Fertile Fields

Best known as the home of pandas, the business scene in Chengdu is anything but black and white

- By Crystal Reid

First inhabited more than 4,000 years ago in the 18th to 10th centuries BC, Chengdu, the capital of China’s south-western Sichuan province, is an ancient city with modern means. Glass-fronted skyscrapers loom large beyond the sweeping eaves of a regenerated old town, while multilane highways stretch long and straight in contrast to the milky-green, meandering Jin River.

Surrounded by the fertile lands of the Sichuan Plain and overlooked by the Tibetan Plateau, the encircling farms have for centuries produced a cornucopia of fresh vegetables, meat and fish earning Chengdu the nickname of the “Land of Abundance.” Now, as one of the most important economic hubs in China, it is business opportunities that are growing fast and sustaining this city of 18 million – but is this rapidly maturing market truly a land of plenty for all?

In recent years, Chengdu has benefited from a flurry of domestic and international investment thanks to President Xi Jinping’s signature One Belt One Road Initiative, which seeks to reopen trade routes along the ancient Silk Road and spread economic growth towards the “wild west” of China. City officials found this initiative dovetailed nicely with the beneficial policies of the already established Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone, ultimately resulting in speedy development, local innovation and international interest.