Chengdu roadshow in San Francisco targets more U.S. travelers

Chengdu staged a cultural tourism roadshow in San Francisco on July 13 to grow inbound travel from the U.S. and deepen China-U.S. tourism ties. The event highlighted Chengdu’s history, food culture and travel infrastructure, while locking in new cooperation deals with American partners.

Why it matters: - Chengdu is trying to convert its U.S. interest into more visitors, more route development and more tourism business. - The city also wants to broaden its image beyond giant pandas to history, urban culture and food. - The roadshow comes as Chengdu works to strengthen international tourism services for American travelers.

What happened: - The “Chengdu: More Than Pandas” cultural tourism roadshow opened in San Francisco on July 13 local time. - Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Culture, Broadcast-TV and Tourism hosted the event, and Chengdu International Media ran it. - More than 100 people attended, including local government officials, tourism professionals and media. - Speakers included Cao Yibin, deputy consul general of China’s San Francisco Consulate; Qiu Wei, director of Chengdu’s culture and tourism bureau; WTTC North America director Jason Carter; and PATA New York Chapter executive director Elizabeth Chin.

The details: - Chengdu received 2.38 million inbound tourists in 2025. - More than 100,000 of those visitors came from the U.S., up 31.4% from a year earlier. - The U.S. ranked as Chengdu’s fifth-largest source market. - San Francisco was selected because of its West Coast reach and its long-standing ties with Chengdu. - The venue was turned into an immersive Chengdu cultural space with landscape photos, high-tech products, cultural gifts and intangible heritage handicrafts. - Guests took part in paper-cutting and calligraphy activities tied to Tianfu culture. - The event opened with a Sichuan Opera face-changing performance. - Chengdu tourism operators, Air China and China Eastern Airlines also made presentations. - Chengdu brought a delegation of local travel firms and invited major U.S. agencies for direct business talks. - The two sides discussed tourist flows, route development and joint marketing. - Sichuan Yuanhai International Tourism Group signed a cooperation deal with U.S. Transcend Education Consulting on Sino-U.S. youth study tours. - Sichuan Dinglong International Travel reached an agreement with U.S. Six Fortunes Travel on reciprocal visitor exchanges, joint product design and co-brand promotions. - Chengdu’s tourism ad also ran on New York Times Square on July 13. - The ad featured Ctrip global inbound tourism ambassador Jackie Chan and highlighted Chengdu tea houses, tea art and face-changing performances.

Between the lines: - Chengdu is treating San Francisco as a gateway to wider U.S. demand, not just a local showcase. - The agreements suggest the city is moving from promotion to commercialization, with youth travel and packaged exchanges as near-term targets. - The Times Square ad signals a broader push to build global recognition at the same time as it works the travel trade.

What's next: - Chengdu expects expanded international air routes and easier visa policies to strengthen U.S.-Chengdu travel flows. - Local tourism authorities plan to improve multilingual services and overseas mobile payment support. - The new cooperation deals are expected to move into product development and visitor exchange programs. - Chengdu will continue promoting itself in overseas markets as part of its inbound tourism strategy.