Chengdu beckons visitors from across the globe

The history of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, is quite familiar to the well informed, but along with its ancient artifacts and scenic setting, the city has a vibrant culture and economy still evolving today.

With a population of 10 million, Chengdu in the middle of the vast and fertile Chengdu Plain has been designated by the State Council as southwest China's center of science, technology, commerce, trade and finance, and as well as a hub for transportation and telecommunication.

In 1993, the city government invested 3 billion yuan to start the Fuhe and Nanhe Rivers Comprehensive Revitalization Project. The resulting environmental improvement won major international awards such as placement on the 1998 Habitat Scroll of Honor from the United Nations Center for Human Settlements.

Since 2001, the city invested 3.2 billion yuan to harness the 22-km-long Shahe River and built 43 km of roads, planted trees on 345 hectares of land and moved more than 200 polluting enterprises away from the river area. The Shahe Comprehensive Revitalization Project was awarded the 2004 China Best Practice for Human Habitat.

Chengdu's efforts to achieve sustainable development paid off in 2005 when it became China's seventh and west China's first major provincial capital city to be conferred the title of National Model City in Environmental Protection by the State Environmental Protection Administration.

Travel lovers know that together with Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, and Dalian in Liaoning province, Chengdu was among the first in the country to be awarded the accolade of China's Best Tourism City by the National Tourism Administration in 2007.