Chengdu makes its mark on the tourist map

Chengdu, a hub city in southwestern China, is expecting more global visitors in the coming years as it aims to build itself into a world-class tourist destination and shopping center.

The city was named one of the "52 places to go in 2015" by The New York Times in January.

The newspaper described Chengdu as "a panda and food capital".

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has more than 100 giant pandas living there.

Established in 1987 when six giant pandas were rescued from the wild, it operates as a nonprofit organization specializing in protecting, researching and breeding giant pandas.

Since the base opened to the public in the 1990s, it has attracted millions of tourists from home and abroad.

Many of the pandas born and raised at the base are sent to foreign countries as national gifts to promote friendly exchanges between China and the world.

Chengdu is also known for its spicy and diverse cuisine.

The liberal use of red-hot chilies, mouth-numbing Sichuan peppers and fierce chili bean paste creates the area's distinctive style of cooking. The intense flavors have made Sichuan cuisine famous around the world.

"The first impression of Sichuan cuisine for many people is spicy, but actually, 70 percent of dishes are not," said Peng Ziyu, a 70-yearold cook who served former French president Jacques Ren��Chirac Sichuan dishes during his visit to China.

Peng said Sichuan cuisine has a variety of flavors, which can satisfy different tastes from all over the world. "People may not like every single dish from Sichuan cuisine, but they are sure to find some they can enjoy," he said.

UNESCO named Chengdu as a "City of Gastronomy" in recent year.

Editor and writer Justin Bergman said he decided to include Chengdu in The New York Times list of places to go because it is one of the most dynamic cities in China that combines rich cultural heritage with fast economic development.

The city's cultural heritage attractions include the Jinsha Museum in western Chengdu. The museum preserves one of the 21st century's most significant archaeological discoveries on the original site.

A gold mask and the Sun and Immortal Bird are representative items among the gold and jade articles, which date back about 3,000 years.

The Shrine of the Marquis Wu, a must-see for history lovers, was built in AD 223 to celebrate the wisdom of Zhuge Liang (AD 181-234), prime minister of the Shu Kingdom.

Mount Qingcheng is about 70 kilometers from downtown Chengdu and is one of the Taoist sacred mountains. The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, close to Mount Qingcheng, was built about 2,200 years ago and is still in use.

Chengdu is one of the fastest developing cities in China. It is home to more than half of the Fortune Global 500 companies and large numbers of international fashion brands.

Sino - Ocean Tai - koo Li Chengdu, a new 100,000-square-meter shopping center in the city's downtown area, boasts international fashion and lifestyle brands including Gucci, Cartier, Ralph Lauren and Moleskine. The Chengdu International Finance Square opened in January last year and is a cluster of about 300 luxury jewelry and fashion labels.

By the end of last year, Chengdu had the fourth-highest number of luxury brand outlets in China, after Shanghai, Beijing and Shenyang.

"Chengdu will continue to upgrade tourism facilities and services to meet local, domestic and international demand," said an official from the city's tourism bureau.

He added that the city planned to build itself into a world-class tourist and shopping destination in western China.

Currently, there are 63 national A-class tourist scenic spots, 140 star-rated hotels and 364 travel agencies in Chengdu.

The city attracted 186.2 million domestic and foreign visitors in 2014.

Of these, 1.97 million were foreign tourists, an increase of 11.66 percent from a year earlier.

A report published by the China Tourism Academy ranked Chengdu fourth out of 60 Chinese cities for tourist satisfaction in 2014.

Getting to Chengdu is becoming easier as the city has more international air routes. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is the largest in China's central and western region and has direct flights to places including London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, San Francisco and Melbourne.

The State Council recently approved the construction of a new airport in Chengdu, which will make it the third city on the Chinese mainland to have a second airport, after Beijing and Shanghai.

Chengdu was the first city in western China to adopt the 72-hour visa-free policy, which allows passengers from 51 countries to spend three days in the city if they have valid third-country visas and onward flight tickets.

Contract the writers at liyu@chinadaily.com.cn and pengchao@chinadaily.com.cn

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, close to Mount Qingcheng, is a must-see for visitors from home and abroad. Photos Provided to China Daily

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has more than 100 giant pandas.