You may think that the most crowded subway in Chongqing is Line 3, but the data tells you that you are wrong. On December 31, 2025, when 6.15 million people were on the track to celebrate the New Year, there was a line that silently transported 1.088 million people. It is not the Internet celebrity Line 2, nor is it the old Line 1, but the "longest subway" that many people ignore – Line 6. What is even more surprising is that during the three-day New Year's Day holiday in 2026, this line surpassed Line 3, which has always dominated the list, with a passenger flow of 1.8945 million passengers, and topped the list of Chongqing rail passenger flow.
This backbone line running from southeast to northwest, with a total length of about 96.6 kilometers, is like a pole carrying the five central urban areas of Nan'an, Yuzhong, Jiangbei, Yubei and Beibei. Its daily backdrop is the Optoelectronics Park—Chongqing’s largest Internet and digital economy gathering area. Every morning and evening, thousands of young people flock here from Caijia, Lijia and even Beibei further away. Line 6 has become the commuting artery for Chongqing's "code farmers" and the middle class. Recently, its average daily passenger flow has stabilized at around 750,000 passengers.
Along this artery, several plates are experiencing very different fates. The current average price of new homes in the Lijia sector is 15,100 yuan/square meter, and that in the Caijia sector is 14,141 yuan/square meter. Behind the price difference is the gap in supporting maturity. Lijia is located in Shuangtian Street, four major parks, a tertiary hospital, Longfor Yuhujing and other projects, with a housing availability rate as high as 140%, and is only a 100-meter walk away from the rail station. The Caijia Caojiawan subway station was "surrounded" by nearly 500 battery cars during peak hours, exposing the shortcomings of the last kilometer connection.
But changes are happening. In June 2025, the east station section of Line 6 was officially opened to traffic. This 7-kilometer line connects Liujiaping Station and Chongqing East Station. Liujiaping has transformed from a terminal station at the urban-rural fringe into a "bridgehead" connecting the core area of Chongqing East Railway Station. In the officially released TOD demonstration site design plan for Line 6, Liujiaping is positioned as a commercial and service station. It is planned to use the park as the base to build a slow-moving corridor to create a residential and urban health care community that integrates industry and housing.
Also included in the TOD demonstration are Wulidian Station and Wangjiazhuang Station. Wuli Store needs to control congestion, optimize the skyline, and even plans a health management business to specifically serve the surrounding hospitals and sub-healthy people in the CBD. Wangjiazhuang Station is targeting the Xiantao Data Valley and the National Expo Center around Central Park, and plans to introduce big data corporate headquarters and five-star hotels. These plans have entered the demolition and preliminary design stages.
Operational details are also being optimized. By the end of 2025, Line 6 will add one additional train to the line during off-peak hours on weekdays and weekends, increasing the frequency of the Caijia to Beibei section by approximately 17%. During holidays, the departure interval is reduced to a minimum of 5 minutes. Some citizens have suggested setting up the first bus at Zhuangyuanbei Station, which has a larger passenger flow. However, the operator explained that from the perspective of system optimization, it is more efficient and energy-saving to drive directly from the Longfengxi depot to carry passengers than to travel several kilometers to Zhuangyuanbei without emptying.
House price data reflects market choices. The average transaction price of Longfor Yuhujing is 18,428 yuan/square meter. Although it is higher than the regional average, relying on Shuangtian Street, Binhu Ecology and Fourth Generation House products, the price and value match, and the sales rate exceeds 85% after multiple openings. The reference average price of second-hand houses in the Caijia sector was 9,392 yuan/square meter in January 2026, a correction compared with the high of 11,500 to 11,800 in 2021. The market is clearly differentiated. Prices of improved products with newer properties, brand developers, and better landscapes or property services are relatively strong.
The opening of the east section of Line 6 has changed the logic of commuting. Get off at Chongqing East Railway Station and transfer directly to Line 6, which will take you to Jiangbeizui and Jiefangbei in half an hour. This line not only transports passengers, but also creates "micro centers" along the line through the TOD model. People who work in the Optoelectronics Park may no longer have to squeeze back to Cai’s house to eat in the future, because the Wuli Store and Liujiaping commercial facilities downstairs of the company are rising.
The competitive landscape of sectors along the route has become clear. Lijia is a "certain" choice with mature supporting facilities, Caijia is a "potential stock" that is experiencing growing pains, and Liujiaping is waiting for the dual empowerment of TOD and the East Station hub. Although there are plans for suburban stations such as Longfengxi, it will take time to cultivate passenger flow. For self-occupier or replacement home buyers, those "in progress" sites become the focus of attention.
When a subway is no longer just a tool connecting point A to point B, but becomes a magnetic field that reshapes urban space, guides population flow, and catalyzes industrial gathering, every station along it becomes a window to observe the evolution of the city. Line 6 uses a length of 90 kilometers to stitch together the scattered urban nodes of Chongqing. This process is truly changing people's lifestyles, commuting choices and residential decisions.
So, in your opinion, which station along Line 6 is most likely to become the next city center? Is it Lijia with mature facilities, the Cai family who is growing wildly, or Liujiaping waiting for TOD to be activated?
