Located on the busiest stretch of Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Chungking Mansions has always had a mysterious and somewhat intimidating reputation—even many locals in Hong Kong have never dared to step inside. Ever since I watched Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express as a child, I was captivated by the chaotic, multicultural scenes it depicted. The desire to explore this place for myself never quite left me.
This year, I finally had the chance to visit Hong Kong. I decided not to just take a quick glance from the outside—I wanted to stay the night inside Chungking Mansions. To be honest, I felt extremely uneasy the whole night and barely got any sleep. But after checking out in the early morning, my perspective had shifted.
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。Why is Chungking Mansions So Notorious?
Over the years, a number of disturbing crimes have occurred inside the building, adding to its infamous reputation.
Between 1995 and 2002, several murders took place involving Indian and Pakistani men, as well as an Indian woman. In 2013, a female university student from Beijing was sexually assaulted within the premises—a case that shocked the public. Although Chungking Mansions is now a designated patrol zone for the Hong Kong police, reports of knife attacks and brawls still occasionally surface. These chilling incidents, amplified by sensational media coverage, have turned Chungking Mansions into a place many people avoid at all costs.
。The History and Demographics of Chungking Mansions
Chungking Mansions stands on the bustling stretch of Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, one of the most vibrant areas in Hong Kong. Since its completion in 1961, it was originally designed as a mixed-use residential and commercial building. By the 1970s, however, a surge in foreign merchants, migrant workers, and refugees arriving in Hong Kong transformed the building's function. Over time, Chungking Mansions evolved into a maze of budget guesthouses, mobile phone shops, currency exchange booths, South Asian restaurants, and small import-export businesses.
According to surveys, the building is now home to people from more than 120 countries and regions, with most residents and business owners coming from South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The person who checked me in, for instance, was a migrant worker from Bangladesh.
。The Challenges of Staying at Chungking Mansions
Chungking Mansions has 17 floors, divided into five blocks labeled A through E. Crammed within these blocks are over 2,000 individual units. The guesthouse I stayed in was on the 13th floor of Block C. From the entrance, I passed by currency exchange stalls, mobile phone shops, and several restaurants. After walking through Blocks A and B, I finally reached the elevator for Block C. Because of the high number of units, the elevators are split into two sides—one serves odd-numbered floors, and the other serves even-numbered ones. Between the two elevators, a digital screen displays real-time footage from inside, suggesting a fairly robust surveillance system.
Still, what happened next sent shivers down my spine.
As I entered the elevator and pressed the button for the 13th floor, a man got in at the 3rd floor and pressed 7. When the elevator reached the 7th floor, he didn’t get out. Instead, he pressed the button for the 3rd floor again. At that moment, it was just the two of us inside. His behavior immediately put me on edge—I broke into a cold sweat. The moment we reached the 13th floor, I stepped out quickly. Fortunately, the man didn’t follow. In an unfamiliar place like this, I didn’t even want to imagine what could have happened.
But that was only the beginning of the night’s challenges.
I started searching for the International Metro Guest House, as listed on my booking site, but no matter how many times I looked around the hallway, I couldn't find it. Just then, two people emerged from the fire escape stairwell. They were staying at a Filipino guesthouse on the same floor. They pointed to an intercom panel on the wall and explained that I needed to use it to contact the guesthouse staff. After about three minutes, a staff member—also from Bangladesh—finally appeared from the stairwell and led me to my room, which was actually on the 15th floor. People here seemed to appear and disappear like shadows. It felt as if I had stepped into an enormous maze.
。What Are the Guesthouses Inside Chungking Mansions Like?
The staff member opened the first iron gate, revealing a cluttered entryway filled with miscellaneous items. Beyond that was a narrow hallway, and my room was located at the very end.
When he opened the door, I paused in surprise—the room was unexpectedly clean, and it even had a window facing outside. The downside? The bathroom was tiny—so small it was hard to even turn around inside. At NT$1,400 (roughly US$45) per night, it’s considered quite affordable by Hong Kong standards, where space is famously scarce and expensive. Honestly, I had braced myself for a grimy, dimly lit space, but to my surprise, it was more comfortable than I expected.
。The Scariest Part About Chungking Mansions
After a quick wash, I lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. A small TV sat in the room, but I couldn’t sleep no matter how hard I tried. My mind kept replaying stories of murders and assaults that had occurred in the building, along with the image of the strange man in the elevator earlier that night. I ended up lying awake for hours.
But the thing that scared me the most wasn’t crime—it was the thought of a fire. With over 2,000 units crammed into one building, if a fire were to break out, the elevators would be unusable. Thousands of people would be forced to squeeze into narrow stairwells to escape. The thought of people pushing, trampling, and panicking in those tight corridors was enough to send chills down my spine.
。Final Thoughts: Would I Stay Again?
If you asked whether I’d stay at Chungking Mansions again, my answer is a firm: No. Life is about new experiences—and one night here was more than enough. It’s not that anything truly terrifying happened. But the constant sense of unease and fear made it impossible for me to relax.
That said, one thing is clear to me now: Chungking Mansions is home to many people working hard to build a life. At 5 a.m., I checked out early, planning to freshen up and nap at an airport lounge. When I reached the ground floor, most of the shop shutters were still down, but the lights were already on. Residents had begun cleaning and sweeping the common areas. The floors and surroundings looked noticeably cleaner than when I arrived the day before. And I couldn’t help but think—who would wake up this early to care for a place like this, unless they truly considered it home? That quiet, early morning scene completely changed the way I saw Chungking Mansions.
In the end, these people left their homelands in search of a better life and a brighter future in Hong Kong. So really, who are we to judge the place they call home?