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FEATURES
Chengdu: sports city of the future
By Jaap de Groot
AIPS Sport Media Awards Juror
Flying to Chengdu feels like going back in time. Okay, the fourth city of China has 21 million inhabit- ants, but it is so far from global
metropolises like Beijing and Shang- hai and so close to Tibet. I’m ready for a déjà vu with the offspring of Marco Polo.
What a misconception!
It immediately starts at the brand new airport: huge and hypermodern. Clear- ly built for the future. From Chengdu Tianfu International Airport looms an impressive road network. Driving into Chengdu you’re immediately over- whelmed by the Century Global Cen- tre, with 1.7 million square metres the biggest building in the world. Under the roof of this colossus are malls, ho- tels and a waterpark; a beach included. Meanwhile all top rated hotels show off in the everyday shining sun. From Kempinski to InterContinental and from the Ritz to Hilton. More and more I am becoming aware why more
than 300 of the so-called Fortune 500 companies (ranking of American com- panies based on their annual revenue) have settled in this Chinese city, putting it in the 44th position of the Global Fi- nancial Centres Index.
Which is part of the problem. In this Index, Chengdu is only ranked as the seventh Chinese city behind Hong- kong (4), Shanghai (7), Shenzhen (12), Beijing (13), Guangzhou (34) and Qingdao (36). By the way, New York is still the leading financial centre of the world.
So Chengdu decided to use the same strategy as other countries and cities who think they are too much under the radar. Admittedly there’s a lot of money
A firework display is seen over the stadium during the 2023 Summer Universiade Opening Ceremony at Dong'an Lake Sports Park tadi- um on July 28, 2023 in Chengdu, China
made in the city where in 960 the first banknote was printed, but for interna- tional recognition you need more. And from what could be seen in the Middle East, sports and culture are very use- ful cards to throw on the table. See the World Cup in Qatar and the football madness in Saudi Arabia and say no more.
But before the power of sports is used, first the economic power has to be im- proved, supported by an ultramodern infrastructure. So Chengdu created the Tianfu New Area, a huge project with the intention of accelerating the devel- opment of the city into a modern, inter- national and environment friendly so- ciety. With several development zones, like the Chengdu High-Tech Develop- ment Zone and the Southwest Airport Economic Development Zone. Meanwhile the 1,578-square-kilometre Tianfu New Area is seen by many ex- perts as a new technical and economic
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PHOTO BY LINTAO ZHANG/GETTY IMAGES