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CHENGDU, China, Dec. 11, 2020 /Xinhua=KYODO JBN/--

Chengdu officially commenced its International Sister Cities Sculpture

Photography Solicitation campaign on December 11, 2020. Initiated by the

Foreign Affairs Office of Chengdu Municipal People's Government, the program

aims to invite and encourage citizens to photograph sculptures of the city,

appreciate the beauty of these works of sculptural art and share with the world

the brilliant stories of Chengdu's globalization endeavors.

Chengdu formally established its international sister cities relations with

Montpellier, the French city sitting on the coast of the Mediterranean, in June

1981, and since then the Sichuan provincial capital has forged ties with 104

sister cities and friendly cooperation cities in more than 50 countries on six

continents across the globe. Upon this basis, Chengdu has carried out

close-knit cooperation with these cities in areas such as culture, education,

economics and trade, and scientific and technological innovations, having

accomplished a wide array of impressive feats, including the photographic works

being solicited for this photography campaign.

Since 2018, Chengdu invited more than 60 renowned sculptors from international

sister cities to learn about the city's local customs and gather inspirations

that resulted in around a hundred sculptural designs. At present, over 20

sculptures from 15 cities across the globe have arrived in Chengdu, becoming

wonderful embodiments that manifest the friendship between Chengdu and cities

around the world.

Jeremy Shirley from Hamilton, New Zealand, created a piece of artwork called

"Wall of Friendship". Speaking about the source of her inspiration for this

design, he explained: "Chengdu is a city brimming with vitality. I incorporated

a raft of daily life elements I discovered in Chengdu into my work. I want my

creation to express a kind of beauty derived from the combination of colors,

and at the same time depict the friendships between cities and between people."

Tianfu Greenway, the location for these 20 or so sculptures of varying sizes is

also a fascinating choice. Chengdu started to pick up its pace in developing as

a beautiful and livable park city beginning in 2018, and the Tianfu Greenway,

the longest of its kind in the world, was conceived and born under this

motivation. With a planned total length of 16,930km, the greenway system is

comprised of greenways at the regional level, district level and community

level. As of the first half of this year, 3,689km of greenways of various

levels have been completed, adding 38.85 million square meters of green space

and boosting the city's greenery coverage rate to 39.93%.

The sculptures distributed along the greenway symbolize Chengdu's

accomplishments in foreign liaison and international communication, and

represent international sister cities' participation in Chengdu's development

and support in Chengdu's park city endeavor.

For this campaign, the sponsor also created an amusing hand drawn-style

sculpture sightseeing map for the convenience of citizens and visitors alike.

If anyone happens to be in Chengdu, don't forget to check out these awesome

sculptures and send photos to email: GJRphoto@163.com, and exquisite gifts

await photographers behind the prize-winning pictures.

Source: The Foreign Affairs Office of Chengdu Municipal People's Government