This is one of the biggest pains in Chongqing's history.

On September 18, 1931, the Sino Japanese War began;

On July 7, 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident marked the outbreak of the full-scale Sino Japanese War;

On November 20, 1937, the Nationalist Government issued the "Relocation Declaration to Chongqing", and immediately Chongqing became the wartime capital.

From February 18, 1938 to August 23, 1943, Japan carried out a strategic bombing of Chongqing, the wartime capital of the Republic of China, for a period of 5 and a half years.

According to incomplete statistics, Japan bombed Chongqing 218 times over a period of 5 years, deploying more than 9000 aircraft and dropping over 11500 bombs. More than 10000 people were killed, over 17600 houses were destroyed, and most of the bustling areas in the city were damaged.

This is the 'Chongqing Bombing' that is ingrained in the bones of every Chongqing resident.

Shangqing Temple was the national command center of the Anti Japanese War during that era, and the main departments of the Nationalist Government were concentrated within a two square kilometer area centered around Shangqing Temple, naturally becoming the focus of Japanese bombing.

The air raid shelters located in the mountains from Niujiaotuo to Liziba, represented by those scattered throughout the map of Chongqing, are the last and strongest barrier to protect the entire China. It is precisely with the shelter of the air raid shelter that the people of Chongqing and China have the confidence to shout out the earth shattering phrase 'the more it explodes, the stronger it becomes'.

Calvino said that cities do not reveal their past, they only hide it like hand prints, written on the corners of streets and alleys, the guardrails of window frames, the handrails of stairs, the antennas of lightning protection, and flagpoles. Every mark is left by scratching, sawing, carving, and striking.

As we drive along the route from Liziba to Niujiaotuo, we can always see deep air raid shelters built along the cliffs on the north side of the Goose Ridge Park, with about ten of them. Outsiders rushing by here may only marvel at the fantasy of trains passing through buildings, but they do not know that by extending their footsteps slightly left and right, there will be even more enchanting scenes, mysterious and profound.

They don't even know,

Here lies the deep memories of Chongqing's past.

And thousands of tons of wine.

This is because in times of peace, air raid shelters have lost their original functionality and quietly turned around, immersing themselves in the hustle and bustle of Chongqing people's lives. They perfectly blend with the people's tastes and personalities here: wine cellars, hotpot, garages, noodles, internet famous snack shops

The cave hides the most authentic life and original character of Chongqing people, as well as silent memories of the past.

The air raid shelters along the route from Liziba to Niujiaotuo have caught the attention of many wine merchants, who have built it into a street of wine cellars - two kilometers long cliffs with rows of wine cellars standing out among them.

The Time Rule of 01 Ancient Sauce Wine Cellar

The owner of the wine cellar, surnamed Zhao, has a flat head, thick and strong palms, and doesn't speak much. According to him, there are two forms of wine cellars in this area, one is completely enclosed, and the other is the front hall serving as an experience hall, where a large amount of fine wine is hidden deeper inside the cave. In his opinion, there are two key factors for the success of cellar wine: first, the quality of the wine itself, which is based on pure grain brewing and high-quality wine; The second is the most mysterious time in the world.

Old wine is like an old friend, it cannot be obtained without the tempering of millions of years. Mr. Zhao firmly believes in this. Old friends are like old wine, quietly waiting there. After gathering at night, they won't give you a headache or dry mouth. Their softness and richness, like the calloused hands of old friends, tightly embrace you, silent and warm; Sometimes, on the stormy sea of your emotions, I accompany you to explore the universe from north to south.

There are many sealed small jars in the wine cellar, with names and dates written on the top of the jars. This is the wine bought by the customer, stored for themselves or for friends and family. Mr. Zhao said arrogantly that he also stored a batch of such wine and did not sell it to the public. Old friends have arrived, take them out. At this point, price is no longer important, and the drinkers understand that they value each other's friendship.

In the era of rampant social media, amidst the fragrant aroma of wine at Shangqing Temple, the thick friendship between old friends still follows the ancient laws of time.

02 Buddhist style management of Xiangdi Wine Cellar

A hundred meters away from the "Century old Sauce Wine Cellar" is Yu Bin's Xiangdi Wine Cellar, which is a paradise for red wine.

As soon as you enter the cave, you feel as if you have instantly traveled through time and space, immersing yourself in the quaint wine cellar of a farmer in Burgundy, northeastern France. On the right side of the cave, two layers of crimson brick walls extend into the air raid shelter, with hundreds of wine bottles arranged in a tilted array. The dim yellow lights create a serene and romantic atmosphere.

However, the black and white old photos on the cave walls remind us that this is not France, but a Chongqing air raid shelter with a heavy past. The roar of fighter jets across the sky, the solemn readiness of the military, the sailing of warships on the calm sea surface, the Sichuan Yunnan Highway resembling a serpent on the earth, General Stilwell, and those rare innocent smiles... The sound of history and emotions emerge and linger in our minds.

Yu Bin's story takes us back from the depths of history to those distant nights related to alcohol.

Twenty years ago in the millennium, Guanyin Bridge Nine Streets were not even in their infancy, and at that time, the world of Jiaochangkou was the only paradise that drinkers were obsessed with. Yu Bin, who was still a young man, walked through various nightclubs, sold alcohol on his own, and witnessed the lights shining brightly.

Later on, Yu Bin grew older and rarely went to nightclubs. He preferred quiet and slow paced performances with a few friends.

Hotels and group buying are Yu Bin's main customer groups, so the opening hours of Xiangdi Wine Cellar are quite casual, as indicated by the small wooden sign at the entrance that "the opening hours depend on the mood." Yu Bin said that this place also opens five or six days a week, but the time is very short, two or three hours, and the time is not fixed. It is open in the morning, middle, and evening.

All encounters rely on chance. Yu Bin remembers one night two years ago, a female teacher tourist from Guizhou came to Chongqing to relax due to family and emotional difficulties. Perhaps the light rail passing through the building was not enough to dispel his worries, so he walked slowly to the Xiangdi Wine Cellar, mistaking it for a bar, and began to drown his sorrows in alcohol, forcibly pulling Yu Bin to chat.

Alcohol spreads in the dark night. Yu Bin has seen too many sad people who drown their sorrows in alcohol, but he knows better that alcohol cannot solve their sorrows. At this moment, sad people just lack someone to patiently listen to her confide. Finally, the tourist from Guizhou drank two bottles of red wine, and Yu Bin quietly listened to her two-hour conversation.

Then the tears stopped, and she retreated back into the night and the mortal world.

The Ten Years of Waiting for the Pearl on the River 03

Along the route from Niujiaotuo Station in Shangqing Temple to Futuguan in Liziba, Jiangshang Mingzhu is undoubtedly the leader in cellar storage. Along the way, its signboard appears no less than ten times above the entrance of the cave, with the first, second, and third wine cellars... When we enter his largest air raid shelter wine cellar, the scenery we see is truly that the Jiangshang Mingzhu rises and hides the universe inside the cave.

The cave is not wide, ranging from three to four meters wide to two to three meters narrow. Due to being a completely enclosed cellar air raid shelter, the landscape inside the cave is primitive and vivid. The exposed dark red mountain stones at some corners remind us that it is truly located deep at the bottom of the mountain peak. At this moment, imagining one's fragile body tightly enveloped by a huge mountain, the sense of oppression makes one's heart beat faster, while also giving rise to a sense of strength and excitement that attempts to break free from constraints.

Except for a straight road at the entrance, the twists and turns inside the cave lead in all directions, reminiscent of the caves where the demon kings lived in Journey to the West, like a maze. Hundreds or even thousands of catties of wine barrels, which are as tall as people, are arranged in a winding manner along both sides or one side of the wall, and the surface of the wine barrels is covered with microbial communities, which is a manifestation of the excellent storage environment.

The air raid shelter maintains a constant temperature and humidity throughout the year, which is a necessary condition for cellar storage. According to Mr. Yang, the boss, he is considered the leader of the cellar street along the Shangqing Temple. In 2015, he began renting around ten air raid shelters here to store wine. From then on, he set a long-term goal of ten years. As the saying goes, a sword will be sharpened in ten years. He wants to create a brand of cellar aged wine for ten years, hoping to let time endow good wine with richness and beauty.

The magic of cellar wine lies in hope and waiting. Mr. Yang is currently working on a project where he has established long-term partnerships with some wine enthusiasts. He has stored daughter red, top scholar wine, and birthday wine that have been in the cellar for over ten or twenty years... The entire process from sealing to opening the jar is recorded by video. Record content such as parents bringing their children to store alcohol, and opening banquets on the day they get married or become successful. At that time, in a cup of mellow wine, time, anticipation, and blessings were all contained, perhaps something that could not be exchanged for any valuable wine.

Mr. Yang said, just like true feelings, cherish them well, wine will not spoil, and its value will always be there. So he is willing to wait, willing to look forward, looking forward to the arrival of the first decade, looking forward to an infinite future.

04 Internet celebrity's air raid shelter with thousands of people and various forms

Underneath the wall of the Liziba light rail, there is a unique cave with the words "air raid shelter" written on it. It not only hides wine, but also the diverse lives of Lao Zhou and others.

This is a nostalgic snack shop that has now become a "internet celebrity landmark" on the internet. And Lao Zhou is the person in charge of this air raid shelter, calling himself the 'cave owner'.

The decoration of the "cave owner"'s air raid shelter is quite ingenious. The two walls at the entrance are made into wish walls, colorful and layered from a distance, making people feel good at first glance and interested in browsing. Further inside, there is a fork in the road on the right, with a sign that reads' Republic of China Textile Factory ', briefly indicating the past and present of Dongzi.

Go deeper. The three swings inside the cave attract people to stop and play. The swings here naturally cannot swing high, but as a place for daydreaming inside the cave, they have a unique charm. Handsome men, beautiful women, elderly people, and children all rushed forward to try and take photos as mementos, making everyone happy and never tired.

Not far from the swing, there is a peculiar fork in the road. Looking inside from the fork, the lights are dim, pink and blue, and the road is narrow enough for only two or three people to walk in parallel. We can't wait to be immersed in it, just like accidentally entering a time tunnel. After a corridor turns, we hear the sound of water droplets falling from a dark place. The water falls into a pool, full of mysterious atmosphere. According to Lao Zhou, this is a clever solution to the problem of water seepage inside the cave. The water inside the air raid shelter should be drained rather than blocked, and a small landscape with exploratory experience has been created.

The cave is filled with the scent of old Chongqing and childhood, with wooden square tables, floral tablecloths, bubble gum, authentic sticks, stinky dried seeds

Lao Zhou was quite excited when he talked about these decorations. He has reasons to be happy. In the first half of his life, he created renderings that were three-dimensional and colorful. However, those landscapes were ultimately on paper, and the industry prospects forced him to leave his original position. Who knew this was a transition from paper to a more diverse reality. Every day, seeing people coming and going, many true stories and emotions are released here. He prefers his current state of life, which can be described as a village full of twists and turns.

Not long ago, an elderly couple visited the cave and affectionately rubbed the bluestone wall of the cave. Their careful observation was different from that of ordinary tourists. After chatting, Lao Zhou learned that this couple had participated in the expansion of this air raid shelter when they were young.

This air raid shelter was built in 1938 and underwent an expansion in the 1970s. The old couple revisited the old place and saw the air raid shelter rejuvenated, which was even more emotional. Lao Zhou cherishes this kind of adventure very much. He believes that this kind of story and emotion cannot be read in books. Only in a specific time and space context can we better understand the preciousness and wonder of the moment when people meet each other.

Conclusion: Caves and Civilization

Coming out of the deep and dark cave, I felt as if I had landed on Earth from another unfamiliar planet.

Narrow spaces are both limitations and protections. During this time, you will hear the heartbeat pounding in your chest, lively and surging, resonating with the infinite universe.

This reminds me of between 1938 and 1943, countless people rushed into this heterogeneous space with fear, hearing Zero fighter jets whizzing by outside, grenades rushing like rice grains to the ground, and smoke rising like the end of the world. But once people calmed down a little, they reignited hope for victory.

Chongqing keeps its deepest memories in the dark. And I like its introversion. Like a wise old man, if someone has heard of that period of time, he is willing to chat with passersby, but it's not easy to be overly entangled as a teacher; If someone meets in a hurry and has no time to stop, he will also remain silent and wait for the opportunity.

When I transfer and leave from Niujiaotuo Station at Shangqing Temple with drunkenness in the evening, or stop at Liziba Station, I find that I love the sunset and the mountains and rivers here even more, as well as the crowds passing by.

As a hub station for urban public transportation, I often use this place as the center on the map to grasp the overall direction, distance, and demeanor of this dizzying city.

It is so important that every time I go to a different city, I always try to find the Shangqing Temple "Niujiaotuo" in that place, so that I can quickly familiarize myself with the location of that city and the most unknown silent face.

In fact, in Chongqing city, in addition to the Shangqing Temple and the Liziba area mentioned in this article, there are also many such air raid shelters around Changjiang Road in Yuzhong District and other areas in the main city of Chongqing. They became the strongest barrier in Chongqing during the War of Resistance Against Japan, and then quietly turned around and integrated into the fireworks life of Chongqing people in times of peace. They perfectly blended with the fun and personality of Chongqing city and people, creating the unique happiness of this heroic city

Some of them have found other uses, while others continue to remain silent.

No matter how time changes, it cannot be denied that they are the joint witnesses of that period of history, together building the urban background of this heroic city.