Magnum Creative

Sim Chi Yin explores Chongqing, an inland city where temperatures reach 40+ during the summer, and where residents find respite in the city's waterpark's wave pool.

Previous Assignment
Twin Peaks for M Le MondeGregory Halpern
Next Assignment
‘Open for Business’ with MultistoryStuart Franklin
prev
next
Beating the Heat in Chongqing, ChinaSim Chi Yin
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Vacationers are drenched by an avalanche of water tipped out of a giant bucket of water hanging above them at the Chongqing Carribean Waterpark in southwest China -- one of the most popular among the now-ubiquitous water parks across the country. In Chongqing, an inland city which gets boiling hot during the summer, the waterpark's wave pool is a big hit with the crowds. The city is often described as a "furnace" in the summer. It was 40 degrees celsius this weekend when these pictures were shot.
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Chen Lanling's family, Chongqing day trippers. Zhong Xiaolong, Chen Lanling's husband, was born on March 7, 1984. He is a sales staff at an orthopedic clinic. Zhong Qingchen, Chen Lanling's daughter, was born in October 2013. Chen Lanling was born on October 20, 1985. She also works at the same orthopedic clinic as a sales staff. Chen Lanling:" I am so exhausted. I like pools but this place is so crowded and I have to make sure that I am taking good care of my girl. I took a lot of great pictures of her, by the way. She loves this water park! I don't want to get too much sunshine so I wear a shawl and enough sunblock, but I have still become tan. I am a bit grumpy about that. Despite the fact that my husband and I don't enjoy this pool very much, our daughter has a really good time. That's all this is about, right?"
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Zeng Yonghong's family, Chongqing day trippers. Zeng Yonghong was born in July 1986. She is a tattoo artist and a part-time insurer. Hua Zifei, Zeng Yonghong's daughter, was born in December 2012. Li Xudong, Zeng Yonghong's husband, was born in August 1991. He is a moneylender. Zeng Yonghong said: "I am not satisfied with the infrastructure. Also, the food was so expensive. Food is always expensive at scenic spots. My point of going to the water park is to spend more time with my child. She was so happy. It was much fun compared to work days. We spent about 5 hours there. I felt a little bit headache after I went home. It was probably caused by spending too much time in the water. My present husband takes care of my daughter, his step daughter. They get along with each other so well. He’s better than her biological father, who just plays computer games all day long. He never spends time with his own daughter. My daughter has a bond with my present husband." (How are you hoping to feel after - do you want to be relaxed, have fun, feel closer to your family, escape?) "Compared to going somewhere else my child is more excited, visiting the water park. It’s much better to stay at home or go to movies to me. My daughter says she wants to come here next time. She wants to play with water." (How do you define family?) "To me, families must have blood ties with each other, except for my husband." (If you could go anywhere in your country, where would you visit? And why?) "I would go to Hangzhou. The city is not very big, but the environment is so good, so lush. And also, local Hangzhou people are friendly. "
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Dai Bo's family, Chongqing day trippers. Dai Bo was born in July 1984. He is an architect. Dai Chenlin, Dai Bo's son, was born in May 2012). Dai Guowei, Dai Bo's dad, was born in January 1956. He is retired. Liu Liping, Dai Bo's mother, was born on February 10, 1956. She is also retired. Dai Bo Said: “I rarely went on a vacation with my parents when I was young. My parents were both busy working back then. But I did remember going to my relative's home in Yunnan and spent my summer vacation there. I went there with a bunch of kids and made the whole trip in Yunnan more interesting." "Compared to my vacations as a kid, the experience of taking my son and my parents for a vacation like this time is really different. Both are fun. But the childhood vacation is about my own happiness but taking my son and my parents on a vacation is another case. I am happy because they are happy and because they are enjoying themselves. I feel the bond between me and my son, and my parents and me. " "I'm actually thinking about traveling abroad with my son, but am just too busy to figure out a schedule yet. He is really into the pool by the way. We went to the water park early in the morning and stayed until four in the afternoon but still, he wouldn't leave. He was really enjoying himself there, and I feel the happiness as a father." "If I am going on a vacation in my own country, I will go to a more well-developed area. After all, I need to make sure my families are traveling comfortably. "
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Luo Tongen's family, Chonqing day trippers. Luo Tongen was born in October 1985. Behzad Charouseh, Luo Tongen's husband, was born in October 1993. Mr Charouseh is originally from Iran. Asalan Luo, their son, was born in February 2015. The family runs a children's clothing store for a living. Luo Tongen said:" My husband and I always take our son to places to play in and spend some family time together. We always come to this water park together with other family friends. This is a cool place. And it's really fun swimming in the wave pool. The pool is so crowded and everyone is enjoying himself /herself. I love the vibe. " "If we are to travel to other areas, I'd like to go to a place with different culture, maybe somewhere like Tibet."
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Gao Qiang's family, Chongqing day trippers. From left to right: Huang Renji, Gao Qiang's mother was born in 1962. She is a housewife. Gao Yucheng, Gao Qiang's son was born in October 2016. Gao Qiang was born in April 1987. He works as an engineer at a local electronics factory. Gao Jie was born in April 1984. She is Gao Qiang's sister. She works as a real estate agent. Liu Shuyao was born in 2014. She's Gao Jie and Liu Sheng's daughter. Liu Sheng was born in April 1980. He is Gao Jie's husband. He works as a real estate agent. Lu Zhongmin, a distant relative from Taiwan was born in 1955. He works as a medical sales representative. Gao Qiang said: "I drove 25 minutes to get here; it’s our first time. The trip was done in a bit of a rush, made in the spur of the moment." "If I can travel to elsewhere, I would go to Hainan. I want to go to the sea." “The distant relative is from Taiwan. He is visiting Chongqing."
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Wang Daigang's family, vacationers, from Yibin, Sichuan Province. Wang Chuqiao, Wang Daigang's daughter was born in January 2003. Wang Daigang was born in May 1973. He works as a telecommunication engineer at a local telecoms company in Yibin. Jiang Yan, Wang Daigang's wife, was born in September 1976. She also works as a telecommunication engineer in the telecoms company where her husband works. Jiang Yan said: "It was tiring. I don’t like traveling that much, but in order to spend more time with my child, we went (to the water park). She was so happy. It was fun, anyway. My daughter goes to a boarding school and only comes back on weekend. Usually, we don't have much time sharing with family members, not even weekends." “My daughter would like to go Disneyland in Shanghai but we don’t have time this summer.” “We chose this water park because my daughter did some research online and chose this water park." (How do you define family?) “In my mind, families are relatives. Friends are not families.”
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Luo Wenqin's family, vacationers from Chongqing. The family drove 40 minutes from their home in the city to the water park and spend their weekend in a villa nearby the waterpark.(From left to right) Luo Wenqin was born on July 1, 1984. She is a public relation manager. Liu Jun, Luo Wenqin's husband, was born in November 1984. He is running a chemical engineering start-up. Liu Chengxu, Luo Wenqin's son, was born in February 2013. Luo Wenqin said:" We really enjoy our time here. I have three childhood best friends, coming to the water park together. So it's four families together. We get together every year to spend a vacation. It's like an annual friends reunion. We chose this place because children like it a lot and most of my friends have a child in their family. And it's summer time. Water parks may be one of the best options to escape the summer heat in Chongqing. If I ever have a chance, I would visit a coastal city in the US. I've traveled a lot but usually with my family. So next time if both my husband and I am available, we'll spend our holidays in a coastal city in the US." "To me, family is a tie that connects people we care about. It's not just those who share blood-tie with us. Friends are also very important to me. They are my families, too. Like my childhood friends. They are like family to me."
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Lv Lili's family, Chonqing day trippers. Zheng Shaohua, Lv Lili's husband was born in January 1987. He works as a landscape architect. Zheng Mingze, Lv Lili's son was born in December 2015. Lv Lili was born in July 1988. She is also a landscape architect. Lv Lili said: "I moved to Chongqing about 10 years. Now I have married and settled down here. It’s our family's first time to swim together here. The baby is too young but he is so excited about this trip. He even played with his swim ring after getting back home this morning. He was so reluctant to leave last night that he even cried. We had to drag him away. Both of us got sunburnt on the back the second day for the swimming. I talked with my husband that we should bring him to places like the Chongqing Caribbean water park more often. Children really enjoy places like this and parents will feel also be happy because our children are enjoying themselves. My son loves to play with water. At first, we were worried that he would be timid and be afraid of water. But after a while, it turned out that he was even more excited than us. We are really thinking about bringing him out more often, not only to swim but also to somewhere else for fun. I also traveled back to my hometown with my son, but back then he was too young to understand what traveling means. This time I feel he has he understands it more or less. When I saw the photos we took yesterday, I told my husband:" Look how happy we were !" "We are both very busy. We always need to work overtime on weekends. As long as we are free, we would like to spend time together, no matter where we are." "I would like to go to the sea because I grow up beside the sea I love the sea. So when I in the was hanging out in the wave pool, I feel like I was back home. "
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. A boy lies at the shallow end of the wave pool at the Chongqing Carribean Waterpark in southwest China, one of the most popular among the now-ubiquitous water parks across the country. In Chongqing, an inland city which gets boiling hot during the summer, the waterpark's wave pool is a big hit with the crowds. The city is often described as a "furnace" in the summer. It was 40 degrees celsius this weekend when these pictures were shot.
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Jiang Weiwei's family, vacationers, from Guang'an, Sichuan province. The family left for Chongqing from Guang'an on Friday and drove an hour and a half. They stayed over night in the Chongqing and drove to the water park on Sunday. Zhang Mingming, Jiang Weiwei 's nephew, was born in 2007. Chen Bobo, Jiang Weiwei's husband was born in June 1986. He works as a project manager in a construction company. Chen Tiantian, Jiang Weiwei's son, was born in September 2013. Jiang Weiwei was born in July 1987. She is a cost engineer. Jiang Weiwei said:“ It’s a friend’s recommendation. Our family rarely went out together before, because our child was too young. We also swim in local swimming pools, but they are not as big as this water park. My child was a little afraid. He is too young. When we got back, he said it was so fun. 'Let’s go next time.' He said. The sunshine was so strong. My back got sunburnt. Only his father can swim. We don’t know how to swim. We come to have fun and play with water. The reason I came to the water park was to take my son out for fun. He always stays at home with an air conditioning on. I would like to hang out with him more, but I have work to do and it’s not realistic to go too far away from home.” ( If you could go anywhere in your country, where would you visit? And why?) “I want to go abroad. I want to go to Maldives.”
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. A pair of women scream their hearts out on one of the rides at the Chongqing Carribean Waterpark in southwest China, one of the most popular among the now-ubiquitous water parks across the country. In Chongqing, an inland city which gets boiling hot during the summer, the waterpark's wave pool is a big hit with the crowds. The city is often described as a "furnace" in the summer. It was 40 degrees celsius this weekend when these pictures were shot.
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Chinese vacationers from all walks of life pile into the wave pool at the Chongqing Caribbean Water Park during a heat wave at the height of summer. The almost-hourly sessions with waves generated mechanically are the most popular thing in the water park which can receive over 13,000 visitors in a single day on summer weekends. The waterpark is among China's most popular. The wave pool is a favourite of daytrippers in inland Chongqing who do not get to see or experience the sea much. The waterpark is built half way up the Nanshan mountain on the outskirts of Chongqing, a metropolis in China's southwest known for spicy food and -- in recent years -- political scandal.
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Chinese vacationers from all walks of life pile into the wave pool at the Chongqing Caribbean Water Park during a heat wave at the height of summer. The almost-hourly sessions with waves generated mechanically are the most popular thing in the water park which can receive over 13,000 visitors in a single day on summer weekends. The waterpark is among China's most popular. The wave pool is a favourite of daytrippers in inland Chongqing who do not get to see or experience the sea much. The waterpark is built half way up the Nanshan mountain on the outskirts of Chongqing, a metropolis in China's southwest known for spicy food and -- in recent years -- political scandal.
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro
CHINA. Chongqing. 2017. Luo Wenqin's family, vacationers from Chongqing. The family drove 40 minutes from their home in the city to the water park and spend their weekend in a villa nearby the waterpark.(From left to right) Luo Wenqin was born on July 1, 1984. She is a public relation manager. Liu Jun, Luo Wenqin's husband, was born in November 1984. He is running a chemical engineering start-up. Liu Chengxu, Luo Wenqin's son, was born in February 2013. Luo Wenqin said:" We really enjoy our time here. I have three childhood best friends, coming to the water park together. So it's four families together. We get together every year to spend a vacation. It's like an annual friends reunion. We chose this place because children like it a lot and most of my friends have a child in their family. And it's summer time. Water parks may be one of the best options to escape the summer heat in Chongqing. If I ever have a chance, I would visit a coastal city in the US. I've traveled a lot but usually with my family. So next time if both my husband and I am available, we'll spend our holidays in a coastal city in the US." "To me, family is a tie that connects people we care about. It's not just those who share blood-tie with us. Friends are also very important to me. They are my families, too. Like my childhood friends. They are like family to me."
© Sim Chi Yin | Magnum Photos
Licence on Magnum Pro

Looking for something specific from Sim Chi Yin? Explore our full archive and license images on Magnum Pro.

Go to magnum pro
SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
More from Magnum
  • Magnum Photos
  • Magnum Pro
  • Magnum Shop
Offices
  • London
  • Paris
  • New York
  • Tokyo
Social
  • Facebook Facebook
  • Instagram Instagram
  • Twitter Twitter
  • Pinterest Pinterest
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions