the other two Chongqing HSR stations. Where Chongqing North has the Huayu Motian cluster and Chongqing West has the Eye-of-Chongqing T3 cluster — both filled with mid-tier chain brands — Chongqing East's hotel mix in May 2026 skews heavily toward 民宿 (homestay / B&B-style apartment rentals) rather than chain hotels.

The hotel cluster is centred on Guangmao Avenue 7 (广茂大道7号澳兹广茂) tower immediately west of the station. Available options include:

Mansi Hotel (曼思酒店) — small mid-tier brand inside the tower
Xinhuan Hotel (新环酒店) — similar tier
Xiamo Huakai (夏末花开) — boutique-style
Junzi Hotel (君梓酒店) — mid-tier
10+ small 民宿 / homestay brands sharing the tower's upper floors — these are apartment-style rentals run by individual operators rather than chain hotels

What this means for foreigners: the chain-hotel cluster pattern that makes Chongqing North and West predictable for foreign bookings has not yet developed at Chongqing East. Some 民宿 may not be set up to register foreign passport guests for PSB lodging registration (see our PSB lodging registration guide). The safe filter: book on Trip.com's English site, which only surfaces hotels licensed to accept foreigners.

For an international or major-domestic chain hotel near Chongqing East, your options are very limited as of 2026. Most foreign travellers transferring through this station will be better off taxiing to Nanping (~15 min) for a chain hotel, or staying in central Chongqing and metroing to the station on the morning of departure.

Browse hotels near Chongqing East Railway Station on Trip.com

Food at the station

Eat inside the station, full stop. The neighbourhood food vacuum within 500m is severe (1 POI, confirmed to be a workers' cafeteria) and even at 1km the options are sparse and largely tied to the still-developing residential complexes.

Inside the station you'll find the standard Chinese HSR-station food court mix:

Quick-service chains: Lao Xiang Ji (老乡鸡), Wallace (华莱士), Real Kung Fu (真功夫), KFC, McDonald's — ¥25-50
Sichuan-noodle counters: Chongqing Xiao Mian (重庆小面) for ¥15-25
Convenience stores: 7-Eleven and FamilyMart for snacks and water

For a real Chongqing meal you need to leave the station — metro 50 minutes to Jiefangbei (Bayi Lu hot pot strip, see our Jiefangbei guide), or taxi 15 minutes to Nanping for the local Nan'an food scene.

When to actually use Chongqing East

As a foreigner, you should only choose this station when your ticket specifically requires it:

You are on a Yuxia-line service — Wulong South (~34 min), Qianjiang (~61 min), Zhangjiajie (~2h24m) or Changsha (~3h53m). This is the main use case; the line was built to run through Chongqing East.
Your Yichang HSR ticket has been reassigned from Chongqing North to Chongqing East — possible in 2026 and onward as services shift. Verify on 12306.
You're visiting the Chayuan / Nanping southeast area for business and the station is convenient to your destination.

If you have a Chengdu, Xi'an or Beijing HSR ticket, your station is almost certainly Chongqing North or West — not East. (Wulong is now split: the new Yuxia-line Wulong South departs Chongqing East, while older Wulong services use Chongqing North — check which one your ticket shows.) Always verify.

Frequently asked questions

When did Chongqing East Railway Station open and what does it serve?

Chongqing East (重庆东站) opened on 27 June 2025 — the newest of Chongqing's three major HSR stations, in Nan'an district's Chayuan (茶园) area in the southeast. Its headline line is the Yuxia high-speed railway (渝厦高铁, the Chongqing–Xiamen corridor; this first section runs Chongqing East to Qianjiang and was historically planned as the Chongqing–Changsha 'Yuxiang' line). That puts genuinely fast new journeys on the board: Wulong South ~34 min, Qianjiang ~61 min, Zhangjiajie ~2h24m, and Changsha ~3h53m. It also handles selected Yichang and regional services. The station's role keeps expanding through 2026 as more trains are assigned here.

How is Chongqing East different from Chongqing North and Chongqing West?

Three different stations, 14-25 km apart. Chongqing North (重庆北站) on the Jiangbei side is the original primary HSR terminus — most Chengdu, Wulong, and historical Yichang services. Chongqing West (重庆西站) in southwest Shapingba opened 2018 — many 2024-2025 Chengdu G-trains shifted there. Chongqing East (重庆东站) in southeast Nan'an opened 2025 for the Yuxia (渝厦, Chongqing–Xiamen) line — Wulong South, Qianjiang, Zhangjiajie and Changsha. Critically: the three are NOT interchangeable — verify the Chinese station name on your ticket (重庆北 / 重庆西 / 重庆东) before assuming.

Why does the area around Chongqing East have so few restaurants?

Because the station opened before the surrounding neighborhood finished building. Amap's restaurant-density search within 500m in May 2026 returned exactly ONE POI — and it is the construction-workers' cafeteria for the station's own construction project (重庆东站项目职工餐厅). The surrounding Chayuan and Guangmao Avenue area is mostly residential towers and unfinished commercial buildings as of mid-2026. For a meal you eat at the in-station food court or you metro out. The commercial dining grid will likely arrive 2026-2028 as the area continues to develop, but for now the station is a transit-utility zone rather than a destination.

How do I get from Chongqing East to CKG Jiangbei Airport?

Metro is slow: Line 6 'East Station Segment' (东站段) from 重庆东站 to 刘家坪 (~14 min), a same-platform change to the main Line 6 to 红土地 (~23 min), then Line 10 north to CKG T3 or T2 (~34 min). Total ~83 minutes including transfers — the slowest CKG connection of any Chongqing HSR station. A taxi / DiDi is ~40-55 minutes off-peak and meters about ¥85-110 (Amap distance 34.7 km at Chongqing's daytime rate, June 2026 — earlier ¥130-180 quotes over-stated it). If your trip plan is fly-in to CKG with an immediate HSR onwards, prefer Chongqing North (Line 10 direct, ~33 min). Allow at least 2.5 hours between airport arrival and a Chongqing East HSR departure.

How do I get from Chongqing East to Jiefangbei (central Chongqing)?

Metro Line 6 East Station Segment to 刘家坪 (~14 min) → same-platform change to the main Line 6 → 小什字 (Xiaoshizi, ~14 min) → walk 10-15 minutes to Jiefangbei. About 50 minutes total door-to-door (Amap routing June 2026). The 刘家坪 change is a step across to the opposite platform, not a long walk. Taxi / DiDi is ~35-50 minutes off-peak, about ¥50-70 (~21 km). Compare to Chongqing North (~31 min by metro) — East is ~20 minutes slower to Jiefangbei.

What metro lines serve Chongqing East?

Currently Line 6, served as the new 'East Station Segment' (东站段) that opened with the station on 27 June 2025. Trains run from 重庆东站 via 桃花桥 and 百乐园 to 刘家坪, where you make a same-platform transfer — step across to the opposite platform — onto the main Line 6 toward 上新街, 小什字, 红土地, 红旗河沟 and 北碚. Two further lines, Line 24 and Line 27, are under construction and will serve the station later (no fixed opening date). For now, plan on that one quick 刘家坪 change on most journeys.

Are there hotels at Chongqing East?

Yes, but with an unusual pattern compared to Chongqing North or West. Amap returned 20+ accommodation POIs within 1.5 km in May 2026, but the majority are 民宿 (homestay / B&B-style apartment rentals) rather than chain hotels. There is a small cluster of hotel-style options in the Guangmao Avenue 7 (广茂大道7号澳兹广茂) tower including 曼思酒店, 新环酒店, 夏末花开, 君梓酒店, and several smaller boutiques. International chains have not yet established a presence at this station — the closest major brand presence is in Nanping (~10 km away). For a chain hotel, taxi to Nanping or Guanyinqiao.

Should I use Chongqing East at all if I have flexibility?

Increasingly, yes — when your destination is on the Yuxia line, Chongqing East is the right station, not a fallback. It's the gateway for Wulong South (~34 min, for the Wulong karst), Zhangjiajie (~2h24m), Qianjiang, and Changsha (~3h53m). Reasons to prefer another Chongqing station for OTHER trips: Chongqing North has far faster metro to CKG (~33 min direct vs ~83 min from East) and is closer to the centre for hotels and food; the East neighbourhood is still building out, so you cannot easily 'go for dinner' near the station. For Chengdu, Xi'an, Beijing or the Yangtze-cruise Yichang services, your station is almost certainly Chongqing North or West — always verify.

Related guides

Chongqing city hub — the full landing page with attractions, day trips, and where to stay.
Chongqing North Railway Station — the primary HSR terminus with the fastest CKG airport connection (Line 10 direct, ~33 min).
Chongqing West Railway Station — the 2018-opened station in southwest Shapingba; many Chengdu G-trains depart here.
Chongqing Jiangbei Airport (CKG) — terminals, Line 10, and the onward-HSR station decision from the airport.
Where to Stay in Chongqing — 5 neighbourhoods compared. Nan'an Nanbin Road is the closest residential area with foreigner-friendly hotels.
Yangtze River Cruise — departures from Yichang (some services may now route via Chongqing East rather than Chongqing North).
12306 English app guide — how to verify your specific train's departure station before committing.
DiDi for foreigners — the recommended option for short hops between Chongqing East and Nanping.
HSR Rail Map — visualise the Yuxia line and which Chongqing station services it.

Browse all Chongqing hotels on Trip.com

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Verification scope

Editorially aggregated, not first-hand. The editor lives in Chongqing (8 years in the Yuzhong + Jiangbei corridor) but has not yet personally visited Chongqing East Railway Station — it is a new station in Nan'an district's Chayuan area, ~20 km from where this editor lives and works. The article will be revised once a first-hand visit is logged.

Sources used in lieu of first-hand: Amap (高德地图) walking, transit and driving APIs — all timing, distance and taxi-fare data re-checked 2026-06-23 (Jiefangbei ~51 min, CKG airport ~83 min via Line 6 → 红土地 → Line 10; taxi fares computed from Amap distance × Chongqing's published metered rate); Amap POI density searches around the station (restaurant within 500m = 1 POI; hotels within 1.5 km = 20+ POIs, mostly 民宿); official notices from 重庆市政府网, 重庆轨道交通 and 本地宝 on the 27 June 2025 opening, the Yuxia HSR (渝厦, Chongqing–Xiamen) services and the Line 6 East Station Segment same-platform change at 刘家坪; China State Railway 12306 timetable for the Yuxia line (Wulong South / Qianjiang / Zhangjiajie / Changsha); and traveller reports 2025-2026 on the still-building-out neighbourhood.

Data source line: station and route facts come from official station information and the national rail timetable; metro and surface-transit times are from Amap routing, refreshed periodically (last checked 2026-06-23). See the editor's about page for the editorial standard. This is a neutral editorial check, not an on-site or 12306-authority claim.