Journalists gather in Chengdu for interview tour

Reporters from 13 leading Asian media organizations visit the Chengdu Planning Exhibition Hall on Wednesday morning. The hall is the first stop of an interview tour to Chengdu jointly organized by China Daily and the Chengdu Municipal Information Office, from Sep 16 to 22.[Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/chinadaily.com.cn]

Photographers and journalists from major Asian media organizations gathered in Chengdu for the launch event of an interview tour of the city on Wednesday.

With support from China Daily and the Chengdu municipal government's information office, the tour aims to spotlight the city's history and culture, modernization construction and landscape scenery.

The six-day trip will cover some of the city's most popular tourism spots, including the Chengdu Planning Exhibition Hall and the Jincheng Lake Wetland Park, as well as some significant economic development achievements in the city, such as the Tianfu Software Park and the Singapore-Sichuan High-Tech Innovation Park.

Chengdu has a history of 2,300 years and was the starting point of the Southern Silk Road. It has been an important financial and commercial area since ancient times and enjoys profound history and culture.

Chengdu's permanent resident population is currently more than 14 million and the local GDP stood at 484.3 billion yuan ($78.9 billion) in the first six months of this year and is expected to break 1 trillion yuan for the full year, according to Bai Gang, director of the information office.

In recent years, with the advancement of the country's "opening up" strategy, Chengdu has made great strides in attracting foreign investment, developing modern industry, and building an international transport hub.

"Chengdu has become a new dazzling star in China's economic landscape as well as a leader among inland cities in opening to the outside world," said China Daily Deputy Editor-in-Chief Gao Anming, who was present at the tour launch.

"We have invited reporters from 13 Asian mainstream media organizations to the campaign, and they will conduct in-depth interviews about the city's economy, culture and tourism."

Gao expressed hope that the campaign will help Chengdu attract more international attention, boost exchanges and cooperation between the city and the rest of the world and showcase Chengdu's great potential of international development and major prospects in opening-up development.

After the ceremony, the photographers and reporters on the tour visited the Jincheng Lake Wetland Park and the Tianfu Software Park and watched a Sichuan opera performance.