Raffles City Chongqing was designed by renowned Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, who drew inspiration from the region's traditional waterway transportation culture and came up with the design — a seemingly great ship sailing down the Chaotianmen waterway, where the Yangtze and Jialing rivers converge.

The marine metaphor is one of the underlying concepts for the project, evoking an image of great masts and sails, the sense and force of wind and the dynamic movement of the rivers. It has screens over the facades that create a billowing, sail-like visual effect.

Developed by the Capita-Land Group and costing more than $4 billion, the complex is the largest investment in China by a Singapore company. The complex covers 1.12 million sq m, with eight towers that include residences, a shopping mall, office space and a five-star hotel. It began a phased opening last year.

Since the opening of "The Crystal", a large number of tourists have visited and taken in aerial views of the city from the sky bridge.