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Chengdu lies in the southwest of China, in the center of
the West-Sichuan Basin. At an average 500 meters above the sea level,
the city with its surrounding area of 12 thousand square kilometers-with
an average annual temperature of 15.5 degrees centigrade, an average
rainfall of 997 millimeters, and 26.4 billion cubic meters in water
resources-is known to the world for its beautiful land and its mild
climate. Its history can be traced back to over 4,000 years ago
from the present day by the recent archeological discovery at the
Jinsha excavation site. Its fame as the "Land of Abundance"
and a city with a unique culture has been supported by the engineering
ingenuity of the Dujiangyan Irrigation system, by the brilliance
and imagination of Li Bai, the great poet who "raised the cup
to invite Moon for a drink," and his ancient and modern peers
such as Shu Shi, Ba Jin and Guo Moruo, all literary figures with
world-renown, and by the industry and wisdom of its people.
As the capital of Sichuan Province and the center of science and
technology, trade and finance, communication and transportation
of southwest China, Chengdu is the most important city in west china.
Reform over the past two decades has brought about remarkable achievements
in infrastructure, industrial structure, conversion to market economy,
and protection of environment. Changes occur almost daily and the
city is quickly taking on the looks of a modern cosmopolis in the
west: the re-cast of the banks of the Fu- and Nan-Rivers, the building
of a superb network of major roads and bridges, its development
into a center for goods transfer in west China, the growth of trade
and commerce, and the improvement of the environment, both in the
inner city and in its surrounding areas. A number of recent changes
will help create an ever-improving environment for investment: implementation
of policies for reforming the environment for investment, publicity
of government information and its availability on the Internet,
simplification of procedures. We are endeavoring to create an ideal
environment for business and for daily living as well for friends
of Chengdu. Nearly one hundred out of the world's 500 top enterprises
and many other major enterprises have been attracted to the two
national and six provincial economic zones in Chengdu. An environment
for investment is taking shape with all the essential elements:
goods, technology, capital, information, and efficiency.
Chengdu will strive forward in the new wave of development of the
new century. It will open its arms as a modern, civilized, open
city to friends from home and abroad, whether they come to travel,
to invest, or to carry out technical or cultural exchange. It will
learn from other parts of the world in its efforts to become the
strategic city of the west and to cross the threshold of modernization
in the first decades of the new century. Let us join our hands in
making its future more beautiful.
We look forward to welcoming our friends in this Land of Abundance. |
