New Yorkers get fresh taste of Chengdu

The opening ceremony of Chengdu Tourism Center (New York) kicked off at New Legend in Manhattan on Tuesday with Sichuan food and opera, detailed presentations of Chengdu's famous tourist attractions and its iconic panda - providing a glimpse of the city from a variety of angles.

"Subnational, grassroots-level collaboration may prevail upon the leaders of China and the US to collaborate better than they have been, because the people of both countries are fascinated by each other's history and culture and want to get closer to each other," said David Paterson, former New York governor, who attended the event.

Paterson said he visited Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, in 2013 and 2014.