A group of ULI members visited Chengdu on July 11th and 12th, 2012 for a market study. The provincial capital of Sichuan Province, Chengdu was ranked #1 in ULI’s Mainland China Cities survey for two years in a row. The market study started with a dinner on the 11th hosted by Kenny Liu and David Huang of Ong and Ong, a Singapore-headquartered architecture firm. The dinner was held in an old traditional house in a historical preservation area called Kuanzhaixiangzi. Also joining the dinner were a number of local developers and architects.

On the 12th, the visitors started with a market overview of Chengdu given by Dave Law of Savills. The participants including ULI members with projects in Chengdu had an active discussion about key development trends in Chengdu. While the participants expressed different opinions on many issues, everyone seemed to agree on Chengdu’s status as the economic center of the southwest region of China with a combined population of 250 million, double the population of Japan. The property tour which included a number of projects developed and owned by ULI member companies offered the visitors a good feel for the city.

The day ended with an event to announce the China Cities Survey results and a panel discussion. The event was held in the lobby of The Atrium, a 170k sqm GFA mixed use project developed by Tishman Speyer, the host of the event. The event included a presentation by an official from Chendu’s Investment Promotion Center, who gave an overview of Chengdu’s positioning and development strategy. Big thanks to Ryan Botjer and William Ong of Tishman Speyer, who organized the event that was attended by well over 60 participants. Also, thanks to the panelists who offered valuable insights: William Ong of Tishman Speyer, Christopher Wu of MGPA, William Lu of CBRE Global Investors, and Dave Law of Savills.