Shopping Festival to open in Chengdu

The 2013 Chengdu Shopping Festival will be held in Southwest China's Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, from July 11 to Aug 31.

The annual event, which was initiated in 2003, aims to boost the city's commerce and build itself into a leading consumer goods center.

Different from before, the newly reconstructed Second Ring Road connects seven of the nine main commercial districts in the city. The shopping malls and supermarkets along the road will hold a series of sales promotions to allure customers.

The festival is expected to attract 15 million customers, including 3 million from other cities around Chengdu, creating a total sales volume of 15 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) and bolstering other consumption by more than 3 billion yuan.

In recent years, Chengdu has devoted itself to building a famous convention and exhibition city by creating a series of festival brands. The city successfully held the 2013 Fortune Global Forum in early June.