How to set alias to drectory in .emacs?

[F. Chen]

Hello there:

This probably is a very FAQ, but I am having trouble finding a
solution, hence here to ask again.

I'd like to know how to set an alias for a direcory in emacs, e.g.
alias wd = "/Home/self/private/Work/Papers/InProgress/", so everytime
I want to open a file in that directory but from a different location,
I can do something along the line of C-x C-f type wd, then file name.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

fc