A visitor exits a shopping centre in Chongqing and steps onto what appears to be an ordinary street. Cars pass by. Pedestrians weave through the crowd. Restaurants and convenience stores line the pavement. Everything feels exactly as it should. Then comes the surprise. Leaning over a railing nearby reveals a dizzying drop to another road far below. The street that seemed to sit at ground level is actually perched dozens of metres above the city beneath it. For many first-time visitors, this moment of disorientation is their introduction to Chongqing, the sprawling Chinese metropolis that has earned an unusual nickname online: the '8D Magic City'.
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