Brief Introduction
Sichuan Province, Shu for short, is located in southwest China, with Chengdu as its capital city. Sichuan, generally classified as a rice region, abounds in agricultural products. It is listed as one of China's major producers of rice, wheat, cotton, rapeseeds, raw silk, oil-bearing crops, meat, and fruit, and also holds a significant place in production of medicinal herbs, pigs and cattle. Sichuan's major industrial products are metals, coal, petroleum, machinery, electric power, well salt, chemicals, electronics, textiles and foodstuff etc.
Sichuan is known as the "Land of Abundance" and has three places listed as the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, namely the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area, the Huanglong Scenic Area, and Emei Mountain including the Leshan Giant Buddha. Visitors to this province can experience a wide variety of beautiful landscapes including plateaus, mountains, ravines, basins, hills, plains, rivers, lakes, hot springs, waterfalls and limestone caves. Most of the rivers in Sichuan belong to the Yangtze River system.
Sichuan is gifted with lush mountains and exquisite waters, and abounds in historical and cultural resources. Its main scenic spots and historical sites include Emei Mountain, Qingcheng Mountain, and Long Valley, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, Leshan Giant Buddha, and Jiuzhaigou (Nine-Village Valley). The Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan is home to the Chengdu Giant Panda Research Base, one of the most important centers in the world for the captive conservation of the Giant Panda.
As one of the largest provinces, Sichuan has more than 15 minority groups living with the Han people. Among these are the Yi, Hui, Tibetan and Miao peoples. Each of these minorities has its own charm, ethnic style and folk custom. Some of the ethical festivals like Leshan Great Buddha International Tourist Festival, Southland Ice and Snow Festival, Liangshan Yi Minority Torch Festival and Zigong Lantern Festival have become Sichuan's unique tourist resources.

Geographical location
Sichuan, in China’s western hinterland, covers most of the Sichuan Basin. Surrounded by mountains, it enjoys a mild climate.It is situated at 26'03"-34'20" north latitude and 97'22"-110'10" east longitude with an area of 567,000 square kilometers, accounting for 5.1% of China's total area. Sichuan is high in the west and low in the east in terms of topography. Generally speaking, the western part is plateaus and mountainous regions some 4,000 meters above sea level, while the eastern part features basin and hilly land with an elevation between 1,000 and 3,000 meters.

Elevation extremes
Sichuan is high in the west and low in the east in terms of topography. Generally speaking, the western part is plateaus and mountainous regions some 4,000 meters above sea level while the east features the basin and hilly land with an elevation between 1,000 and 3,000 meters. The Sichuan Basin, covering an area of 165,000 square km, is one of the four largest in the country. The elevation within the basin is between 200 and 750 meters, sloping down from north to south.

Climate
The climate in Sichuan is vastly different between its eastern and western parts. The Sichuan Basin has a humid sub-tropical monsoonal climate, with mild winters, hot summers, long frost-free period, plentiful rainfall and mist, high humidity, and less sunshine. Its average temperature in July, the hottest month, is 25-29oC; in January, the coldest month, 3-8oC. The Western Sichuan Plateau with its plateau climate has lower temperature and less rainfall than the Sichuan Basin, both of which differ again in the southern and northern sections of the plateau.

Administrative Division and Population
It is divided into 5 districts, 3 autonomous prefectures, 13 prefecture-level cities, 18 county-level cities, 124 counties, and 3 autonomous counties, with a population of 83.29 million as of 2000.

Ethnicity
In addition to its majority, the Han people, Sichuan is also inhabited by many ethnic groups including 13 with at least 5,000 people each: the Yi, Tibetan, Qiang, Hui, Mongolian, Lisu, Manchu, Naxi, Bai, Bouyei, Dai, Miao and Tujia.
Sichuan has China’s second-largest region inhabited by Tibetans as well as the largest region inhabited by the Yi ethnic group and the only region where the Qiang people live in homogeneous communities. The Yi ethnic group, with the largest population of any minority in Sichuan, lives in the Greater and Lesser Liangshan mountains and the Anning River Valley. The Tibetans live in the Garze and Ngawa Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures and the Muli Tibetan Autonomous County in Liangshan Prefecture. The Qiang people, one of China’s oldest ethnic groups, live mainly in Maoxian, Wenchuan, Heishui, Songpan and Beichuan on the upper reaches of the Minjiang River.

Food
Sichuan Cuisine is one of the Eight Great Cuisines in China and is famous all over the world for its richness and variety. Characterized by spicy and pungent flavors, Sichuan Cuisine, with a myriad of tastes, emphasizes the use of chili, red hot peppers and garlic. Sichuan food is known for being "spicy" hot! It's said that one who doesn't experience Sichuan food has never reached Sichuan. Typical menu items are: Hot Pot, Smoked Duck, Kung Pao Chicken, Twice Cooked Pork, Mapo Tofu. Shuizhu Niurou (steamed beef with a variety of seasonings and spices), Yuxiang Rousi (a roast pork dish cooked with bamboo shoots, mushrooms), Zhangcha Duck (salted, smoked duck), etc.

Folk Customs
As one of the largest provinces, Sichuan has more than 15 minority ethnic groups living side by side with the Han people. Among these are the Yi, Hui, Quian, Tibetan and Miao people. Each of these minorities has its own charm, ethnic style and folk customs.
Each of the minorities also has its own festivals. Some of the local festivals are; the Leshan Giant Buddha International Tourist Festival, Southland Ice and Snow Festival, Liangshan Yi Ethnic Minority Torch Festival and Zigong Lantern Festival.
Culture
Chuanju (Sichuan Opera), Xieju (comic opera)

Natural resources
The reserves of hydropower resources in Sichuan come to 150 million kw, second only to Tibet, and the exploitable potential is over 100 million kw, more than any other area in China.
 Sichuan boasts 132 verified mineral resources and leads the country in the reserves of vanadium, titanium, calcium, mirabilite, fluorite, natural gas, and sulfur iron, and leads the world in reserves of titanium. Its reserves of vanadium ranks third in the world.
 The pleasant climate provides a favorable environment for plants and animals. Forests cover a total area of 7.46 million hectares. Sichuan is home to one-fifth of the country’s dawn redwoods and Cathaya argyrophylla, two species so old they are regarded as living fossils. It is also rich in animal resources. There are over 1,000 kinds of vertebrates, accounting for 40 percent of the country. Among them are 55 kinds of rare animals. The well-known giant pandas inhabit mainly in 36 counties and natural reserves of four mountain ranges within the territory of Sichuan.
 Sichuan has three places on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage List: the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area, the Huanglong Scenic Area, and Mount Emei with the Leshan Giant Buddha; nine state-class scenic areas, including the Dujiang Dam Irrigation System, Qingcheng Mountain, the Sea of Bamboo in southern Sichuan; 11 national forest parks; 40 nature reserves, 44 provincial-class scenic areas. Almost every variety of tourist resources is available here: plateaus, mountains, ravines, basins, hills, plains, rivers, lakes, hot springs, waterfalls, limestone caves, and even danxia (red bed) formation. 
 
Chinatravel 365 tips:
Sichuan is known as the "Land of Abundance" and has three places on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage List: Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area, Huang Long Valley (Yellow Dragon Valley) and Mount Emeishan including Leshan Giant Buddha. Visitors to this province can experience a wide variety of beautiful landscapes including plateaus, mountains, ravines, basins, hills, plains, rivers, lakes, hot springs, waterfalls and limestone caves. In addition, tourists can visit important historic relics and taste the delicious spicy Sichuan Cuisine.More about sichuan...

Mt. Emeishan
Mt. Qingcheng
Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area
Huang Long Valley (Yellow Dragon Valley)
Dujiangyan Irrigation Project of China
Leshan Giant Buddha

Chengdu

Chengdu is the capital city of the Sichuan Province of the country. The city lies in the southwestern region of the Mainland China. It is located in the Chengdu Plain. In the Chinese language the place is called Tianfu zhi guo, meaning "the Heavenly country". Chengdu, China claims to be a densely populated city it also ranks 5th in the entire country. Along with these important facts, Chengdu is a very famous tourist spot in China. Thousands of people come to visit this beautiful city from various corners of the world.
The city of Chengdu in China has strong economical aspects. Chengdu is considered as one of the prominent economic zones in the Mainland China. Besides being an economical center of China, Chengdu is also a center for transportation and communication. Various industries are there in the city. Except that, many important markets have also grown in this city.

History of Chendu
With its long history of over 2,300 years, Chengdu is one of the famous 24 cultural and historical cities in China. Early in the 4th century BC, king of ancient Shu, moved the capital from Guangdu Fanxiang (now called Shuangliu) to Chengdu. A town was built in this area in the first year and the capital in the second year, so the ancestor name the city as Chengdu, which means became a capital in Chinese. 
In 311 B.C, people of Qin Dynasty (221 BC-208 BC) built a protective wall around Chengdu city according to the construction standard practiced in Xianyang, capital of Qin Dynasty. Thus, the wall was erected with a height of 3.5 meters and a perimeter of 6 kilometers, marking the beginning of Chengdu City. 
In the Five Kingdoms Period (907-960), Mengchang, king of the Latter Shu Kingdom, decreed to plant hibiscuses on the protective wall of the city, so Chengdu is also called the City of Hibiscus.&nbsp;<BR><BR>Over 2,000 years, Chengdu has remained a city of military importance in Southwest China on politics, economy and military affairs. Gongsun Shu, king of Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bei, emperor of the Three Kingdoms and Meng Zhixiang, King of the Latter Shu Kingdom all founded their capital in Chengdu. Later in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it remained the location of government for Sichuan province. Early in Ming Dynasty (1912-1949), it was the capital city of Sichuan province. On December 27, 1949, Chengdu was liberated and chosen as the location for the administration office for Sichuan province. Since 1952, when Sichuan resumed its status as an administrative province, Chengdu became the provincial capital.

While roaming around the city of Chengdu, you will get to see several interesting tourist attractions. Various beautiful temples, cottages, amusement parks, gardens, museums and many other places are there in the city. Some of the major tourist spots are listed below.

- Baoguang Temple
- Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center
- Dujiangyan Irrigation Project of China
- Mt. Qingcheng
- Qingyang Palace
- Sanxingdui (Three-Star Piles) Museum
- Thatched Cottage of Du Fu
- Yong Mausoleum (Yong Ling)
- Wangjiang Tower Park
- Wenshu Monastery
- Wolong Panda Reserve
- Wuhou Memorial Temple