Chengdu dream captivates another American writer

CHENGDU - In May of 2023, the Date with China Meet Sichuan Media Tour hosted media professionals and social media influencers from around China and presented them with a spectacular showcase of Chengdu as an international city that is bidding not just for a sporting event, trade fair or international conference, but for the world. As an American writer living in China, I was honored to participate in this event that highlighted the best Chengdu has to offer, from its brand new state-of-the-art athletic facilities primed and ready for the upcoming FISU University Games; its cultural heritage sites, including the Giant Panda Breeding Research Center, bamboo weaving, and the Jinsha museum; to its geographic significance for international trade as demonstrated by its international rail hub.

But I have a confession to make…I am not-just-a-little biased. As a resident and stakeholder in Chengdu, I've known and grown with the splendor of this city for over 16 years. It was Chengdu's charm that attracted me to leave the United States and move to China when I first visited 21 years ago. Back then, Chengdu had no metro, few parks and only a couple of western restaurants. The air was polluted, traffic was untamed and the airport was very small. But regardless of the rough edges, Chengdu captivated my heart and swept me off my feet.

I clearly remember thinking that I had destiny with Chengdu and wanted to return as soon as possible to continue learning Chinese. That day came in 2006 on my second visit to Chengdu when I met my wife here. My destiny with Chengdu was more significant than I could have ever imagined. Little did I know that the Chengdu dream had already taken root. And, in the good Sichuan soil of Chengdu, that dream began to grow. The soil here is good for growing. It's also good for dreamers like me. Perhaps, it's in the water, or maybe in the Zhuyeqing or the Kuqiao tea, but the idea of limitless possibility and potential for growth infuses the Chengdu dream with hope and energy (and no small amount of lajiao).

Eventually, that beautiful girl and I married. We opened a travel company and started a family. We now have four kids, two businesses, one dog and two cats. During my 16 years of entrepreneur-ing in Chengdu, I have been an eyewitness to radical transformation. I'd like to share a bit of what I've seen in four areas: tourism, sports, business and leisure.

Tourism

As I mentioned earlier, over ten years ago, I started a travel company that specialized in bringing foreign guests to Chengdu and showing them the beauty of western China. A healthy tourism industry requires public safety regulations, well-built roads and infrastructure, safe transportation, and a culture of welcome and hospitality. All of this requires billions in investment to develop, regulate, cultivate and promote. I've witnessed local and national government spare no expense in building up Sichuan with roads, tunnels, railroads, tourist destinations and national parks. The transformation has been remarkable. While it used to take us 12 hours to reach the love song city of Kangding, the new highway and the Luding bridge has made the journey just over three hours. Sichuan is poised for rapid growth in the tourism sector.

Sports

As an athlete myself, and now as a father of athletes, I have seen world-class sporting venues—stadiums, tracks, pools, auditoriums, indoor ski slopes, and leisure sporting facilities - pop up all over the city. Chengdu now stands out among a short list of the world's top cities with some of the most cutting-edge venues and hosting sites. International rules and standards and procedures for all sports have been mastered and adjudicated by some of the world's most outstanding referee staff who have been trained right here in Chengdu. The University Games have been long anticipated and are soon to launch in Chengdu with much fanfare. With the rest of Chengdu, I say, I can't wait. I also expect, and hope, that one day soon, Chengdu will be able to host the summer or winter Olympics.

Business

I know of no other city better prepared for international collaboration than Chengdu, with its tireless effort to build and launch the world's largest and most significant rail hub, the most advanced passenger and freight logistics centers in the Tianfu and Sichuan international airports, a haven for IT development and internet gaming companies, world-class international legal services and arbitration, and a culture of entrepreneurship that has birthed a renaissance of art, small business ownership, tea shops, cafés, restaurants and cuisine that has earned Chengdu a UNESCO World Heritage site for gastronomy. I believe Chengdu's potential for business growth and creativity is limitless and has only just begun.

Leisure

Everyone says it: "The pace of life in Chengdu is slow," "Chengdu people know how to enjoy life…" It's true. Like a contradiction to Chengdu's competitiveness on the global playing field of business, tourism and athletics, it remains one of the most relaxing cities on earth, where business and pleasure, enjoyment of life and family come together like a horse and carriage, or a cup of tea and a trade deal, or an oat-milk latte and a new screenplay, or a scenic nature ride around the Tianfu greenway and clean air, or bamboo shoots and pandas, or snow mountains and skyscrapers, or a bicycle paradise and 518.96 kilometers of integrated metro lines, or my favorite: huajiao and lajiao on just about anything. Chengdu has given me a home, a family and time to spend with my family, which I wouldn't trade for the world.

Chengdu's other name is The Land of Tianfu, or "heavenly government," which, after living here, even for a short time, feels apropos. What is heaven like? I don't know. I could list lots of things that I hope are there, but when I consider that list, I am struck by the realization that Chengdu already has many of them—things like great food, natural beauty, lots of friends, places to play and explore, amazing coffee, time to sit and enjoy long conversations, and time to reflect on how good life is.

It was Chengdu's hope and energy that propelled me to launch two startups here: a travel company and a translation company. Running a business as a foreigner in China still isn't easy by any stretch of the imagination, but I wouldn't have done it anywhere else.

This "Date with China Meet Sichuan Media Tour" was a delight for two reasons: one, it made me proud to see Chengdu with fresh eyes and appreciate firsthand how far Chengdu has come in the 16 years since I moved here; and two, I loved seeing Chengdu work its magic on all the new visitors who were experiencing it for the first time. Many of them said they wished they could move here. I simply replied, "Why don't you? I did. And I've never regretted it." Do we miss our family in North America? You bet we do. We haven't seen them in over four years, and we are finally getting the chance to visit them this summer. As much as we are looking forward to seeing our family and spending time there, we are also looking forward to coming back to this amazing city, because we know that the next chapter in Chengdu's unfolding story is going to be amazing.

Garrett H. Jones is an American writer and editor living in Chengdu.