This capital city of southwest China's Sichuan Province is expected to accomodate some 220,000 overseas tourists this year, an all-time high.

Recent statistics show that the figure reached 203,000 in the first ten months of this year.

Chengdu is an area inhabited by giant pandas, and with its natural beauty has been chosen as one of China's top tourist cities by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

The city is currently giving priority to the construction of basic tourist facilities. At present, Chengdu has nearly 100 hotels catering to overseas tourists and more than 100 travel agencies. There are also more than 140 air routes to Chengdu.