When you told friends back home you were moving to Chengdu, and they stared back blankly in confusion, you were not alone. But this may be about to change, as the city is attracting global attention, formerly reserved just for our cousins on the east coast. 

Recently, The Rising Lab ranked Chengdu as No. 1 emerging new first-tier city in their 2020 ranking of cities’ business attractiveness list, meaning it could overtake existing first-tier cities in the future. During the fifth year of compiling such a list, Chinese cities were assessed by the concentration of commercial resources, connectivity, urban residents' activity, diversity of lifestyle, and future potential. Chengdu has been racing to be best in class among new first-tier cities for years, showing vigor and prosperity. 

In the summer of 2019 the World Police and Fire Games came to the city last Summer. Now after investing heavily in the province’s running ecosystem, and currently Chengdu is bidding to become the seventh city of the Abbott World Marathon Majors series, joining London, Tokyo, Berlin Chicago, New York, and Paris as host cities. In 2021 the Summer Universiade in Chengdu, followed by the World Games in 2025. This is just the beginning?

The No. 1 emerging new first-tier city is Chengdu, followed by Chongqing, and Hangzhou. Wuhan is No.4, but this year's COVID-19-caused shutdowns could change that. Xi'an, Tianjin, Suzhou, Nanjing, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Dongguan, Shenyang, Qingdao followed downs the list.

These leading new first-tier cities could overtake existing first-tier cities by building top commercial cores. The commercial cores of central and western Chinese cities with large populations, including Chongqing, Chengdu, Xi'an, and Wuhan, can attract more than 1 million people every day.

Shuangliu Int. Airport soared by more than 35 percent from 2016 to last year

Chengdu, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Suzhou, and Wuhan ranked top in the urban residents’ activity Index behind the first-tier cities this year, showing vigor and prosperity. 

Chengdu has been racing to be best in class among new first-tier cities for years.