Most cities build train stations beside buildings. But China is different. At first look, you’ll think it’s an illusion or an AI-created video. Because who would believe that a metro train can glide straight through the middle of a 19-storey apartment building! But it’s as true as it gets. In China’s Liziba Station on Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2, there’s a monorail that actually goes right through the sixth to eighth floors of a residential building, making it one of the world’s most photographed examples of innovation and utilisation of space. Let’s find out more about this unique engineering marvel:Chongqing’s marvel The train station was opened in 2005, and today it has become an iconic attraction for travellers visiting China’s mountainous megacity. To understand why this unusual design exists, travellers first need to understand Chongqing itself. The place is known as China’s “Mountain City,” and is built across steep hills at the meeting point of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. Chongqing is mostly vertical. Roads overlap, bridges criss-cross valleys, apartment blocks cling to hillsides, and what appears to be the “ground floor” on one side of a building may actually be the 10th or 12th floor on the other. Sounds mindblowing, right?What planners were thinking
Chongqing’s unique monorail
While designing Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2 in the late 1990s, the planners were facing a challenging situation. The route crossed an area where a residential and commercial development was also proposed. Rather than demolishing buildings or rerouting the railway, engineers found a unique solution that was almost unheard of. They designed the station and the building together as a single integrated project.The station is inside but the apartments aren’tSo if you thought that the train runs through people’s living rooms, you are absolutely wrong.The reality is, the building was specifically designed to accommodate the station. The houses are on lower floors and the sixth to eighth floors are the metro stations. while the upper floors remain residential apartments. The station and the building are structurally separate.How do residents feel?
China Train
Another very commonly asked question is whether the trains are unbearably noisy.The answer is no.The Liziba Station is replete with modern vibration and noise-reduction systems. The monorail runs on rubber tyres and not on traditional steel wheels. So naturally it produces less noise. The station also uses specialised sound insulation to minimise disturbance. A global tourist attractionWhat began as a practical engineering solution has evolved into one of China’s biggest urban travel attractions.Every day, curious travellers and photographers gather outside Liziba Station, most of them camera-ready, waiting for the train to pass and disappear into the apartment block. For many travellers, it has become as much a symbol of Chongqing and a unique travel experience.How to visit Liziba Station
China Train
Reaching here is a simple process. All travellers need to do is board Chongqing Rail Transit Line 2 and get off at Liziba Station. Many visitors first ride the monorail through the building.For travellers interested in architecture or just simply exploring unique places on Earth, Liziba Station offers an unforgettable experience.
