Chengdu draws widespread attention for living standards

Chengdu is home to the giant pandas and is known as "China's happiest city." It has drawn wide attention for its comprehensive measures to satisfy residents' yearning for a better life.

The city, the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China, is playing host to the China Good Life City (2020-21) activities from April 22 to 24. This is the first time the event has been held outside Beijing since its establishment 15 years ago.

Jointly launched by the Central Radio and Television Station, the National Bureau of Statistics, China Post Group and Peking University's National School of Development, the event consists of a forum on China's good life cities, a list-release gala and a tour of Chengdu.

The Chengdu Open-air Music Park in Jinniu district, Chengdu, provides citizens with high-quality music and an exciting cultural experience. [Photo provided to China Daily]

During the forum, city leaders, analysts, famous entrepreneurs and cultural scholars have been invited to share their experiences in the construction and development of good life cities, and discuss the social, economic and cultural development trends based on the latest survey data.

The list-release gala, to be held on the evening of April 23, will release five city lists: "cities of great beauty," "cities of elegance," "cities of yearning," "cities of admiration" and "cities of comfort."

"The reason why we chose Chengdu as the host city lies in its rapid development in recent years, which has attracted widespread attention from all parties," said the organizers.

The organizers said the city has made remarkable achievements in its efforts to become a park city. It is constructing the world's longest greenway system and the world's largest urban forest park and has continuously increased its number of parks, wetlands and gardens.

Citizens participate in a marathon at Qingcheng Mountain in Dujiangyan, Chengdu. [Photo provided to China Daily]

During the event, guests have been invited to take a tour of the city to learn about Chengdu's development achievements while implementing its 10 major projects for a happy and good life. They have also learned about the city's transformation into a park city demonstration area and its implementation of new development concepts.

Chengdu launched its 10 major projects for a happy and good life at the beginning of this year, closely linking urban planning with the well-being of citizens. The city is implementing the projects to showcase high-quality development, high-quality living and high-efficiency urban governance, said local officials.

The officials said the city aims to attract more talents and professionals with its living conditions and development potential, and to make it fashionable to live like a Chengdu native.

Citizens ride bicycles on the greenway at Aoshan Park in Jianyang, Chengdu. [Photo by Zhou Xue/For China Daily]

The 10 major projects include 339 specific items, with a total investment of nearly 900 billion yuan ($138.69 billion), according to the city's plan. Among them, 192 should be implemented in 2021, with a total investment of more than 120 billion yuan.

Chengdu released its first batch of application scenarios and investment opportunity lists related to the 10 major projects on April 21. The documents provide a total of 422 pieces of supply and demand information from the government and enterprises.

The city will continue to regularly release application scenarios and investment opportunity lists to guide State-owned enterprises, private capital and other market entities, as well as encourage citizens to participate in the 10 major projects, said the local officials.