First choice

Chengdu has become the "first choice" for major conventions and exhibitions in western China, local officials say.

Apart from the Fortune Global Forum and the World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention, other major events the city hosted in 2013 included global food and hospitality trade show FHC China, the 2013 PATA Travel Mart, the 21st International Conference on Nuclear Engineering and the 35th International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research World Congress.

FHC China was held in Chengdu on Nov 18 last year, the first time it had been held in western China. The event has been held for 16 years and attracts the world's top suppliers of retail and hospitality equipment as well as hundreds of buyers from China and overseas.

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"As a regional hub and one of the fastest-growing cities in China, Chengdu has huge potential for consumption," says Bo Jinning, general manager of China International Exhibitions Ltd, the organizer of FHC China.

Bo believes the strong exposure Chengdu can provide will help exhibitors promote their businesses in the western China market.

"The support from local government departments was also an important reason why we put FHC in Chengdu," he says.

To support the organizers, the local government created a special service organization. The Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Expositions unites other related departments such as customs, police and intellectual property authorities to provide the organizers with booking exhibition sites, exhibition booths, publicity and promotion, transport and public security.

The 2013 Pacific Asia Travel Association Travel Mart, also came to western China for the first time, when it was held in Chengdu on Sept 16, 2013.

The travel mart is a top trade fair in the Asia-Pacific region, bringing together many international sellers and buyers and providing a platform to showcase travel products and services around the region.

You Yong, chief manager of Sichuan Airlines in Vietnam, says he was satisfied with the organization. "The service at the mart is that considerate air services, accommodation and car rental services are easy to find there.

"Many people are interested in the 72-hour visa-free policy that took effect on Sept 1 in Chengdu," said You, who came to the travel mart with other overseas colleagues to promote the airline's international flights and domestic routes.

Chengdu was the fourth city on the Chinese mainland to adopt the 72-hour visa-free policy, which allows transit passengers from 51 countries who have valid visas and a flight ticket to a third country to stay up to 72 hours.

Jose JoSepth, an Indian buyer on his first visit to Chengdu, says the good service, the giant pandas and the face-changing in Sichuan opera impressed him greatly. "People here are warm and hospitable," he says. "It's just a pity, most people don't speak English."

According to the Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Expositions, in 2014 a series of new international events will be staged in Chengdu, including the X Games, the Michelin Challenge Bibendum and the Ninth Conference on China-ASEAN People-to-People Friendship Organizations.

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