Gaoxin & Tianfu New Area

The Chengdu High-Tech Industrial Development Zone (Gaoxin) and the Tianfu New Area represent the planned expansion of Chengdu's economy into technology, financial services, and advanced manufacturing. Designated as a national-level zone in 1992, Gaoxin has grown from agricultural land into a district of glass-and-steel office parks, residential towers, and shopping malls that now accommodates over one million residents and workers.

The technology companies based here range from Tencent and Huawei local operations to semiconductor manufacturers, video game studios (Chengdu has a significant games industry), and aviation technology firms. The district's economic function makes it less interesting as a visitor destination but increasingly relevant for business travellers, who will find hotel supply, conference facilities, and transport connections that are more corporate-oriented than the historic centre.

The Tianfu Art Park, under construction in stages at the time of writing, will eventually form a museum and cultural district to the south of the existing development — an attempt to add cultural gravity to a zone that has been primarily defined by commercial function. The Chengdu Science Fiction Museum, opened in 2023 in a striking building by Zaha Hadid Architects, serves as an anchor for this cultural ambition and reflects Chengdu's emerging identity as a centre of Chinese science fiction literature (several major authors are Chengdu-based).

Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, connected to the district by Metro Line 18, opened in 2021 as the city's second airport and reduced pressure on the existing Shuangliu Airport to the west. The metro connection makes the district a practical staging area for flights from this airport.