Focus Interview: Colorful Chengdu with a "Lucky" Flavor Renovation | Universiade | Chengdu with a "Lucky" Flavor
CCTV News: With the various competitions of the Chengdu Universiade in full swing, this ancient and modern historical and cultural city of Chengdu is constantly refreshing and subverting people's impressions of it with its unique charm. Chengdu has always been a hub for Sino foreign exchanges and a pearl on the Southwest Silk Road. Nowadays, Chengdu is also one of the most dynamic and happy cities in China. Since the successful bid for the Universiade at the end of 2018, Chengdu has seen rapid development in infrastructure, economy and people's livelihood, urban greening, and other areas in recent years, further improving and upgrading its quality. Taking the Universiade as an opportunity, Chengdu has become a city that the people say they don't want to leave once they come. Today, we will go to the streets of Chengdu to see the changes brought about by the Universiade, and experience and share the myriad aspects of Chinese path to modernization.
Li Gong is a Chengdu white-collar worker working in financial technology. Due to his job, he often needs to travel to cities around Chengdu for business trips. In recent years, the construction of rail transit in the Chengdu Chongqing region has completely changed his mode of transportation. The fastest one-way high-speed railway between the two cities is only 1 hour and 2 minutes, and overnight travel in the past can now be achieved on the same day.
In addition to intercity railways, the construction of rail transit in Chengdu has also greatly accelerated. Since the successful bid for the 2018 Universiade, Chengdu has opened a total of 10 subway and tram lines, with a total length of approximately 378 kilometers. At present, the coverage area of Chengdu's rail transit is becoming increasingly wide, providing citizens with more choices for travel.
In his spare time, Li Gong is also an enthusiast of triathlon. In recent years, the outdoor sports environment and atmosphere in Chengdu have been getting better and better. The triathlon club organized by Li Gong and his friends now has more than 300 registered members.
Triathlon is a new type of sports that integrates swimming, running, and cycling. Long distance running and cycling also have high requirements for outdoor venue conditions. Since the successful bid for the Universiade, Chengdu has accelerated the construction of a park city, adding 21000 acres of park area and more than 6000 kilometers of urban greenways at all levels. This also makes outdoor enthusiasts like Li Gong highly praised.
Li Gong said, "Firstly, the Chengdu Greenway has a long enough mileage, and in terms of transportation, there are subways that can be connected to the entrance of the greenway in all directions. Not only professional bicycles, but even friends from other places can rent cars."
Under the acceleration of the Universiade, the beautiful form of Chengdu's park city is gradually emerging. More than 100 newly built and renovated parks in the city are like green lungs, providing citizens with high-quality air and beautiful scenery; Thousands of kilometers of urban greenways are like green veins, blending urban beauty with natural scenery.
Chengdu on the track makes people's lives increasingly efficient; Chengdu in the park makes people's lives increasingly comfortable. The different forms of Chengdu have brought more rhythm changes to Chengdu people who love life.
In addition to accelerating transportation and green construction, the more direct change brought by the Universiade to Chengdu is the construction of sports venues and facilities. Since bidding for the Universiade, Chengdu has built and renovated 49 new Universiade venues, of which 36 have been renovated. This not only leaves Chengdu with abundant sports event resources, but also revitalizes many old sports venues.
The shooting school located in Shahe Street, Jinjiang District, Chengdu was founded in 1956. As a shooting competition venue for the Universiade, it underwent comprehensive renovation in 2021 and became one of the new landmarks in the area.
Liu Jiaxin, Vice Principal of Chengdu Shooting Sports School, said, "It's completely a transformation. When I was an athlete before, there were only 10 training tracks, and everyone took turns scheduling training time. Now there are 80. In the past, we trained on a 50 meter field, where there was rain on rainy days and wind from all sides in winter. Now, these training conditions are world-class."
More than one venue has completed its transformation. Ding Lixin is a resident of the Wufuyuan community in Shahe Street. This community was built in 1996 and was one of the first batch of poverty alleviation houses in Chengdu. Nearly 30 years have passed, but its brand new appearance often makes people think it is a newly built community. In fact, just over two years ago, this community still had problems such as narrow roads, old staircases, and insufficient living and commercial facilities for residents.
In 2020, taking advantage of the renovation of the venues for the Universiade, the comprehensive renovation of the entire surrounding area in collaboration with Wufuyuan Community was also put on the agenda. The walls, waterproofing, underground pipeline network, and electrical and water pipes of Wufuyuan community have been rebuilt in all aspects. In addition to the interior of the community, the surrounding roads have also been widened, and the commercial district and convenient facilities have all been renovated.
Liu Bo, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Neighborhood Committee of Shahe Community, Shahe Street, Jinjiang District, Chengdu City, said, "The road surface has been rebuilt, and parking lots and convenient vegetable markets have been built near residential areas, solving the problems of difficult parking and grocery shopping for residents."
Since the successful bid for the Universiade, Chengdu has been deeply promoting the "Universiade for the benefit of the people" initiative, actively promoting the demolition of public facilities to increase greenery, the demolition of walls to create greenery, and the construction of flowers and landscapes. It has coordinated the construction of 20 characteristic blocks, implemented 15 area style improvements, and highlighted the improvement of the environment in old courtyards, back streets and alleys, and agricultural markets, greatly enhancing the happiness and sense of achievement of residents.
The Universiade not only makes Chengdu more beautiful, but also gives it a sense of technology. In terms of venue construction, event support, and digital observation, the Chengdu Universiade has implemented a total of more than 170 technical products, covering more than 30 venues, providing technological support for hosting, participating, and observing events.
Xiao Fu, a virtual volunteer for this year's Universiade, is able to communicate directly with objects recognized by cameras in Mandarin, Sichuan dialect, and English through advanced technologies such as speech synthesis, AI lip expression driving, and image processing. One of the developers of this system, Lei Xiaohui, is an engineer born in the 1990s.
In 2022, Lei Xiaohui was dispatched by the company to work in Chengdu in order to provide support for the Universiade. The rich application scenarios of the Universiade venues also provide a display platform for his research and development achievements. The months long long-distance life not only did not make Lei Xiaohui feel uncomfortable, but also made him fall in love with the life in Chengdu. Lei Xiaohui's hometown is Enshi, Hubei. The Chengdu dialect is somewhat similar to his hometown dialect, and he loves the various delicacies and lifestyle here, gradually developing the idea of staying here.
A few months after arriving in Chengdu, Lei Xiaohui met his wife, Chongqing girl Xiao Liao. In the years leading up to the Universiade, the demand for high-tech applications has created more opportunities for Lei Xiaohui's work, and the two young people have decided to stay together in Chengdu. The reason why they made up their minds is not only because of Chengdu's open and inclusive urban characteristics, but also because of the vast future that Chengdu has shown them.
Lei Xiaohui said, "I am engaged in this industry and have a good accumulation of technology industries in Chengdu, such as artificial intelligence and the metaverse direction. More and more related industry companies are gathering in Chengdu, forming a certain industrial chain. In this regard, I have reached the forefront of technology and the world. I think Chengdu is also a good development opportunity for me personally."
In recent years, Chengdu has focused on introducing young talents and introduced many preferential policies in terms of household registration and employment, attracting over 700000 young talents. Lei Xiaohui has now been transferred to the Chengdu branch, completed the procedures for settling in Chengdu, and is applying for talent subsidies in Tianfu New Area. The couple has also put their plans to buy a house and have children on the agenda.
Chengdu, with a history of over 2300 years of urban construction, has always maintained economic development and cultural prosperity due to its inclusiveness and inclusiveness. That inclusive trait that has existed since ancient times not only warms people's present, but also illuminates their future.
A large-scale international sports event brings diverse changes to a city. Some changes are very intuitive, while others need to be tested over a long period of time. As the central city in southwestern China, Chengdu's excellent heritage and rapid development in recent years have given it the foundation to host large-scale events. The successful bidding and hosting of the Universiade will also accelerate the city's development from many aspects and enhance its international influence. When the Universiade meets Chengdu and youth encounters opportunities, infinite possibilities will surely brew.
