French rider Valentin Debise’s Chongqing 'Landing Visa' ride puts mountain city in global spotlight_我的网站
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A woman films on a motorcycle in Chongqing on July 20, 2026.Photo: VCG As night falls over Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, motorcycles begin to weave along Nanbin Road, with riders posing against the glittering skyline across the Yangtze River. Within seconds, the moving camera captures bridges, high-rises and riverside lights - creating a signature travel moment that has become known online as the "Chongqing Landing Visa." The trend has now spread beyond Chinese social media. On Monday, French rider Valentin Debise, who competes in the World Supersport Championship on a Chinese-brand ZXMOTO, posted a video thanking Zhang Xue for taking him to experience the "Chongqing Landing Visa." The "Chongqing Landing Visa" is not an actual visa, but a humorous nickname coined by netizens for a popular motorcycle photo-op in Chongqing. Visitors ride or pose with motorcycles at designated spots along Nanbin Road, using Chongqing's dazzling nighttime skyline as a backdrop, while performing a series of signature poses, such as stretching out their arms, making a heart gesture or being lifted into the air, to capture their own video of the mountain city. The motorcycle photo-op, a playful trend created by Chinese netizens, has rapidly gained popularity this year, with related videos garnering more than 1.52 billion views. An increasing number of celebrities, influencers and foreign tourists have joined in. "People like the 'Landing Visa' not simply because motorcycles are cool, but because it combines some of the most distinctive elements of Chongqing into a single frame - the mountains, the river, the night skyline and the city's sense of speed," Chongqing-based motorcycle blogger Yu Tiancheng told the Global Times. "Visitors don't need to understand any complicated cultural background. They just get on a motorcycle, set off, and can start enjoying the city within seconds." "For first-time visitors to Chongqing, motorcycles offer a very direct way in," Yu noted. "You're not just standing there looking at Chongqing. You're actually riding into its nighttime scenery." The appeal of the "Chongqing Landing Visa" is not limited to professional riders or social media influencers. Young travelers from overseas are also discovering Chongqing through its everyday urban life.
Tourists take photos against Chongqing's cityscape.Photo: VCG A lively city Kim Yeon, a graduate student from South Korea, visited Chongqing during her summer vacation in August. She told the Global Times that she had watched numerous "cyberpunk" videos of Chongqing on social media before her trip, but what surprised her most after arriving was the city's vibrant nightlife. "Even late at night, there are still so many people on the streets, and restaurants, shops and small street-side businesses remain lively. For young travelers, that atmosphere itself is part of the travel experience," she said. She was particularly struck by how Chongqing's nightlife is woven into everyday life rather than concentrated around a single tourist attraction. "You can have something to eat at night, walk around, go to the riverside to see the night view. A lot of activities can continue well into the night," she said. This nighttime energy also provides a natural setting for the "Chongqing Landing Visa." After spending the day exploring the city, visitors can continue discovering Chongqing after dark through motorcycle rides, nighttime tours and street-level experiences. The motorcycle photo-op is therefore more than a photo opportunity; it has become part of the way young travelers experience the city at night. That helps explain why Chongqing is attracting more young visitors from overseas. In the first half of this year, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport handled more than 1.48 million inbound and outbound passengers at its immigration checkpoint, up 39.5 percent year-on-year, the fastest growth among China's 10 largest airports, according to Chongqing municipal people's government. Nearly 70,000 foreign travelers entered Chongqing in July alone, up 84.7 percent year-on-year, according to Chongqing city government. More than a destination As more overseas visitors come to see Chongqing as a city they can enjoy and experience well into the night, motorcycles, night views and street life are becoming more than just backdrops - they are becoming experiences that travelers actively take part in. Yang Gen, from the Chongqing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, told the Global Times that Chongqing's unique landscape and urban development have created a naturally three-dimensional cityscape. "Many places here are themselves scenes that people can experience and capture on camera," he said. In his view, what makes the "Chongqing Landing Visa" interesting is that it was not a tourism project designed by the city in advance. Instead, visitors discovered a location and created a new way to experience it themselves. "After people filmed and shared their experiences, more visitors were drawn to the same places, creating a natural chain of communication and influence," Yang said. "This kind of approach, in which visitors participate in creating content and then attract more visitors through that content, is something traditional tourism promotion can hardly fully replicate," he noted. Behind this new form of communication is also a shift in the travel preferences of younger tourists. According to Yang, the ability to participate, experience and create personal memories is becoming an increasingly important factor when young travelers choose destinations. The rise of the "Chongqing Landing Visa" also shows how locally created travel experiences can spread beyond borders through social media. As more international visitors share their China travel experiences online, China is attracting growing attention overseas. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently posted on X that "more people should visit China," while his mother Maye Musk has repeatedly shared her positive experiences of traveling in China. The story of Chongqing offers a glimpse into this growing interest. The motorcycle trend is more than a viral moment; it shows how Chinese cities are attracting visitors not only through landmarks, but also through unique everyday experiences. 。
