Chengdu

Chengdu Introduction

Chengdu is a famous historic and cultural city located in the West plain of the Sichuan basin. The city was once known as ‘Shu’ in the Three Kingdoms Period but is now referred to as ‘the Land of Abundance’ due to its temperate climate and fertile soil. With over 3,000 years of history the Chengdu is a vibrant city, rich in natural beauty, ethnic diversity, and cultural fusion. Chengdu holds sub-provincial administrative status; it is the capital city of Sichuan province, and one of the largest cities in West China. Over the past decade Chengdu has transformed into one of the most important economic, transportation and communication centres in Western China.

Economy

Since China’s state council designated Chengdu as the country’s Western Centre of logistics, commerce, finance, science and technology the city’s economy has experienced rapid development. In 2007 the World Bank’s 2007 survey report on global investment environments declared Chengdu had become an engine of the Western Development Program, a benchmark city for investment environment in mainland China, and a pioneer in new urbanisation. Since then Chengdu has also become a major hub for transportation and communication as well as an important base for manufacturing and agriculture.

Between 2000 and 2010 Chengdu reported an average annual GDP growth of 14.6%; by 2011 Chengdu’s GDP had taken another leap forward and increased to 15.2%. With this continuous growth the Western Core of China’s economy has become extremely prosperous, leading to the GDP of Chengdu to be ranked 4th out of the 15 sub-provincial cities and 10th nationwide.During 2011 Chengdu’s industrial value increased by 218.53 billion RMB, with a growth rate of 22.3%, the electronic industry experienced the fastest growth rate of 67.5%. At the same time Chengdu’s exports totalled over 228 billion RMB, with a growth rate of 53.9%.

Chengdu has become a top investment destination in China. By 2011, over 200 Fortune 500 companies have set up their branches in Chengdu, ranking it first in terms of Fortune 500 companies in Central and Western China. Of these companies, 150 are foreign enterprises and 40 are domestic companies, with a total investment of 50 billion RMB. As the largest trading centre in Western China, Chengdu’s market covers Sichuan Province and eight other Western Provinces reaching a total population of 300 million people. As the percentage of people able to afford and demand world class products and services increases each year, so does the investment and expansion of operations from major firms.

Development

Chengdu is quickly emerging as the most important city in Western China. Reform over the past two decades has brought remarkable achievements in infrastructure, industrial structure, market economy and protection of the environment. Changes occur on a daily basis as the city is evolving into a modern cosmopolis.

According to the countries five year plan, China’s strategy for developing its western areas is to speed up the opening-up of the Western region both domestically and internationally, improve its communication and transport infrastructures, and strategically develop the local economies. The Western Development Strategy applies to 71% of China’s total area, a region that is rich in natural resources and is considered to have great market potential, but still lags economically behind the coastal cities.

In particular Chengdu is considered to be well positioned for economic opening and development. Opening-up this area has seen great success throughout history; it is what produced the Silk Road and the Ancient Tea Route.

The government has already begun to give Chengdu an edge; it has designated five development zones along major rivers, roads and railways. Chengdu’s Tianfu New District has been named one of the five new key districts in Western China, which in turn has boosted its position as a national-level project, along with the establishment of a Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone.

Chengdu now strives forward into a new wave of development for the new century. It will open its arms as a modern, civilized city, open to friends from home and abroad, whether they come to travel, invest, or carry out technical or cultural exchange. Chengdu will learn from other parts of the world in its efforts to become the strategic city of the west.

 Transportation

Chengdu’s has a well developed, ever growing transportation network. The city is the start of many national highways, undergoing a major metro network project, the centre of an extended high-speed rail network, and contains the busiest airport in Western China. High-speed, light rail and metro rail projects are all high priority in China, which is particularly keen to exploit the mass transit capacities of metro networks to reduce huge congestion and pollution issues that exist within many major population centres.

Due to its central location, Chengdu has a twenty-hour traffic circle to some of the most major cities in China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Chu Chiang Delta and the Yangtze River Delta. To promote the hub status of the highway network in Asia, Chengdu opened a transport link to Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia and Europe; this has greatly enhanced Chengdu’s urban outbound traffic.

This year a 13.1km second layer will be added to the east half of the second ring road, elevated 12m above ground level it will accommodate six lanes and a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system). The BRT system is regarded by transportation planners to be more flexible and cost efficient than other forms of high-speed mass transit. With an investment of 3.42 billion RMB construction of the project began in April, 2012 and with a target completion date of June 2013.

Chengdu is midway through a highly ambitious project to build an all-new metro system. The project was incorporated into infrastructure planning by the local government in 2001, with the aim to upgrade urban infrastructure and improve standards of living. With the opening of Line 1 in 2010, Chengdu became the first city in Western China with a metro system. Line two opened in 2012 and as future plans show, another 8 lines will be developed by 2020.

Chengdu currently has three train stations, North, East and South and is one of the most important hubs for China’s rail network. Transport to neighbouring provincial capitals such as Guiyang and Chongqing can be completed within 2 hours, 4 hours to Xi’an, Wuhan and Lanzhou, and 8 hours to Beijing and Tianjin. In order to build an international rail hub, Chengdu is also opening an external rail link towards the Atlantic and Indian Ocean to create a rail network between West Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe.

In terms of passenger traffic, Chengdu’s Shangliu International Airport is the busiest in Western China and the 5th busiest nationwide. Its passenger capacity ranks 57th in the world with freight traffic ranking 50th.  The Airport has 12 international passenger traffic routes and plans to create an aviation network that covers all key cities around the world. Plans for a new airport have been confirmed; construction will begin in 2014 and is expected to be in operation by 2018. The new airport will boast 5 runways, three more than Shuangliu, and a passenger capacity of 80 million per year.

 Environment

Rich in natural resources and ecological diversity, Chengdu lies in the Southwest of China at the western edge of the Sichuan Basin at an average of 500 meters above sea level. With a total area 12,000 km², 228 km² belonging to constructed urban area, Chengdu is one of the largest cities in China.

The city has a subtropical monsoon climate influenced by the Sichuan Basin.  The Annual average temperature is 16⁰C that is neither too cold in winter (6⁰C) nor too hot in summer (27⁰C). Average annual rainfall is about 997 millimetres with the heaviest rainfalls during July and August.

Urban Chengdu features several rivers such as the Jin, Fu, and Sha Rivers. Outside of the urban area the topography becomes more complex. Northwest Chengdu is bordered by the high and steep mountains with an elevation which exceeds 5000m. To the west the Qionglai Mountain area is home to a large primitive forest with abundant biological resources and the Giant Pandas. To the East of Chengdu stand the low Longquan Mountain Range and the middle reaches of the Min River, an area distinguished by several converging rivers.

Chengdu is also surrounded by several world historic and cultural heritages sites such s Dujiangyan, Qingcheng Mountain, Jiuzhai Vallet, Huanglong National Park, Emei Mountain, Leshan Giant Budda, and the Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries.

Culture

Chengdu’s history can be traced back over 4,000 years. The inhabitants have a reputation both within Sichuan and China for having a laid back attitude and for knowing how to enjoy life. Chengdu is one of the most famous cultural cities in China, its culture of eating, leisure, tea, Taoism and the Three Kingdoms have exerted a great influence on Chinese people all over the world. In 2006 Chengdu was awarded the title of China’s best Tourist City for its ecological environment and ancient culture. A recent article also named Chengdu as China’s ‘party city’ as it outnumbers Shanghai in numbers of tea houses and bars.

Its frame as the Land of Abundance and a city with a unique culture has been supported by the engineering ingenuity of the Duijiangyan irrigation system. Designed by Li Bing and built in 256 BC by the Qin Kingdom, it is still used today to irrigate over 5,300 km² of land in the region. Once the system was completed no more floods occurred and the irrigation made Sichuan the most agriculturally productive place in China. Li Bing’s construction is also credited with giving the Sichuanese people a laid-back attitude by eliminating disaster and ensuring a regular bountiful harvest.

Chengdu is officially recognised by UNESCO as a City of Gastronomy. The Sichuan people tend to eat spicy food which often contains Sichuan peppers. The cuisine features careful pairings of boldness and subtlety, skilled preparation and a wide variety of flavours. Three famous spicy local specialities include Mapo Doufu, Hot pot and Dan Dan Mien.

Chengdu is the home of Sichuanese Opera, is a type of Chinese opera originating in Sichuan province around 1700. The saying “Shu opera towers above all other performances in the world” reflects the disciplines achievements. Sichuan Opera is a synthesis of 5 historic melodic styles and an ancient form of comedic drama involving, dance, singing, poetry and miming. Face changing masks and fire breathing remain a hallmark of the Sichuan Opera.

Some of China’s most important literature comes from Chengdu. Chengdu has been home to literary giants such as, Sima Xiangru and Yang Xiong masters of descriptive prose and verse during the Han Dynasty. Wen Weng, administer of Chengdu during the Western Han Dynasty, established the first local public school named Shishi, in the world. The school site has not changed for more than 2,000 years, which remains the site of today’s Shishi High School.

Chengdu is the birthplace of Taoism, China’s only indigenous religion, established around AD 126. Mount Heming is where founder Zhang Daoling created the Tradition of the Mighty Commonwealth of Orthodox Oneness, the main genre of Taoism. Later Zhang went to Mount Qingcheng, 60km from Chengdu, to preach the tradition

An old Chengdu saying goes, “Sunny days are rare, but teahouses are abundant”. With over a thousand years of history, Chinese tea culture is perhaps best exemplified by the bamboo chairs and wooden tables and Jasmine tea, found in the hundreds of tea houses throughout Chengdu. Local are passionate about going to tea houses, not only for tea, snacks and entertainment, but also for social gathering and business meetings. From as early as the Western Han period, both the tea trade and tea culture were very prosperous in Sichuan with Chengdu as the starting point of the Southern Silk Road.

Mahjong is been an essential part of most local people’s life. Almost every home has a Mahjong set and you can see people playing the game all over the city, especially in tea houses. Mahjong is the most popular choice of entertainment amongst local people for several reasons, Chengdu locals have simplified the rules to make it easier to play and a small amount of gambling is regarded as harmless fun. Friends and family often chat over Majong tables making in an important social stimulus.