Chengdu reached a significant milestone this year with the opening of a new airport in June. The Chengdu Tianfu International Airport makes the southwestern city only the third on the Chinese mainland to be served by two international airports. It’s an indication of Chengdu’s position as a major transportation nexus and further confirmation of its rising status as a global city.

Born into a family of hoteliers, Frenchman Alain-Thomas Briere has spent most of his life hopping from one city to another across Europe and Asia. The general manager of W Chengdu has lived in China since 2013 and has called Chengdu home for more than three years. The active and adventurous expat loves Chengdu’s spontaneous yet slow pace of life and spends much of his free time exploring Chengdu’s parks and open spaces – one of the city’s biggest draws.

A commercial art gallery opened in Chengdu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone in 2007, when Shi Ying was a cartoons and animation student at Xihua (West China) University. The aspiring artist started on reception. “This is my first job,” she says. She now oversees double the exhibition space and a staff of 50. A Thousand Plateaus works with emerging artists and has a space called 1000+ for less commercial work. Ying’s pick for an emerging Chinese artist and photographer? Chen Xiaoyi.

Chengdu is famed for its food and nightlife but Cui Jingya spotted a gap for a wine bar and bistro, opening Rainy & Winy this year. The 60-seater diner specialises in natural wine. The aesthetic is modern, warm and modest. “It’s like my home and I am the host,” says Cui. Rainy & Winy is inside Regular, a new development in the south of Chengdu bringing together exciting names in Chinese retail and dining beside Dayuan Central Park.

Video game developer Quentin Cucuel moved from Ubisoft’s headquarters in Paris to its development studio in Chengdu in 2015, calling the city home ever since. “Chengdu is basically China’s Western capital of technology,” says Cucuel. He chose Chengdu for the same reasons he decided to study in Iceland and New Zealand: a love of the outdoors. Originally from Lyon, he has organised real-life games in the city.

Visitors to Chengdu will be familiar with the word tianfu; it’s in the name of the airport, after all. But what does it mean? Tianfu translates to the “land of plenty” and this idea of natural abundance heavily influences the city’s cuisine, culture and character. For more, head to these five places.