Chengdu Spice
This southwestern Chinese city is both panda playground and economic powerhouse
This southwestern Chinese city is both panda playground and economic powerhouse
Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan province, is making its mark on the global map for a number of reasons. The city is home to the spiciest cuisine in China, the rare giant panda and, more recently, the largest freestanding structure in the world.
The recently-completed New Century Global Center contains 19 million square feet – that’s 434 acres – of indoor floor space, dwarfing the Burj Khalifa, which holds a mere 77 acres. Chengdu’s megastructure – which houses an artificial beach, a central business district, a Mediterranean village, 14-screen cinema, hotels, ice rink and shopping mall – is virtually an indoor city, and exemplifies Chengdu’s role as a key component of China’s relentless pursuit of both figurative and literal greatness.
In 2000, the Chinese government initiated an economic policy to develop its landlocked western provinces, and Chengdu emerged as a natural focal point. Logistically, the 2,300-year-old city has been a center for cross-country communication and transport since the days of the Silk Road, when it contributed spices, tea and silk brocade to the earliest intercontinental trade.
This legacy remains apparent in modern Chengdu, from where 34 major Chinese cities are reachable by high-speed rail, whose network of direct global air links is growing rapidly, and where a sizeable outsourcing and communications industry is in place. Siemens, Motorola, Nokia and Ericsson are among the scores of international companies with a presence in the city. The 50-square-mile Chengdu HiTech Industrial Development Zone alone contains 33,237 companies, 87 of which rank in the Fortune 500.
But Chengdu’s charm has not been entirely lost in the frenzy of development. The teahouses, traditional opera theatres and ancient temples still stand their ground among the ever-expanding cityscape.
First Impressions
The two-terminal Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is relatively well equipped, with one of the runways capable of landing an A380 (though it hasn’t yet). Last year it handled 31.59 million passengers, and upon arrival didn’t seem too crowded. A car ride to the city center takes about 30 minutes, accounting for traffic – a factor that is unavoidable in Chengdu at most times of day.
Orientation
Navigating the city’s 822-square-mile urban center (its population is 7.1 million) is not the easiest of tasks, especially for an outsider. If you can decipher the metropolitan bus system’s labyrinthine network, you can get almost anywhere for RMB2 ($0.30). There are also two subway lines currently in operation, with more under construction, costing between RMB2-4 ($0.30-$0.60) depending on distance. This is generally a faster and simpler option than the bus since you avoid the traffic, and the bus can be confusing for those who don’t speak and read Chinese.
Taking a taxi is not extortionate, but again, you are at the mercy of the traffic, and the driver, who most probably doesn’t speak English. Most of them use meters, but often attempt to haggle a fixed price. Renting a car with a driver is a popular option, but can cost RMB600-800 ($98$130) a day. It may, however, save you a lot if you value mental stability.
Most of the major hotels are located within the innermost – and aptly named – 1st Ring Road. The airport is 10 miles to the southwest, and the Tianfu district, which houses both the industrial park and new indoor city, is also to the south, and is connected by the newly-built Tianfu overpass.