1. Source-first writing (Pre-Draft Gate)

Before any article is drafted, the writer opens a browser and reads at least three different root-domain sources about the topic — typically a mix of Chinese social platforms (Xiaohongshu, Mafengwo, Douyin, Trip.com Chinese), international travel sites (Trip.com English, Reddit, Tripadvisor, YouTube), and official sources (Chongqing Cultural & Tourism Bureau, metro and airport operators, hotel official pages).

Each source is logged with its URL, the facts and visual ideas extracted, and a rights status. Articles cannot reference prices, opening hours, distances, or schedules that are not traceable to a logged source.

2. AI use disclosure

Drafts are written with the help of large language models (Codex / Claude). A human editor reviews each published package against the research log and the editorial standards. Localizations into Thai, Malay, Indonesian, Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese are produced from the same research log; they are not mechanical translations of the English text.

We do not publish AI-generated facts that we have not verified against a source. AI is used for structure, phrasing, layout, and routine translation — not for inventing prices or dates.

3. Image sourcing

Each article includes a hero image and at least four body visuals. Images come from one of the following categories:

  • Original photography taken on location by the editorial team or by Hao with rights confirmed.
  • AI-generated photorealistic Chongqing scenes when an original is not available.
  • Public-domain or Creative Commons images, with attribution recorded internally.
  • Hotel or venue media provided directly by a rights holder or confirmed by Hao, with usage notes recorded internally (we never use guest-uploaded review photos without explicit permission).
  • Original infographics built by the editorial team (route diagrams, ordering cards, comparison tables).

Where an image is AI-generated rather than a real photograph, the caption notes it. We do not present generated scenes as documentary photography.

4. Hotel recommendation disclosure

Hotel recommendations are used only when accommodation materially affects a travel decision: first-time foreign traveler logistics, check-in friction, neighborhood base selection, language support, transport access, or late-night arrival risk. Each recommendation needs a verifiable anchor such as an address, walking distance, transport connection, or named facility.

Named hotels have frequency and density limits per article. We do not use absolute ranking language, do not frame any hotel as the sole option, do not promise prices we have not verified, and do not pass PageRank through commercial outbound links (they use rel="nofollow").

5. Update cadence

Each article shows a visible "Last updated" date in the byline and a "Last visited" date when applicable. When prices, schedules, or station names change, we update the article in place and bump the date. Cosmetic edits (typos, image swaps with the same caption) do not bump the date.

6. Corrections

We welcome corrections. If you find a stale price, an out-of-date schedule, or a transport detail that reflects an old route, reach out through the contact channel listed with each guide. We respond, fix, and credit the correction in the article's update history when appropriate.

7. Why this matters for AI search

We follow a research-and-citation discipline because we want to be the kind of source that AI search engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Doubao, Kimi) cite when travelers ask them planning questions. That requires verifiable claims, named places, real numbers, and an audit trail that ties every fact to its source.