SW China's Chengdu ramps up community services to expatriates

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03:29

The southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu has focused its future development towards an enhanced international touch. Along with a gamut of policies, the capital city of Sichuan Province has initiated building international neighborhoods to engage more people from other countries.

Highest number of foreign visitors in central, western China

Latest census figures show that there are about 17,400 foreigners with permanent residency permit living and working in Chengdu. More than 2,000 of them are based in the Tongzilin Community, making it the largest international neighborhood in the city.

Street view at Tongzilin Community in Wuhou District of Chengdu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. /CGTN Photo

According to the city's community management commission, in 2018, Chengdu recorded the highest number of foreign visits in central and western China, hitting 690,000 in total, around 3.5 percent of the city's population of 20 million. Local officials have pledged to ramp up community services that cater to their needs.

Tongzilin, as one of Chengdu's four earliest international neighborhoods designated by the local government, introduced measures last year to make life easier for expats such as a "Foreigners' Home" that handles entry and exit management, offers information about transportation and policies, and provides Chinese language courses.

Zhang Jiarong, who manages the neighborhood, told CGTN that they have also worked to improve basic facilities in the vicinity, including expanding sidewalks and setting up an English Corner for expats to adapt to and better understand community culture.

This "English Corner" is among the basic facilities local authorities have been working on to bring locals and expats together. /CGTN Photo

"We hope, through all the activities and services we have offered, expatriates here can feel that they are an integral part of the neighborhood," Zhang added.

A place to settle and call home

John O'Connell, a 61-year-old American, followed his wife to the city four years ago. While his wife teaches physics at a local primary school, he is enjoying Chengdu's laid-back life, and occasionally, he teaches math part-time at the same school. John is among many expats making the city famous for its cuisine and pandas as their second home.

John O'Connell, an American expat in Chengdu, enjoys his laid back teatime at a time-honored teahouse in downtown Chengdu City. /CGTN Photo

O'Connell also works as a volunteer, patrolling the community and helping others solve daily life problems. He says that settling in Chengdu has been one of the best moves his family has ever made. His plan now is to stay in the community as long as possible.

Nancy Arroyo, a business savvy woman from Mexico, is planning to open up the neighborhood's first-ever Mexican restaurant in April. When CGTN caught up with the lady at "Foreigners' Home," she was helping the chef she hired from her home country to register his passport.

Nancy came to Chengdu along with her husband two years ago. "I've never had any problems living here, any challenge. Everything has been so easy," she said, while emphasizing that she constantly feels touched because there's always someone who cares about expats like her.

Nancy Arroyo, 2nd on right, accompanies her newly recruited chef from Mexico to register her passport at "Foreigners' Home." /CGTN Photo

Local departments are carefully drafting a five-year blueprint (2018-2022) to build 45 international neighborhoods across the city. Experts have been invited to work out the best possible long-term design.

Zheng Zhi, deputy director of the city's community management commission, said the philosophy behind the initiative is to enhance the overall quality of life. "Chengdu will open up further as more and more expatriates and foreign institutions come to the city," he told CGTN.

Chengdu City is working to open up on several fronts, forging connections with the outside world. This photo shows the Business & Innovation Centre for China-Europe Cooperation, located in the Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone. /Photo courtesy of Chengdu TV Station‍

That blueprint entails a whole package of services and infrastructure improvement, with the construction of international schools, hospitals as well as commercial centers high on the agenda, CGTN has learned. It's another step for the city in China's hinterland to open up further and bring in the global touch for which it has been striving.

(Chengdu TV Station contributed to this report.)