The Australian consulate general in Chengdu announced Thursday that the Australian visa application center in Chengdu is officially open. It's Australia's fourth visa application center in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu).

Nancy Gordon, the Australian consul-general in Chengdu, said Sichuan is one of the fastest growing regions for visas. Around 1000 students in Sichuan received an Australian study visa in 2014, an increase of 36 percent year-on-year.

"I believe opening the visa application center in Chengdu will bring more people in southwestern China to travel and study in Australia," Gordon said.

Gordon suggests that travelers explore Australia's countryside more than its big cities, especially in the western and northern parts of the country.

China and Australia reached an agreement in Nov 2014 providing 5,000 annual work and holiday visas to young Chinese aged from 18 to 30.

According to Michael Willard, minister-counselor at the Australian embassy in China, the work and holiday visa application started on Sep 21, and 1,300 applicants received their visas so far.