The largest city in northern Israel, Haifa is urging residents to tour Chengdu so that they have a better understanding of their sister city in China’s Sichuan Province, according to a statement by officials in a Chinese delegation meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
According to China Daily, the officials told a government delegation from Chengdu that the Israeli people would be impressed, the best-known destination for its pandas and ancient history.
The two cities have held frequent official exchanges since the establishment of the sister city ties in 2013. Haifa, a home for approximately 271,000 people, is the smallest city in the world with three Nobel Prize laureates. On the other hand, Chengdu is a top tourist attraction and center of science and technology in southwest China with a population of 14 million people.
The same publication revealed that the deputy secretary-general of Haifa Municipality, Aviva Shpigelshtein, has visited Chengdu two times since the tie between the two cities was established.
Aviva said, "I have seen pandas twice and have been impressed with the Du Fu Thatched Cottage, and the Jinsha Site Museum."
The Du Fu Thatched Cottage honors Chinese poet Du Fu (A.D. 712-770), while the museum houses relics unearthed from an archaeological site that dates back 3,000 years ago.
The deputy mayor of Haifa Municipality, Hedva Almog, endorsed Aviva's view, saying that people from her city would love Chengdu since Jewish people value the conservation of ancient culture.
Almog extended an invitation for Chengdu business people to invest in research and development at the Haifa Life Science Park, which is the first dedicated business park in Israel.
Almog said, "It would be a win-win solution thanks to the wisdom of the Jewish and Chinese people."