Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province. It is flat and chilly (at least in November), but beautifully laid out and very pleasant, in terms of air quality, food, service and transport.
Apartments are somewhat lower-rise than Guangzhou, or Chongqing, and are often well maintained. The city has generally more settled, almost genteel feel, compared to the wild west of the rapidly expanding towns in Guangdong. Prices are reasonable, maybe six to ten thousand renminbi per square metre, with yields around five or six percent.
On the whole the city has a good feel. Although it might be thought that the place has lost influence since Chongqing became an independent municipality, and therefore independent of the smaller provincial capital, it is the case that some of the poorest parts of Sichuan became Chongqing's problem after 1997.
There is a lot of high-tech industry in the town, as well as a lot of food-based industries, especially the those based on the famous Sichuan spices. There is inward investment from HK and Singapore, which, I am sure, will result in steady economic growth.
Somehow however, I feel that the city is just not exciting enough for me to want to invest there. I also felt somewhat negative about the raw capitalist feel of Guangzhou, which is the opposite of quiet Chengdu, but this is my emotional response to the city.
My guide to the city, Yan, was so unremittingly enthusiastic about her adopted home that I feel very guilty writing this entry. Really, Yan, it's nothing personal. I would much prefer to live in Chengdu than in Chongqing; it's just that my investment preferences are the reverse of my personal ones.
