Media OutReach
Nonstop in 11 Hours to the “City of Pandas”: Chengdu Launches Direct Flights to Brussels
According to Air China’s Southwest Branch, the Chengdu (Tianfu International Airport)-Brussels route offers three round trips per week on the Airbus A330-300, with flights scheduled on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. Previously, Chengdu had already opened a dedicated all-cargo route to Brussels. The launch of the passenger service now establishes a dual-track system for both passenger and freight transport.
Before the route’s launch, travelers from Chengdu to Brussels typically required a transfer, with the whole journey taking more than 17 hours. The new direct service cuts travel time to under 11 hours, creating a faster and more convenient aerial corridor for economic and trade cooperation, cultural exchange, and people-to-people connectivity between China and Belgium.
This route also represents Chengdu’s first newly launched intercontinental passenger service of the year. To date, the city operates 19 intercontinental passenger routes, including 12 connecting major European cities such as Frankfurt, London, Paris, and Brussels, with nearly 40 weekly flights. Chengdu’s regular international and regional direct routes have now clocked up 85, markedly boosting its global connectivity.
The ever-expanding international flight network has further stimulated inbound tourism. In 2025, Chengdu received 2.38 million inbound tourists, a year-on-year increase of 44.3%, signaling a strong recovery of the inbound tourism market. During the recent 2026 Spring Festival, the city welcomed 77,000 inbound tourists, up 47.2% year on year, with a growing number of international travelers choosing Chengdu as their top destination for experiencing China.
As noted by The Times in its feature on 12 of the Best Places to Visit in China: “Home of the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, this city has become a popular stop on many China tours. Foodies will relish their visit—it’s one of the original UNESCO cities of gastronomy, so you’ll find the best of Sichuan cuisine here. Highlights include spicy hotpot, mapo tofu, and the myriad street foods you’ll find outside Chengdu’s many temples. It’s also the departure point for tours to the national parks of Jiuzhai Valley and Huanglong, and the autonomous regions around Sichuan.”
To enhance the travel experience of international passengers, Chengdu has introduced a package of measures covering tax refunds upon payment, language services, smart navigation, and promotional incentives, all aimed at improving convenience and adding to the appeal of inbound tourism. Policies such as instant tax refunds, direct payments via overseas e-wallets, and over 600 tax refund stores have largely facilitated travel for international tourists.
In 2025, Chengdu had more than 6,000 taxi drivers trained in English, and the scenic area Xiling Snow Mountain rolled out an international booking platform supporting real-time translation in 24 languages and transactions in 29 currencies, with multilingual AI translation screens installed across major tourist attractions and transportation hubs in Chengdu.
Meanwhile, Jinli Street—once named by CNN as one of the world’s most beautiful streets—officially introduced the “Open Chengdu” cultural tourism base on February 6. The base features a professional English-language service team, more than 300 bilingual signs, and over 10 bilingual self-service ticketing machines supporting multiple ID types. Across more than 50 locations in Jinli, from museum gift shops to street vendors, international credit cards such as VISA are widely accepted.
In addition, Chengdu Eastern New Area, where Chengdu Tianfu International Airport is located, offers international transit passengers subsidies of up to 400 yuan per person, including 200 for hotel stays, 100 for consumption vouchers, and 100 for railway tickets.
Hashtag: #ChengduInformationOffice
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GoTyme Bank becomes the first digital bank in the Philippines to enable Apple Pay, expanding secure and seamless digital payments for 10 million customers
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 August 2026 – Paymentology, the leading global issuer processor, today announced the successful launch of Apple Pay for GoTyme Bank in the Philippines. Through this launch, GoTyme becomes one of the first issuers in the Philippine market to enable Apple Pay, giving 10 million customers an easy, secure and private way to pay using their Apple devices.
As one of the country’s fastest-growing digital banks, GoTyme continues to accelerate its digital payments strategy by expanding secure, seamless and convenient payment experiences for Filipino consumers. Customers can now securely add their GoTyme debit card to Apple Wallet and make contactless payments in stores, within apps and online wherever Apple Pay is accepted.
Apple Pay uses industry-leading tokenisation technology, meaning card numbers are never stored on devices or shared with merchants. Instead, a unique Device Account Number is assigned, with every transaction authenticated through Face ID, Touch ID or a device passcode, providing an additional layer of security while delivering a fast, frictionless checkout experience.
Nate Clark, President and CEO at GoTyme Bank commented: “At GoTyme Bank, we’re constantly looking for ways to make banking simpler, safer and more rewarding for our customers. Bringing Apple Pay to GoTyme Bank customers in the Philippines gives them an easy and secure way to pay wherever they shop while continuing to earn rewards points on all their transactions. This is another step in our commitment to making everyday banking more beautiful and convenient for our customers.
The launch comes as digital payments continue to reshape the Philippine economy. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), digital payments now account for more than half of all retail payment transactions, as consumers increasingly embrace mobile-first banking and contactless payments. Meanwhile, smartphone penetration continues to rise, supporting growing demand for digital wallets and tokenised payment experiences. As digital commerce accelerates, enabling secure mobile payments through services such as Apple Pay is becoming an increasingly important differentiator for financial institutions.
Minh-Ha Truong, Head of Growth, APAC at Paymentology, added: “As a long-standing partner to GoTyme, we’re proud to support another significant milestone in its growth journey. Bringing Apple Pay to market demonstrates how modern, cloud-native issuer processing enables digital banks to rapidly deliver innovative payment experiences while maintaining the highest standards of security, scalability and performance. Together, we’re helping shape the future of digital payments in the Philippines.”
The launch further strengthens GoTyme’s position as one of Southeast Asia’s leading digital banks and highlights the value of Paymentology’s cloud-native issuer processing platform in helping banks and fintechs rapidly introduce innovative payment capabilities that meet evolving customer expectations.
Hashtag: #Paymentology
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Media OutReach
New Documentary Under the Hakka Liugdui Sun From Discovery to Debut on August 20 in Southeast Asia
Set against the sun-drenched landscapes of southern Taiwan, Under the Hakka Liugdui Sun highlights how the people of Liugdui have thrived alongside the land for over 300 years. Following local scholars, farmers, and artisans, the documentary explores how this community adapts its deep-rooted traditions—from water stewardship to food heritage—in response to environmental and economic change, offering vital modern insights on sustainability, rural revitalization, and cultural continuity.
Across three episodes—Water, agriculture, and food—the documentary explores how the people of Liugdui blend tradition with modern innovation. Viewers meet groundwater experts, farmers pioneering sustainable crops, and artisans repurposing local materials like betel nut, alongside culinary practitioners who preserve Hakka identity through ancestral rituals, communal feasts, and family traditions that unite generations.
Audiences will discover a community that views tradition not as something fixed in the past, but as a living legacy that continues to evolve. From innovative groundwater management and botanical dyeing to ritual feasts and modern interpretations of Hakka cuisine – the documentary celebrates the creativity, resilience, and values that have sustained Liugdui for centuries.
Under the Hakka Liugdui Sun premieres in Southeast Asia on Discovery Channel, Thursday, August 20 at 7:10pm; TLC Channel, Monday, August 24 at 7:10pm; and Discovery Asia, Tuesday, August 25 at 9:25pm.
Hashtag: #Discovery
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About Discovery Channel
The launch press conference broke away from tradition with a vibrant runway show featuring celebrity “Hot Spring Travel Navigators,” including acclaimed chef Edward Lee from Netflix’s Culinary Class Wars, visual identity creative director Yen Po-Chun, TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE Taiwan Chairman Kazuma Otsuka, and actor-host Andrew Chau. Together with local businesses, they showcased regional agriculture, specialties, and lifestyle products.
The official launch celebration kicks off on September 4 at Guguan Park in Taichung, featuring a themed parade with over 500 participants and the lighting ceremony for the Lishan–Guguan Light Art Festival, which stars a massive eight-meter “OhBear” light installation. The festivities continue on September 5 with a guided tribal trekking tour in Guguan, offering participants an exclusive NT$500 accommodation discount.
To promote four-season wellness tourism globally, the campaign partners with the East Asia Hot Spring Association for an international symposium on September 4. Key promotions also include complimentary LINE POINTS for new followers, curated packages starting at NT$299, and a flash sale of 800 limited NT$1 Hot Spring Vouchers for the Double 11 Shopping Festival. Furthermore, cross-sector collaborations offer half-price entry to national forest areas, limited-edition Taiwan Railway bento boxes, and Guanziling mud spring skincare products to enrich the travel experience.Hashtag: #TaiwanFourSeasonSprings
https://www.trimt-nsa.gov.tw/zh-tw/
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