In April, eight Hollywood masters visited Chengdu's giant panda breeding base, went to a historical relics museum and shared their insights, as part of efforts to promote cultural exchanges between the Chinese city and Hollywood.

Tony Bancroft, director of Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Masters, said observing animals in their habitats is an amazing experience. He revealed that animators would invest time in watching animals when painting them.

American film producer Jerry Peluso said he was thinking of how to shoot a film the whole world would love, and here he got the answer: by incorporating a panda.

The filmmaking gurus told stories of movie shoots and discussed cooperation between China and the United States in the film industry at a forum held on April 20.

The US-Asia Innovation Gateway and Chengdu Media Group signed an agreement to explore the culture of Chengdu and promote the city's image in the fields of culture and filmmaking.

Chengdu aims to build itself into a national-level central city that reflects a holistic development concept. Among the major tasks they face is the challenge of speeding up construction of the city as a western international communications center.

In March and April, delegations from Silicon Valley in the US visited Chengdu to investigate the development of its culture, media, education, tourism and science.

From April 22-25, 12 representatives from mainstream media in Turkey came to Chengdu to conduct interviews and share knowledge in regards to the city's achievements in economic construction, science and technological innovation and cultural creation. They visited Tianfu Software park, the Qingbaijiang container logistics center and Tianfu New District, as well as the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and scenic spots such as the memorial temple to Zhu Geliang, renowned military strategist in ancient China. They will report on their tours when they go back to Turkey.

The city established sister city ties with La Plata of Argentina in February. Now, it has 33 such sister cities around the world, 96 international flights and 16 consulates. There are also visa application centers for 31 countries in the city.

The number of foreigners living in Chengdu is nearly 20,000. To make their lives easier, the local government has provided English-language TV programs, a mayor's hotline and handbooks about accommodations and public affairs in Chengdu.

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(China Daily 05/14/2017 page18)