Sichuan Province is called “Chuan” or “Shu” for short, located at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in the heart of Southwest China.
Sichuan adjoins the Tibetan Plateau in the West and the Yangtze River in the east. The eastern section supports the densest rural population; the western section rises in giant steps to the Tibetan Plateau Where the windswept grassland and deeper forests are home of Tibetans and Qiang.
Sichuan is one of the largest provinces in china, and the most heavily populated. It covers an area of 485,000 square km and boasts the third largest population in China, after Henan and Shandong Provinces. It has 85-million people. Its population displays as much diversity as its landscape. The whole province is occupied by 53 Chinese nationalities. The main nationalities consist of Han, Tibetan, Yi, Qiang, Hui, Miao and others.
Sichuan Province has a long history. There were Shu and Ba States in this area in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, so it was called “Bashu” in ancient times. Because it consisted of Yizhou, Zizhou, Lizhou and Kuizhou Prefectures, Chuanshan Administrative Area was shortened to Sichuan in the Northern Song Dynasty. From then on, its current name has remained unchanged. Sichuan became famous during the Warring States Period when engineer LiBing somehow corralled the Min river on the Chuanxin plain with his weir system, allowing Sichuan some 2,200 continuous years of irrigation and prosperity.
Sichuan Province's tourism resources include natural scenery and places of cultural interest, such as imposing, beautiful mountains and rivers, plentiful cultural relics and historic sites, picturesque bucolic scenery, and uniquely interesting folk customs. It has always been eulogized as “Tianfu Zhiguo”, which means “land of abundance” or “Heavenly Kingdom”. |