Chengdu: Home of Talent in the Park City for High-quality Development

Chengdu, a historical, cultural, charming, friendly, and peaceful megacity deeply rooted in the hinterland of the Sichuan Basin surrounded by beautiful green mountains, has been infused with the concept of a “park city” and has shown vigorous vitality and energy to southwest China for high-quality development. This green city is not only a dream destination for leisure and living but also a highland for talent gathering and innovation flow, diffusing the reputation of “home of talent in the park city” to make their dreams come true.

The construction of Chengdu’s “Park City” is a profound transformation of the traditional urban development model. The city and nature blend and coexist, with greenways and parks winding between high-rise buildings, roads, lakes, rivers, and urban landscapes complementing each other, weaving together a beautiful picture of high-quality living. Such a green, attractive, and comfortable environment attracts all kinds of talents  through a proper combination of resources, activities, and effective talent plans such as Rongpiao Plan, and Rongcheng Talent Program. As of 2023, the total number of talents in Chengdu has reached 6.5 million, with an annual growth of 284500, ranking fourth in the country in total talent. Among them, 36 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering reside here. The city have been awarded the title of “China’s Best Talent Attraction City” for five consecutive years, as well as the title of “Charming China—the most attractive Chinese city in the eyes of foreign talents.”

In the era of “mass entrepreneurship and innovation,” Chengdu has become a hot spot for innovation and entrepreneurship activities with its excellent business environment and intense innovation atmosphere. Various incubators, maker spaces, and innovation workshops and policies provide a broad development stage for startups and innovative talents to extract and implement their ideas to real-world applications. In 2023, Chengdu added seven new national-level science and technology innovation platforms, bringing the total to 146. The Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking soared to 24th, an increase of 5 places higher than the previous year.
Chengdu also actively holds various innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, such as the “Rongpiao Cup” and “Golden Panda” to combine the potential ideas and projects and enable the power of science and technology innovation into all sectors for high-quality development. For example, in 2024, 39 events were held for the Rongpiao Cup, attracting 2471 talent projects from 25 countries, including Australia, the United Kingdom, Japan, and 55 major cities in China, such as Beijing and Shanghai. 3154 high-level talents were gathered, and 117 projects settled in Chengdu, with a total investment of 13.39 billion yuan, covering key industrial chains such as big data and artificial intelligence. These activities provide opportunities for talents to showcase and promote successful project implementation by connecting valuable resources (i.e., investors, relevant experts, and incubators), injecting strong momentum into urban innovation and development.

Giving full play to the green environment, modern infrastructure, and geological advantages, the city has abundant educational resources, including higher education, and research centers for high-quality teaching and research. For example, it has seven “double first-class universities,” which refer to world-class universities with first-class disciplines. According to “2024 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects,” from Shanghai Ranking, the city has covered 58 academic subjects enlisted to the world’s top 100 disciplines from its nine universities, showing markable progress in the education sector. Such institutes and innovation platforms are like smart lighthouses, providing solid intellectual support for talent cultivation and nurturing diversified high-quality talents with international perspectives and innovative abilities.
At the same time, Chengdu is committed to building a talent service ecosystem by constructing talent workstations and providing one-stop services, allowing talents to enjoy convenient and efficient services. This not only enhances the sense of acquisition, belonging, and happiness of talents but also further strengthens the city's attractiveness to them.
At a glance, Chengdu has created a vibrant, innovative talent hub through practical talent activities, plans, and policies. This is not only an ideal place for people to pursue a high-quality life, work and enjoy life in one city, and promote high-quality development, but also a stage for talents to realize their self-worth and dreams.
Source: International Talent