With Like-Minded Digital Nomads, Remote Workers + Travelers
Experience Authentic China, the Local Way — With Community
Join a diverse, vibrant group of remote workers, digital nomads, and travelers for an immersive co-working, co-living retreat surrounded by local daily life, Chinese culture, and meaningful connection.
Next Location: Chongqing, China (Famous Cyberpunk City)
Dates: May 18 - June 17, 2026
Next Edition
Chongqing, China
Chongqing is a city that feels like it was designed to surprise you at every turn — a sprawling, vertical megacity where rivers cut through mountains, trains pass through apartment buildings, cable cars glide between skyscrapers, and the “ground floor” might be 22 stories up. By day, it’s a working city full of street food, teahouses, and everyday local life; by night, it transforms into one of the most cinematic, cyberpunk landscapes in the world. Just beyond the city lie dramatic karst landscapes, hot springs, ancient towns, and scenic river valleys, making Chongqing a rare place where intense urban energy and jaw-dropping nature coexist. It’s chaotic, fascinating, deeply local, and unlike anywhere else in China — or the world.
Dates: May 18 - June 17, 2026
Retreat Packages
We will stay in a design-forward, modern, recently-open hotel right in the city center. Some rooms have city views – we are very close to some of the famous city sites. Hotel is subjected to change up until the week before the retreat at the host’s discretion depending upon site visit results – we want to ensure the highest quality for our attendees. Pricing will not change last minute. Any change will be communicated to attendees in a timely manner.
Private Room
If you come alone and prefer to stay in a spacious room with your own private bathroom, desk and chair, this is the right room for you.
$600
Per Room
Private Room
If you come alone and prefer to stay in a spacious room with your own private bathroom, desk and chair, this is the right room for you.
$900
Per Room
Private Room
If you come alone and prefer to stay in a spacious room with your own private bathroom, desk and chair, this is the right room for you.
$1,300
Per Room
Private Room
If you come alone and prefer to stay in a spacious room with your own private bathroom, desk and chair, this is the right room for you.
$1,600
Per Room
What's Included?
So what’s included in your retreat package? The short answer is – a lot, but we break it down here for you.
- Luxury, spacious modern room with a big bed, private bath, desk and chair
- All utilities (including 24/7 hot water, unlimited electricity and AC)
- High-speed WiFi + reliable VPN
- 3 cultural activities and classes per week
- Weekend excursions (1 per weekend)
- Like-minded, curated global remote workers and travelers community
- China visa (if you need one) application assistance (application fee excluded)
- Language and translation support
What's Not?
A few things are going to be out of pocket. We list them here so you know what to expect.
- Airfare & ground transportation
- Local taxi, ride shares, trains or buses
- eSIMs or local physical SIM
- Visa fees (if applicable)
- Travel and medical insurance
- Your own breakfast and lunch (as low as ~$2 USD per meal)
- Nightly group dinners ($5-$8 USD per person per meal)
- Snacks and beverages on weekdays or during weekend excursions
- Weekend bonus excursions (paid per activity, around $35-55 USD per activity per person)
Attendee Testimonials
You can just walk into any restaurant without doing research and find yourself eating amazing food. It’s mind-blowing. We can’t stop eating the food here!
Bauke V.
From the Netherlands
It’s so well organized! I can’t believe there are activities every single night. I also love that it’s usually a small group of people who I can really connect with.
Filipa B.
From Portugal
I love how kind and helpful the locals are. We got random toilet paper recs and thought they get kickbacks. They don’t but still helped!
Bethany R.
From the United States
I’m also a retreat organizer and community builder. It’s great to see how well this retreat is run as a fellow organizer. It’s an absolute dream for foodies.
Camille P.
From France
Meet Your Host
China Digital Nomads retreat is founded and hosted by Stella Guan, a creative entrepreneur and designer originally from China. She moved to the United States to study in university with a full scholarship when she was 18 and later pursued her entrepreneurial dream by starting and running various companies. She was inspired by digital nomads hosting retreats in their home country and is now excited to welcome fellow digital nomads, remote workers, and travelers who are curious about China to experience her home country in an authentic and fun way, together with a like-minded global community.
Our Coworking Solution
Our hotel in Chongqing doesn’t have a dedicated coworking space – but from our experience in previous retreats, attendees enjoy walking to nearby coffee shops with amazing wifi and comfortable table/chairs to work or working in their hotel room if they need privacy for calls. Chongqing also has dedicated commercial coworking spaces that attendees can choose to utilize if they choose – often within reasonable distance via rideshare. China has many options and thanks to affordable prices, comfortable work environment is easily accessible. However, if you expect ergonomic desk and chair setup like a professional coworking space, this retreat is not right for you.
Retreat Schedule
We have a varied and full schedule for the retreat to help you maximize your time in China and connect with fellow attendees. Of course, you can skip out on any of them if you want.
Week 1
Day: Coworking
1
Week day/night activities: Chinese language session; Liziba monorail visit (train through building); Ping pong / badminton night; nightly group dinners
2
Weekend: Songgai Ancient Town; Jingang Village Hot Springs
3
Week 2
Day: Coworking
1
Week day/night activities: Chinese craft class; Night city walk (Nanbin Road or Hongyadong); Karaoke night; nightly group dinners
2
Weekend: Wulong Karst; Fairy Mountain
3
Week 3
Day: Coworking
1
Week day/night activities: Badminton night; Yangtze River cable car ride; Chinese traditional dance bar experience; nightly group dinners
2
Weekend: Dazu Rock Carvings; Wujiang River Gallery
3
Week 4
Day: Coworking
1
Week day/night activities: Afternoon scenic hike; Chinese night market; Chinese arcade night; nightly group dinners
2
Weekend: Wuling Grand Canyon; Wansheng Stone Forest
3
Weekday Activities Highlight
Chongqing is a unique city like no other. It is a social-media-famous city with cool sites where we will visit during the week before or after work.
Train Through Apartment Building
Officially the Li Zi Ba Train Station, this unique station goes directing through an apartment building. We will pop by this famous site during our lunch break to see it for ourselves.
22nd Floor or the Ground Floor?
Is it the ground floor? You wish. It's actually on the 22nd floor. China is famous for gravity-defeating architectures and Chongqing has ones of its most famous example.
Yangtze River Cable Car
The Yangtze River cable car is a famous site in Chongqing. During one of our lunch breaks, we can take the cable car across the famous Yangtze River bridge to enjoy the view of the beautifully unique city that is Chongqing.
Chongqing Motorcycle Photoshoot
For those of you who love motion and the social media famous motorcyclists, don't miss the chance to do a professional photo and video shoot with Chongqing night skyline as the backdrop.
Weekend Excursions
Our retreat is the perfect balance of productive working, local cultural immersion and community building. Here is a what we will be doing over 4 weekends.
Wulong Karst
We will visit dramatic karst landscapes with natural bridges and deep valleys—one of Chongqing’s most iconic and cinematic natural environments.
Wansheng Stone Forest
We will walk among sculptural limestone formations shaped by erosion, offering a visually engaging nature experience without long hikes.
Songgai Ancient Town
We will spend time in a quiet riverside town with stone streets and traditional architecture, ideal for slow wandering and conversation.
Jingang Village Hot Springs
We will soak in natural village hot springs set in a rural landscape, focusing on rest, recovery, and a slower pace.
Fairy Mountain
We will visit open alpine meadows and forests at higher elevation, enjoying cooler air and spacious scenery away from the city.
Wuling Grand Canyon
We will explore a striking canyon carved by time, with sheer cliffs and layered rock formations unlike Chongqing’s karst scenery.
Dazu Rock Carvings
We will visit UNESCO-listed cliffside carvings blending Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian themes, rich in detail and cultural depth.
Wujiang River Gallery
We will experience a scenic river corridor with canyon walls and wide water views, moving slowly and taking in the landscape.
Want to Chat Before Joining?
Have questions for the retreat? Wondering if this is right for you and have burning questions for who’s coming?
Frequently Asked Questions
If your passport is from the following countries, you can enter China visa-free for 30 days.
Europe (30 countries)
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Asia‑Pacific (3)
Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore.
Latin America (5)
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay—all eligible from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026.
Middle East (4)
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia—all eligible from June 9, 2025 to June 8, 2026.
If you are not from these countries, you may also qualify for visa-free transit for 144-hours, which applies to 58 countries. You can attend our retreat with the 1-week package. Confirm with the Chinese consulate of your passport country.
Our retreat attendees will mainly be remote workers, digital nomads and travelers who are curious about the remote work lifestyle.
China is a vast country. Our retreat visits a different location each edition. It is not usually located in Beijing, where the Great Wall is, which means we will not be visiting the Great Wall as a group if the edition is not in Beijing.
But if you want to maximize your time in China, apply for the tourist visa before you come and take a few more weeks to visit other parts of China after the retreat.
China is now an entirely cashless society – you do not need cash even for small purchases at a food stall or in a traditional market. However, please make sure you set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with identity verification (your passport) and link your bank card before coming to China. You will be paying for everything with either of these two mobile phone-based payments.
There are mobile phone power bank stations everywhere in urban areas to help people conveniently charge their phones in case they run out of power and do not have their own portable power banks.
You will need VPN to access most websites in China. We provide enterprise-grade VPN to all of our attendees which can be used on your computer or mobile phone. In addition, we recommend purchasing eSims for your phone as an additional backup in case of temporary VPN outage, which is rare but does happen from time to time and often for no more than a few minutes.
You can choose your own SIM cards, but we recommend purchasing eSims from vendors like Holafly, Airalo or Nomad, which we have personally tested.
We pick 1 city or town every retreat. To know the latest location, please refer to the first section of the homepage for the most updated location.
50% of the retreat package cost can be refunded to you up to 45 days before the retreat. After that there is no refund.
