A short film promoting Chengdu has been screened in New York's Times Square on August 1. The film with the theme "typical China and panda hometown" includes many scenic spots in Chengdu, such as Du Fu Thatched Cottage, Sansheng Flower Market, Chengdu Old Teahouse and Chunxi Road. This is a great opportunity to present the image of China and the city to the world.

The 30- second film is screened consecutively at two time intervals under overseas rules of communication according to Huang Lin, director of Information Liaison Office, the Publicity Department of Municipal Committee.

Times Square. [Photo/Huaxi Metropolis Daily]

The film depicts the panda, along with Chengdu's cultural lanes, memorial temple of Zhuge Liang, gallery bridge and flourishing business district Chunxi Road..A mix of oriental traditional and modern fashion as well as life and art reveals the city's spirit. The film was made especially for the overseas market. In January this year, another version was telecast on mainstream western media such as CNN and BBC.

The film will be screened from August to September. There's a good chance that the streams of people who converge at Times Square will see the film. Panda logo, a strong overseas marketing tool.

In recent years, Chengdu has been dedicated to international exchanges and overseas promotion. This has been successful in building up the city's image.

"We've progressed with using the panda as a strong overseas marketing image." said Huang Lin. Pandas are representative of Chengdu. They often appear in overseas economic and cultural exchanges, so they have been widely recognized abroad. The panda logo appears in many domestic and international campaigns. Panda "Mei Lan” is a global ambassador for "Earth Hour", "Guardian angels of giant pandas" and a series of panda-related city brand marketing activities have been a hit. Hence, pandas play a leading role in promoting China and Chengdu in the international market.

Kung Fu Panda 2 this year has also helped in publicizing Chengdu.

Chengdu displays city image to the world at Times Square New York's Times Square is a prosperous commercial and entertainment center that attracts over hundreds of thousands of people every day. It is known as the "world's crossroad". Approximately 40 million tourists from all over the world visit Times Square each year, equal to 14 percent of the United State's total population.

The Xinhua News Agency has rented a 19.5-meter-high and 12.2-meter-wide large screen at Tower 2 of New York Times Square. From August 1, news from Xinhua News Agency and the publicity film promoting China's will be consecutively screened on the liquid crystal display. This is the first time that a Chinese institution has rented such a large outdoor display on a long-term basis at New York's Times Square.

Under China's Western Development Program, Chengdu plays an increasingly vital role around the globe. To date, 200 companies among "world's top 500", such as Intel, IBM and Maersk, have made investments in Chengdu. Last year, Forbes projected that Chengdu will be the fastest growing city in the world in the next ten years.