When Maciek Czastka first came to Chengdu three years ago, the Polish young man didn't know he would grow so attached to the Chinese city which is now more like his "second hometown."[Special coverage]
"I travel a lot. But every time I come back here I feel like home," said Czastka, who has been working in the capital of China's southwestern Sichuan Province for Amber Global, a Polish consulting firm that supports European companies to enter the Chinese market.
Thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, western China is forming an increasingly close bond with Europe.
"FOLLOW OUR LEAD"
"What I love about this city is to be part of the change that I can see everyday," Czastka told Xinhua in an interview, adding that being part of this change by being engaged into these business process "is very exciting."
The change that the Polish businessman witnesses in Chengdu has been brought to the city through the Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along, and beyond the ancient trade routes. Under this initiative, Chengdu, an economic powerhouse of west China, is widely envisioned to be an important gateway to Europe.
The most powerful support for Chengdu to thrive along the Belt and Road is the Chengdu-Europe express railway, which began operation in 2013 to provide direct cargo train services between Chengdu and the Polish city of Lodz, an emerging traffic hub in Europe.
In addition to the Lodz line, which has been extended to cities in Germany and the Netherlands, another two routes have been launched to connect Chengdu with Europe, including a southern route to Turkey, and a northern route to Russia. These transnational rail lines have become a popular logistics route for Chinese trade with Europe, bringing electronics, car parts, clothes and shoes to Europe, and transporting back European food, wine and meat, catering to the Chinese market.
In 2016, a total of 460 freight trains ran between Chengdu and Europe and the number is expected to grow to 1,000 this year. In China, the Chengdu-Europe routes have been extended to other provinces and some southern and eastern cities such as Shenzhen, Xiamen and Ningbo.
"In the past, we had to look to the east and follow other people's lead. Today, we are turning our eyes towards the west and let others follow our lead," said Zhang Chi, Deputy Director of the Chengdu Municipal Port and Logistic Office.
