Chengdu's sister city in Israel urges visits

Hedva Almog (left), deputy mayor of Haifa Municipality in Israel, poses with Zeng Yi, head of the government delegation from Chengdu, Sichuan province, after presenting a photo album of her city. [Photo by Huang Zhiling/chinadaily.com.cn]

Haifa, the largest city in northern Israel, is encouraging its residents to visit Chengdu so they better understand their sister city in China's Sichuan province, officials said while meeting a Chinese delegation on Tuesday.

The Israeli people would be impressed by Chengdu, which is best known for its pandas and ancient history, the officials told a government delegation from Chengdu.

The two cities have conducted frequent official exchanges since establishing the sister city tie in 2013. Home to some 271,000 people, Haifa is the smallest city in the world with three Nobel Prize laureates, while Chengdu is a top tourist destination and center of science and technology in southwest China with 14 million residents.

Aviva Shpigelshtein, deputy secretary-general of Haifa Municipality, has visited Chengdu twice since the sister city tie was forged.

"I have seen pandas twice and have been impressed with the Du Fu Thatched Cottage, and the Jinsha Site Museum," she said. The cottage commemorates Chinese poet Du Fu (AD 712-770), while the museum houses relics unearthed from an archaeological site dating back some 3,000 years.

Endorsing Shpigelshtein's view, Hedva Almog, deputy mayor of Haifa Municipality, said people from her city would like Chengdu because Jewish people value the preservation of ancient culture.

The deputy mayor also extended an invitation for Chengdu business people to invest in research and development at the Haifa Life Sciences Park, the country's first dedicated business park.

"It would be a win-win solution thanks to the wisdom of the Jewish and Chinese people," she said.