A shining light of economic growth

The busy expressways of Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province. The city has become a hub for many global financial service companies and manufacturing giants. [Photo/Provided to China Daily]

City has become one of the country's centers of international investment

On a nighttime satellite map taken by Google Inc that went viral in China recently, the country's most illuminated parts - a clear sign of economic prosperity - are concentrated in the coastal areas of the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas.

But in China's vast western region, there's another area standing out brightly from the surrounding darkness: the growing Chengdu metropolitan area, which is becoming one of the country's shining examples of economic growth.

Officials at the city's bustling Shuangliu International Airport - the fourth-busiest in China in terms of passenger numbers after Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai - are already contemplating the addition of more terminals, shops and runways to cater for ever-growing traffic, even as the paint dries on a new terminal.

Scores of taxis and buses are on hand to whisk arriving passengers to the city center, and along the busy expressway you cannot fail to notice the showrooms selling top automobile brands, and shopping malls full of customers.

Several of the city's glitzy five-star hotels, set up by major chains such as Kempinski and Intercontinental, are now looking to expand further to cater for their growing number of international guests.

The capital of Sichuan province has become a hub for many global financial services firms and manufacturing giants, propelling the previously lesser-known city into one of the country's fastest-growing foreign direct investment locations.

The Tianfu New Area is Chengdu's new focus, which will become an international livable area with modern manufacturing industrial clusters and high-end services. It will become a model area that combines modern industries and modern lifestyle in regional development.

Chengdu was the only interior Chinese city that appeared in the 2011 and 2012 annual Top 10 Best Foreign Investment Strategy Cities in Asia and the Pacific Region published by FDI, the news and foreign direct investment publication owned by The Financial Times.

And in June, it will become the first western Chinese city to host the prestigious Global Fortune Forum, after Shanghai (1999), Hong Kong (2001) and Beijing (2005).

Announcing the city as its choice for the event - which is expected to attract numerous Fortune 500 companies and their top brass, along with government and industry leaders - Andy Serwer, Fortune magazine's managing editor, said: "At a time when China is in the forefront of global business, Chengdu is the ideal location for the next Global Forum."

Situated in the heart of China's rapidly growing western region, Chengdu has become a dynamic magnet for multinational companies, a center for higher education, and a leader in diverse range of industries from automotive and logistics to technology and services, he said.

The organizers have suggested that its success can be best summed up in just three words: "China's New Future".