Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in China, is known as a “land of abundance”, “country of heaven” and “home for pandas.” Because of its geographical location in southwest China, it has been an important place in history. The city is now one of the most important economic, financial,
commercial, cultural, transportation, and communication centers in China. It is most widely associated with giant pandas because of the “Panda Reserves.” It is a transportation hub to Tibet and the UNESCO World Heritages: Leshan Giant Buddha 乐山大佛, Mount Emei 峨眉山 and Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟. Modern Chengdu enjoys a reputation for its slow, carefree, leisure and relaxing daily life for tea, varieties of foods and recreational activities.

Xi’an, known as Chang’an in history, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. Having served as the capitals for 11 dynasties over 1,100 years in Chinese history, it is acclaimed as the oldest among the four ancient capitals (Xi’an, Beijing, Nanjing, Luoyang). The history of the city can be traced back to three thousand years ago. It is regarded as a natural history museum in China with over 73 identified emperors’ tombs and numerous historic sites in the area. It was the starting point of “the Silk Road” and was the trading center which witnessed the prosperity of trade between China and the rest of the world from the 2nd century BCE to the 14th century. The Ming Dynasty city wall, built partially on the ruins of the Tang imperial city wall, is so far the best preserved city wall in China to demonstrate the city defensive system in ancient China.