Testbed 2, Erchang Culture and Creative Park (Photos)

Testbed 2 and the whole of the Erchang Culture and Creative Park was probably one of the more memorable locations that I’ve been to in Chongqing. The whole place was relatively easy to walk around in and it featured plenty of interesting shops and establishments (just like in Hongyadong Folk Custom Scene Area) with varying offers and services that range from food, clothing, coffee, and jewelry (just to name a few). Pretty much like Chongqing, the area has multiple levels making it seem like a mirror image of the city.

Testbed 2, Erchang Culture and Creative Park: Probably the Most Underrated Place in Chongqing

So here’s a “map” of the area that features notable areas and establishments. This was honestly one of the more unique maps I’ve seen on my travels and I actually think more tourist locations would have something like this. It’s really easy to “read” compared to the typical top-down maps you see thanks to the landmarks like buildings also being drawn. Anyway, if you do get here, I’d recommend taking a picture of this map so you can have something to refer to in case you get lost.

Initially, I just thought the Erchang Culture and Creative Park was just a gentrified area with establishments selling overpriced stuff. The TestBed2 building definitely looked the part especially with signs like these. Thankfully though, my initial impressions turned out to be misguided. There’s actually so much more to this place than meets the eye. Anyway, this picture was taken near the guide map that you saw earlier which also happened to be located at the TestDesign street.

Speaking of the TestDesign street, you’ll find it just behind the TestBed 2 building. The street is actually rather narrow and in better weather, I think it would be a little more crowded. When I got here, it was rather gloomy with the skies being overcast so there weren’t really that many people. That said, the place was brimming with energy with the colorful neon lights of the shops providing a nice contrast with the denglong (red lanterns) hanging from the walkway connecting TestBed 2 to another building.

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It’s not quite visible but there’s actually a set of stairs (close to the two columns) leading down to an area called the Taste Plaza. As the name implies, the area is kind of like a food court. As for the area to the side of the stairs, it’s still part of the TestBed 2 building which itself is replete with food establishments.

Before going down to the Taste Plaza, here’s another look at the TestDesign street. I will say, this area looks really nice for impromptu photo shoots. There’s just a lot of interesting stuff here that’s really worth taking pictures of. Just from this image alone, you’ll see the quirky looking neon signage, the bicycle seemingly buried in the wall of the building, and the large TestDesign “sign” on the walkway that all stand out.

These are a list of the establishments that are accessible from this area. Take note that most of these are located in the TestBed 2 annex building. If you’ve already read my TestBed 2 hotpot write-up then you’ll also see the shop I ate at is actually on Floor F2.

Here’s the stairs leading down to the Taste Plaza that I talked about earlier. This area was actually quite nice thanks to the lighting. I actually think that the lighting here was even better than the natural lighting outside (the weather didn’t help). It’s also probably thanks to the lights that the area here felt really cozy.

It was so cozy here that this little fella thought it was a great area to sleep in. Seriously though, the doggy looked so cute and vulnerable at the same time. That said, it did seem like it didn’t have issues getting food here as it looked rather well-fed.

These are some of the food establishments that you can see here. I’m not sure if you can see it in the image but one of the restaurants here actually sells rabbit head! Then to the left of that restaurant, there’s an artist’s alley where you can have one of the artists come up with a caricature of you.

At this point it started to rain heavily so the majority of the people either left or went inside the establishments. You’ll notice though that some actually still stayed out (like the couple under the suspended walkway). I couldn’t blame them though as the noise and the cold brought about by the rain had this soothing effect for some reason.

With the rain still pouring down, I decided to check out the numerous signs in the area. This one seems like it’s a list of the accolades and awards as well as the functions this area serves. At this point though, I was worried that I might not be able to explore the rest of the area.

If you’re wondering why I thought that way, well the rain didn’t seem to want to stop. Here’s how the TestDesign street that you saw earlier looked at that point. As you can see, it’s close to impossible to go back through this way as I risked getting soaked by the rain on top of not being able to see the sights and sounds of this place.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity, I just pressed on ahead and found myself on the Taste Plaza level. Now I wasn’t quite sure what these signs here were. I tried using my translation app and Google Lens and these seem to be road signs featuring major Chinese cities and what looks to be the names of the highways/expressways connecting them to Chongqing.

Here’s a closer look at the signs as well as the little mascot on the left. Now I’m not quite sure which of the stalls/stores here this mascot belongs to (or if it belongs to any of these at all). What I will say though is that the rain did make me feel hungry and the hamburger the mascot was standing on top of wasn’t of any help in making me feel otherwise.

Of course, I also had to make sure to take a shot of the stairs from this level. At this point, it seemed like the rain wasn’t stopping so I then decided to enjoy the sights and sounds here for a little bit more. Moreover, I could always just get inside the TestBed 2 building since it does have a number of views and shops that might be worth checking out.

So a little bit of a background on TestBed2, this actually used to be a printing factory that operated from the 1950s to 1970s. In fact, the factory was said to be where all the color prints from Chongqing were made. Likely due to advancements in color printing technology, the factory eventually was turned into this commercial park showcasing Chongqing’s food and other products in 2012.

This is how the TestDesign street looks from above (I’m on the walkway that had the hanging red lanterns that you saw earlier. The lanterns here look similar to those hanging on the streets of the Ciqikou Ancient Town). I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of amazing how even with the rain, the street still looks aesthetic. That said, you probably want to visit Chongqing during the summer season if you’re set on going to TestBed 2 and the entirety of the Erchang Culture and Creative Park.

As you go up through the TestBed2 building, you’ll come across these signs found on the soffit of the staircase. This one shows the timeline of Chongqing’s Industrial History. It details how the city became a hub for weapons and ammunition production specially when it was under the Nationalists (during World War II).

Then on the walls of the staircase you’ll find more pictures of Chongqing’s ordnance/arsenal industry through the years. In addition, these also feature details ranging from the industry’s historical background as well as its relocation and its gradual transition to commercial manufacturing.

Now this was a really nice mural that showed off China’s aerial and naval might. That said, I’m not quite sure how this related to Chongqing as from what I know, it wasn’t really known for warship or combat plane production even after the war. My guess is, it was probably easier to draw this than the munitions and other ordnance that the region produced during and after the Second World War.

Had it not rained, Cloud Rooftop would have been a great place for relaxation and sightseeing. As you can see in the image though, it was still raining when I got to the top floor. In fact, the rain seemed like it had grown stronger at this point so I had very little hope that I’d be able to enjoy the views that I had read and heard about.

Here’s the entrance to Cloud Rooftop. As you can see it’s a little open and surprisingly there’s no roof that can effectively shield you from the rain. Since I didn’t have much else to do thanks to the weather, I decided to change up my itinerary just a little.

With the inclement weather in mind, I decided to get some hotpot at Second Factory Old Hotpot found on the F2 Level here at TestBed2. Now if you want to know more about my dining experience at this restaurant then definitely check out my writeup of it. Suffice to say, the food here was nice and more importantly, the hotpot helped a lot in keeping me warm.

With the rain finally starting to let up, I then decided to exit the TestDesign area and go directly to TestJoy. The image above shows some of the shops and establishments that you’ll see here. You’ll also notice people finally going out of the establishments now that the rain wasn’t as strong as earlier.

I could have gotten back to Cloud Rooftop but considering the time I had left, I just decided to continue exploring the area here. While the rain was already just a drizzle at this point, I was still wary that there’d be another downpour. If I’d gone back up to the Cloud Rooftop and it rained heavily, I’d end up getting stuck at the TestDesign area again.

Now this was a set of perplexingly funny signs. The top sign is innocuous enough as it roughly translates to “Love can pass by”. However, things get a little confusing (at least for me) when it comes to the sign at the bottom. It’s probably just me not being familiar with the Chinese language but the rough translation of the sign at the bottom goes something like “Beautiful women are not allowed”. When I first read this I was like, why are beautiful women not allowed?! Then I realized this might just be a joke or cultural thing that probably got lost in translation.

I like vintage and/or retro stuff so imagine my surprise when I came across this installation. These were probably equipment used from the buildings here. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of these are usable as they are now. It’s kind of farfetched but it would have actually been cool if there was a booth or establishment where you could test these out.

One of the establishments that stood out here is this one called CHOC. From what I can tell, it sells mostly artisanal chocolate. Now I’m not quite sure if Chongqing is known for chocolate production. I do know though that it does have a chocolate theme park called Chocolate Dream World.

Other than CHOC, I also came across this particular establishment that advertises something called “wei lu zu cha”. I tried looking this up and it’s basically the equivalent of hotpot for tea lovers. In all seriousness though, the phrase roughly translates to “brewing tea in a stove/fireplace”. Aside from tea, it also advertises that you can boil wine and/or grill meat. In hindsight, this would have been a great place to be in while waiting for the rain to subside earlier.

Here’s another look at the establishment earlier. I’m honestly not sure what it’s called. The English words Cheers for Life was on its storefront as well as on various signs but I don’t think that that was actually its name. Anyway, I did see inside and found that it had a really nice ambiance. I was also told that you can get the wei lu zu cha on the rooftop and you’ll get to enjoy a view of Chongqing’s Yuzhong District from there.

One thing about this establishment that also stood out were the number of potted plants on its storefront. I don’t know about you but I genuinely enjoy seeing plants of all kinds. If you read my writeups of the places I visited in Japan, you’d know how much I raved about the gardens that I saw there. The plants here aren’t as impressive but I think this might have been the first time I saw so many of them outside of Liberation Square.

Just a couple of steps and across the street from the restaurant, I then came across this truly peculiar structure. I learned that this is called the Yellow Zip Building and it was arguably one of the most iconic in this area (just like Chongqing’s Chopstick Building). Now you might be wondering, does it lead anywhere? The answer is that it actually doesn’t. It’s really more of an art installation. There’s actually nothing at the top other than a nice view of the street below.

In the lot across the Yellow Zip Building, you’ll find this enclosed area with a sign that has Chinese characters and the English words The Night Wanderer and TestNight. Inside you’ll find plenty of tents that feature sellers and stalls. I did end up going inside here but that was towards the end of my visit.

Next to the Yellow Zip Building and across The Night Wanderer and TestNight area, you’ll come across this shop called Blan Bunny’s Plant Kingdom. Now I was initially perplexed as to what this shop was all about. Upon quick research though, I found out that this was actually a light luxury tea and tea ware brand popular in China.

While BlanBunny might not be a Chongqing brand, it does fit really well with the tea culture here (case in point, the wei lu zu cha earlier). These are some of the examples of the kind of products being sold here. These range from tea pots to decors that all honestly look real nice. In fact, I think these would make for great souvenirs.

So this was a particularly interesting shop that was close to BlanBunny. As you can see, it’s called Ni Hao Tong Nian and it actually reminded me of the Yokohama Ramen Museum. If you read my write up (and saw the pictures of the theme park/1950s Tokyo recreation that I took) of that location then you’d probably see a lot of similarities. I also remember saying how that recreation made you feel nostalgic which I surprisingly felt with this shop too.

The first thing you’ll probably notice as you get close to the shop are these vintage Television sets. I’m not too sure if these were by Panda Electronics, I do know that these make use of CRT technology. Much like the “Come Back to the Future” earlier, I think it would have been cool if these actually still functioned.

Here you’ll find some vintage looking signs. From what I can tell, these show some Chinese brands and the products that they’re known for. Two examples that probably stand out are the Phoenix sewing machine and the Panda Electronics television set.

In my review of Yokohama’s Ramen Museum, I remember noticing and being in awe of a red scooter in its 1950s Tokyo Recreation section. This Suzuki K90 reminded me so much of that scooter. Not only is it also red, the motorcycle also has a vintage look to it. That said, the scooter I saw at the Ramen Museum was probably much older.

Aside from the motorcycle, you’ll also find these colorful (and I’m guessing vintage) candies and snacks on display outside of the Ni Hao Tong Nian. I’m not really sure if these snacks are vintage or not (the toys up top definitely are though) as I’m really not familiar with any of them. That said, it is a vintage shop so the chances of these being from before the 2000s is rather high.

Unsurprisingly, the store looked like it regularly had people going over. Even though I didn’t grow up in China or Chongqing, I still thought that this was a rather interesting establishment that offered visitors a colorful glimpse into China’s past. Definitely worth checking out if you do end up in this area of the Erchang Culture and Creative Park.

Though the skies were still overcast, it was thankfully not raining anymore so I decided to then see what TestNight had to offer. Basically this was a night market that had stalls offering food and drinks as well as some artisanal products. I was thinking this space was for small business owners who couldn’t afford space inside one of the buildings here.

Here you’ll find an example of the kind of artisanal products being sold here. These are personalized stickers of chibi characters. What makes these really nice as souvenirs or gifts is that you can opt to have the faces of the characters replaced with either you or your loved ones’ likeness. Moreover, the heads actually move from side to side making it a good gift for kids and kids at heart. If you’re not interested in this, check out other stalls for ornaments and plushies.

While I wasn’t able to get to the Cloud Rooftop, I did still get a glimpse of Chongqing’s skyline just a couple of steps from where I entered the TestNight open market. This was a really nice view that I think could have been better had it not been raining. That said, I still felt a certain sense of awe and melancholy watching the city from this vantage point.

Here’s another view of the city that seems to be covered in mist. There’s also a sign here with the name of the area in Chinese. Translated, it roughly means Erchang Cultural and Creative Park Small Square.

To the right of the view earlier, you’ll find a gold/yellow colored food truck-like stall that sells these cute panda water bottles. I was tempted to get one of these then I remembered I already have plenty of water bottles from my travels. That said, the panda hanging off to the side of the water does look really cute.

To the left of the sign is a rather narrow passageway that will lead you to this spot. The cafe here is called ONCE and I think it might have the best view in this section of the Erchang Culture and Creative Park. It has mostly everything from seats with café umbrellas and is also closed off against non-paying guests/customers.

From just outside of the café, you’ll be regaled with what I think might be one of the better views of Chongqing’s Yuzhong District. Moreover, you also get to see one of the city’s numerous bridges from here. If you’re not too worried about the narrow pathway to then I highly encourage you to make your way here.

This is where you can enter ONCE Cafe. Now I said earlier that it does have café umbrellas but I don’t think they’d be any good against heavy downpours like what I experienced earlier in the day. That said, this is a really good place to chill and unwind especially when the sun is out.

Speaking of the sun, it still wasn’t showing its face when I took this picture. This is another pathway that leads to the TestSpirit street and the car park. The plants here were much more impressive than the ones I saw earlier and it honestly felt like I was in a jungle. I bet that during warm and sunny days, this area would be really refreshing to stroll in.

Following the path, I then came across this wall with some murals and Chinese characters/signs on it. Basically, the building where this wall is located happens to be the Erchang Museum. It’s not as evident on the picture but you can access the museum through a walkway here (see the red metal railings).

In front of the museum is this mural with some really cool looking anime-inspired art. While I’m not quite sure which series (if they even are from one) these characters are from, I do appreciate the uniqueness of their designs. Also, it’s kind of cool to see anime and its aesthetics being so mainstream nowadays.

And with this picture of what looks to be a tuk tuk variant, I end my TestBed 2 and the Erchang Culture and Creative Park visit. Even with (and maybe because of?) the inclement weather, I still think that this visit was quite memorable. I was able to see plenty of great views, taste some delicious hotpot, and I even got soaked by rain! Kidding aside, it’s surprising that not a lot of people are talking about this place. It’s definitely underrated (just like Xiahao Lane) and there’s plenty of activities here that you’ll probably end up enjoying.

If you think you have anything else to add to this review of Erchang Culture and Creative Park then we’d be happy to hear from you! Make sure you sound off on the comments section and let’s happily discuss!