The Capital of Sichuan--Chengdu

A CHENGDU BRIEFING

Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, is the provincial center of politics, economy, culture, science and technology. It is situated in the western part of the Sichuan Basin, extending from 103°01′to 104°56′east longitude, 166 km in width, and from 30°09′to 30°26′north latitude, 192 km in length. Including the satellite counties, the city has population of 9 million, and a total area of 12,600 sq km. The majority of the residents are Han, alothough the city is also home to a small number of Hui, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, Qiang and Yi.
Located in the east of the Chengdu Plain, 500 m above sea level, Chengdu enjoys subtropical weather.
Chengdu in the Night
Chengdu consists of 5 districts and 10 counties. They are the East Urban District, West Urban District, Qingbaijiang District, Longquan District, Jinniu District and the counties of Dayi, Wenjiang, Pixian, Jintang, Qionglai, Xinjin, Xindu, Shuangliu, Pengxian and Pujiang. Dujiangyan City is also under the administration of Chengdu.
This renowned cultural city has a hisory of more than 2,500 years. In the Zhou Dynasty (11th C. -3rd C. BC.), it was the manor of the Shu Kingdom. Kaiming IX, the Emperor of the Shu, moved his capital to the city and named it Chengdu. In the Han Dynasty (2nd.C. BC-2nd C.AD), the making of brocade flourished, and a special official was appointed to manage the industry. Since then, Chengdu has been called "City of Brocade." During the Five Dynasties period (907-906AD.), it was the capital of the Kingdom of the Later Shu established by Meng Zixiang. Meng Chang, another emperor of the Later Shu, had hibiscus trees planted on the city walls of Chengdu, hence the name "City of Hibiscus". Since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Chengdu has been the capital of Sichuan Province.
Chengdu is also the cradle of the spendid Ba Shu Culture. As early as 170 BC in the Western Han Dynasty, Wen Weng, the prefect of the Shu, founded Shishi (Stone-house) School, the earliest state-run school in the written history of China. Anumber of outstanding men in the county's history were born in the city.
Varied traditional festivals provide visitors with diverse entertainment all year around: the Lantern Festival in January, Flower Fair in February, Peach Bolssom Fair at Longquan in March, Peony Fair in Pengxian in April, Dragon Boat Festival in Xinjin in May, Folk Song Contest in the Wangcong Temple in June, Osmanthus Fair in Xindu in August, and Mum Fair in Chengdu in October. During festive days, visitors can taste delectable snacks, appreciate indigenous Sichuan cuisine, watch folk performances, buy local handicrafts and sip tea in the teahouses where folk customs live on.
Giant Panda