Business booming in former bomb shelters

More than 200 World War II era civil defense facilities now serve as shops, restaurants and more in Chongqing

When Chongqing Hotpot, a Chinese comedy film released in 2016, became a blockbuster, it drew attention to a less noticed part of the cosmopolitan city－a former bomb shelter used as the film's primary filming location. It was just one of many sites originally built as shelters from air raids like the Bombardment of Chongqing, which was carried out by Japanese forces from February 1938 to August 1943 during World War II. Today, the facilities serve as shelters of a different sort－not for people, but for businesses.

In the film, the hotpot restaurant is located in one such shelter. That might seem surreal but there are shelters in the city being used in that exact capacity today. According to the Chongqing Civil Air Defense Office, more than 200 shelters have been rented out for other uses, including as gas stations, restaurants, wine cellars, museums and book stores.

Wang Chengjie, who works in the office's regulations, publicity and education division, said that most shelters are in the city center, an ideal location for the businesses now housed in them.