Chengdu Economy
Chengdu is designated by China State Council as the center of commerce, logistics, finance and technology. It is also the hub of transport and communication in the western China. In 2016, the GDP in Chengdu was over US $ 183 billion, and the GDP per person was over US $ 11,663. Over 300 of the World Fortune 500 companies have important business operations in Chengdu including GE, Honeywell, IBM, Dell and Intel.
Education
Education is a Chengdu strength – Chengdu has 56 higher education institutions. In 2015, Chengdu had approximately 3.8 million graduate students. Examples of the top-tier universities in Chengdu:
1.University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (http://en.uestc.edu.cn/)
2.Sichuan University (http://www.scu.edu.cn/en/)
3.Southwest Jiaotong Univeristy (http://english.swjtu.edu.cn/)
4.Sichuan Normal University (http://school.cucas.edu.cn/Sichuan-Normal-University-195/)
Transportation
The transportation network in Chengdu is highly developed. Chengdu has one of China's busiest airports; Chengdu is the intersection point of five trunk railway lines; Chengdu is connected with thousands of miles of expressways and has dozens of coach stations sending passengers to various destinations. There are subways, city buses, taxis and many other transportation optionsin Chengdu.
Highways: Chengdu hashighways connected to other metropolitan cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing. Thesesophisticated national highways provide Chengdu fast convenient access to many key destinations.
Railways: Chengdu has the Bullet passenger and cargo trains to almost all the major cities and ports in China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.Chengdu is also the starting point of the Chengdu(Rong)-Europe Cargo train line, which connects central China and the European area.Chengdu has the 5th largestmetro system in China, and is expanding.
Airports: Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport ranks among the world's 50 busiest airports. It has 209 direct flights, including 96 international flights. There are direct flights between Chengdu and New York City and San Francisco. Chengdu is currently building second international airport.Chengdu, after Beijing and Shanghai will bethe 3rd city in China which has two international airports.
Chengdu Culture and History
Chengdu, one of the earliest settlements in China, is the famous historical and cultural city with a history that is more than 2300 years old. According to Jinsha and other cultural relics, Chengdu's highly developed civilization extends back 4000 years. It is the birthplaces of Ba Shu Culture. The Song Dynasty, saw economic and cultural development in Chengdu. Its silk industry accounted for more than 70% China’s total economic activity. Chengdu created the world's first paper money, "Jiaozi".
In 2006, China Daily named Chengdu China's 4th most-livable city. Chengdu, a city you will never leave if you come! Chengdu is the original place of the world-famous Sichuan Cuisine. In 2010, Chengdu was named the UNESCO City of Gastronomy. There are numerous restaurants and street vendors serving delicious dishes and snacks on every street. It is a place where food is taken very seriously. Local dishes include Mapo Tofu, Chengdu Hotpot and Dan Dan noodles.
