Sports, culture, trade pillars key to district's economic development
The 2025 season opener for the Chinese Football Association Super League kicked off on Feb 22 at the Fenghuang Mountain Sports Park in Chengdu's Jinniu district. Nearly 42,000 spectators turned the iconic venue into a sea of red — the color of the home team, Chengdu Rongcheng.
Jinniu district, a core area of commercial activity and urban renewal in Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, is driving its economic growth through three main pillars: hosting sporting events, developing cultural and creative offerings, and cementing its position as a commercial hub.
In 2024, Jinniu district achieved a regional GDP of 170.23 billion yuan ($23.45 billion), up 5.8 percent year-on-year. The value added of the local service sector surpassed 135 billion yuan, and total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 108 billion yuan.
Recreation driving growth
Chengdu has a vibrant sports culture, with soccer deeply embedded in its DNA. The high demand for tickets for the opening match of the 2025 CFA Super League prompted the Jinniu district commerce bureau to collaborate with the Chengdu Rongcheng Football Club to set up an additional venue on a local food street for fans who were unable to secure tickets for the highly anticipated event.
The initiative is part of Jinniu district's broader strategy to integrate sports, culture, commerce and tourism into a cohesive economic engine, aiming to turn event-goers into retail consumers.
In 2024, the Fenghuang Mountain Sports Park hosted 72 large-scale events — each involving at least 10,000 spectators. These included concerts, basketball games, performances on ice, and esports activities.
In the same year, Jinniu district as a whole hosted 33 high-profile international sporting events, including the FIBA Women's Basketball League Asia. The events generated over 100 million yuan in ticket revenue and approximately 1.17 billion yuan in spending on food and beverages, accommodation, and tourism.
Moreover, Jinniu district organized 70 large-scale performances throughout the year, the highest among Chengdu's districts. The performances generated 477 million yuan in revenue from ticket sales and attracted a combined audience of 1.28 million.
An official from Jinniu district's culture, sports and tourism bureau said, "Jinniu district will continue to explore new avenues for integrating sports with other sectors, leveraging major events such as the CFA Super League and the World Games 2025 Chengdu."
A cultural powerhouse
For more than 2,000 years, the ancient Jinniu Road has brought people and commerce to the area, nurturing its rich cultural heritage. Today, local cultural venues such as the Chengdu Open-Air Music Park and the Chengdu Tianfu Art Park are at the forefront of promoting Jinniu district's cultural legacy and creativity.
Many music enthusiasts enjoy soaking up the sun while listening to the tunes at the Chengdu Open-Air Music Park, where a 32,000-square-meter lawn serves as its seating area. Since its opening in May 2019, the park has hosted more than 300 high-profile music events, including the Midi Music Festival and concerts by Chinese singers Xu Wei and Hua Chenyu.
Liao Li, chairman of the company operating the park, noted that since the Chengdu Symphony Orchestra established residence in the Chengdu Symphony Orchestra Concert Hall at the open-air music park in late 2023, the concert hall has hosted over 70 large-scale symphony concerts, attracting a combined audience of over 60,000 and generating over 3 million yuan in revenue.
On Feb 27, the launch ceremony for the torch of the World Games 2025 Chengdu took place at the Chengdu Tianfu Art Park in Jinniu district. This is Chengdu's first public space that features an extensive integration of art, culture and commerce. In 2024, the park hosted 89 events, achieving nearly 40 million yuan in revenue.
Jinniu district is also a place that has produced or inspired numerous cultural productions. The Road to Shu Chorus, co-created by the Jinniu district government and the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, embarked on a national tour in September 2023. Musical Banquet in Tang Dynasty and Encounter Dongpo in Song Dynasty, concerts based on Jinniu district's cultural legacy, went on a national tour in 2024.
'Buy global, sell global'
As the first national-level pilot area in western China for developing market procurement trade, or trade through procurement in recognized market clusters, Jinniu district has supported made-in-Sichuan products in going global with policies such as simplified customs processes and value-added tax exemptions.
In December 2024, 21 metric tons of fresh lemons, purchased from Anyue county in the Sichuan city of Ziyang and prepared for transportation in Jinniu district, were exported to Russia through Horgos Port in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. This marked the first batch of fruit exported from Sichuan via the market procurement trade model.
"Thanks to the market procurement trade pilot program, we can now take the overseas buyers' orders with us, go to the farmland where the produce is grown, and talk to potential suppliers directly," said Zheng Qing, general manager of Sichuan Zhuoyang Supply Chain Management.
A representative from Jinniu district's market procurement trade service center said that they have built a platform linking trade with production to promote the new business model, which involves multiple districts in Chengdu and other cities in Sichuan. Four product display centers have been set up, attracting the participation of nearly 230 companies.
Jinniu district's export value reached 11.28 billion yuan in 2024, with Sichuan products such as Huiji melon seeds and Mianyang rice noodles reaching more than 30 countries via international freight services.
huyuyan@chinadaily.com.cn
