Big city attracts expats with small-town feel

He said diners in New York City are serious about matters such as the way a plate comes out, when it comes out and how it's served. People in Chengdu, in contrast, care only about one thing ― taste.

Sascha Matuszak relaxes at teatime in a small alley in Chengdu.

Matuszak agreed.

"If chefs can't provide authentic, twice-cooked spicy pork (a traditional Sichuan cuisine), nobody will visit their restaurants in Chengdu," he said in the local dialect.

Chengdu residents tend to be fond of restaurants that are hidden in alleys and street corners and only have room for a few tables.

"If the chefs (at these places) aren't in a good mood, they'll just close their restaurants for a day or two," he said. "They're serious about their food."

Apart from Sichuan cuisine, people can find relaxation in the teahouses dotting nearly every corner of the city. In many ways, the teahouse is to Chengdu what the bar is to London and the cafe is to Paris.

Both Barnett and Matuszak go to teahouses in the city ― often to meet friends. They said a cup of tea can cost them anything from less than a dollar to more than 10 dollars, depending on where they buy it.

"Everyone here has a teacup," said Matuszak, who is married to a Chengdu woman and has two sons. "People drink tea while they're working."

Matuszak first arrived in Chengdu in 2002 and left and returned several times over the following years. In 2011, he spent an entire year in Shanghai in search of better pay. In the end, though, he decided to settle in Chengdu, where he began his Chinese journey.

"Chengdu has a little bit of everything," he said. "It has the culture of Beijing, but isn't as big. It has the business and jobs that Shanghai has, but isn't as stressful as Shanghai."

In the past few years, renowned organizations and economists have bestowed various honorary titles on Chengdu. The World Bank, for instance, has deemed it "a benchmark city for investment environment in inland China" and economists have called it the "engine" of the western development, a government initiative.

The city is also renowned for its manufacturing. Two-third of the world's iPads are made in Chengdu, and the city's production capacity of computers reaches one-fifth of the world's total.

The Chengdu Investment Presentation and Project Signing Ceremony, which was held in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen this month, was the occasion for pledges to invest 42.253 billion yuan ($6.79 billion) into the city.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor Ge Honglin said Chengdu is poised to become the engine of the development of the country's western region, especially as domestic and foreign companies spend more in the city.

With such fast growth, Chengdu is almost certain to continue attracting foreigners, more and more of whom are taking to running businesses and restaurants.

To better accommodate expatriates, the Chengdu government has built up several international communities. The biggest one is in its high-tech development zone, where it has apartments, schools, hospitals, shopping malls and a community church to accommodate 5,000 people.

"Chengdu, with its comfortable living conditions, is ready to welcome more expatriates," said Tang Jiqiang, spokesman for the Chengdu Hi-Tech Development Zone.

"As I stay in Chengdu longer and longer, I feel more and more comfortable," Barnett said. "Like a nice pair of shoes, you never want to take them off."

Matuszak said he sees many of the same advantages.

"Right now, living here is not a problem," he said. "Many of my friends think Yunnan province is the best place to travel. But for living, they come here."