According to Sichuan provincial government’s development strategy for the 12th five-year plan (2011-2015), the provincial capital Chengdu will lead Mianyang, Nanchong, Zigong and five county-level cities into becoming the largest city cluster in China’s interior. Each of these eight cities will have a population of 1m and above; Chengdu itself has a population exceeding 11m.

The idea behind city clusters is to promote integration of transport infrastructure and urban planning so as to better utilise resources. According to a McKinsey research report, China will have 25 major city clusters by 2025 and the Chengdu cluster will be the largest in western China.

Professor Dai Bing of the Regional Economy and Urban Management Research Centre, Southwest University of Communications, believes that Chengdu, Deyang and Mianyang, which all feature among the 10 largest economies in China’s interior, will form the Western Triangle, on a par with the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and Bohai Bay.