'' (), located in southwest
China, is the capital of
Sichuan province and a
sub-provincial city. It is the fifth
[1] most populous city in China. Chengdu is also one of the most important economic centers and transportation and communication hubs in China.
More than four thousand years ago, the prehistorical
Bronze Age culture of
Jinsha () established itself in this region. The fertile
Chengdu Plain, on which Chengdu is located, is called ''Tianfuzhi guo'' () in Chinese, which literally means "the country of heaven", or more often seen translated as "the Land of Abundance".
Population
Throughout most of
Chinese history, Chengdu has been a city with a large number of people. By 2006 the population was 11.03 million (other sources cite 2.3 million), which made Chengdu the fifth largest city in China in terms of population, just following
Shanghai,
Beijing,
Tianjin and
Chongqing. The urban populace excluding recognized city dependants is 3.9 million.
Geography and Climate
Chengdu is situated at the western edge of the
Sichuan Basin. It is therefore sheltered from northwest winds from
Siberia in winter by the Qing Ling mountain range to the north. The climate is mild and humid. The short winter is milder than in the Lower Yangtse because of the sheltering effect of the Qing Ling. Snow is rare but there are a few periods of frost each winter. The summer is longer, but not as hot as in cities such as
Wuhan and
Nanjing in the Lower Yangtse downstream. Average daytime highs are 49F (10C) in January and 85F (30C) in July. Rainfall is reliable year round but peaks in the summer months.
Chengdu has one of the lowest sunshine totals in China (less sunshine annually than
London), and most days are cloudy even if without rain. This is especially so in the winter months, when it is typically interminably grey and dreary. Spring (Mar-Apr) tends to be sunnier, warmer and drier than autumn (Oct-Nov).
Famous People From Chengdu
Chengdu's location within China
, the great writer in West Han Dynasty.
Zhuo Wenjun, wife of the famous writer Sima Xiangru.
Yang Xiong, the great writer and philosopher in West Han Dynasty.
Chang Qu, the famous historian in West Jin Dynasty; his work 'Hua Yang Guo Zhi' is the first Chinese historical geography work.
Xue Tao, the famous woman poet in Tang Dynasty.
Ba Jin, the great writer, was born in Chengdu and died in Shanghai in
2005.
Wang Guangxi, the famous musician, the first Chinese awarded
doctoral degree in music.
Zhou Taixuan, the famous
biologist.
Li Jieren, the famous writer, was born in Chengdu in
1891.
Kong Xiangming, the famous female player of Go.
Zheng Jie and
Yan Zi have been making quite an impact on the Women's Tennis Tour. Although both are successful in singles (Zheng Jie with two titles and Yan Zi with one), they are better known for their doubles grand slam wins in the 2006
Australian Open and in the
2006 Wimbledon.
Jung Chang, writer and historian, born in Yibin in
1952, and raised in Chengdu.
History
Jinli Street
Chunxi Road
In the early
4th century BC, the 9th Kaiming king of the ancient
Shu moved his capital to the city's current location from today's nearby
Pixian. He was said to have been inspired by the ancient story of
King Tai of Zhou, Grandfather of
King Wu of Zhou, moving his capital. History recorded King Tai of Zhou's move as "it took a year to become a town; it took three years to become a capital". Following this, king of Shu named the new city as "Cheng Du", which means "become a capital" (In Chinese, the word "cheng" means "become", "du" means "capital"). There are, however, several versions of why the capital was moved to Chengdu, and more recent theories of the name's origin point to it as stemming from, or referring to, earlier non-Han inhabitants and/or their languages.
After the conquest of
Shu by the
State of Qin in
316 BC, a new city was founded by the Qin general
Zhang Yi (who as a matter of fact had argued against the invasion). This can be seen as the beginning of the Chinese Chengdu. It was renamed Yìzhou () during the
Han Dynasty.
During the partition following the fall of the
Eastern Han Dynasty, i.e. the era of the
Three Kingdoms,
Liu Bei founded the southwest kingdom of
Shu-Han (;
221-
263) with Chengdu as its capital.
During the
Tang Dynasty, both the "Poet God"
Li Bó () and the "Poet Sage"
Dù Fu () spent some part of their lives in Chengdu. Du Fu constructed the celebrated "Caotáng" (?? or grass-hut) in the second year of his four-years stay (
759-
762). But today's Caotang, a rather sumptuous house in the traditional style, was only constructed in
1078 in memory of Du Fu.
Chengdu was also the birthplace of the first widely used
paper money in the world (
Northern Song Dynasty, around A.D. 960).
Two rebel leaders, one around the end of
Song Dynasty, the other near the end of
Ming Dynasty, set up the capitals of their short-lived kingdoms here, called Dàshu () and Dàxi (), respectively.
The
Second World War brought an unexpected wave of prosperity to Chengdu as the
Guomindang (Chinese Nationalist) government under
Chiang Kai-shek fled to
Sichuan Province to escape the invading Japanese forces. They brought with them businesspeople, workers and academics, who founded many of the industries and cultural institutions which continue to make Chengdu an important center.
In 1944 the American
XX Bomber Command launched
Operation Matterhorn, an ambitious plan to base
B-29 Superfortresses at Chengdu and strategically bomb the Japanese
Home Islands. Because it required a massive airlift of fuel and supplies over the Himalayas, it was not a great military success, but it did earn Chengdu the distinction of launching the first serious retaliation against the Japanese homeland.
Chengdu was the last city on the
Chinese mainland to be held by the
Kuomintang-controlled government.
R.O.C. President
Chiang Kai-shek and his son
Chiang Ching-kuo directed the defence of the city at Chengdu Central Military Academy, until
1949 when the city fell into communist hands. The
People's Liberation Army took the city on December 10 and the remnants of the Nationalist Chinese government fled to
Taiwan.
Today the industrial base is very broad, including light and heavy manufacturing, aluminum smelting and chemicals. The textile industry remains important, with cotton and wool milling added to the traditional manufacturing of silk brocade and satin.
Today it is the headquarters of the
Chengdu Military Region.
Previous names
Chengdu is famous for its teahouses
Traffic in Chengdu
★ The
Brocade City: Jinchéng,
In the
Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-23 AD), brocade produced in Chengdu enjoyed great popularity among the royal and elite class in China. Emperor installed Jin Guan (an official in charge of brocade production) to oversee brocade production in Chengdu. Since then, Chengdu has been called "Jin Guan Cheng" (Brocade Official's City), or in its short form, "Jin Cheng" (Brocade city).
★ The City of
Hibiscus: Róngchéng,
In the
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-960), Mengchang, the king of the
Later Shu Kingdom, ordered the planting of hibiscus on the
fortress wall surrounding the city. After this, Chengdu started being referred as the City of Hibiscus. Nowadays, the hibiscus is still the city flower of Chengdu. But the last city wall was torn down in the 1960s along with the Royal Palace situated in the middle of the city.
The aforementioned "previous names" are not formal names, however, but are more accurately thought of as nicknames. The name "Chengdu" has never changed during thousands years since the city was founded, and the city has always been in the same location.
Culture and folklore
The
Sichuan cuisine is famous for being very spicy, but in fact only slightly more than 30% of dishes officially labeled "local" rely on
chili pepper. The reputation for hot food is, however, much older than the use of peppers, which became common only in the 17-18th century.
Chengdu's cuisine is considered to be one of China's most outstanding. The many local specialties include Grandma Chen's Bean Curd (
Mapo doufu), Chengdu
Hot pot, and Carrying Pole Noodles (
Dan Dan Noodles).
An article by the ''
Los Angeles Times'' (2006) called Chengdu "China's party city". Chengdu outnumbers Shanghai in the number of
tea houses and bars despite having less than half the population. The inhabitants have a reputation both within Sichuan and in China at large for having a laid back attitude and for knowing how to enjoy life.
Economy
Chengdu is home to several key industries and markets in China that are both significant for domestic and international markets. First, Sichuan Province and the Chengdu region have long been the capital of
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This combined with recent intrigue into pharmaceuticals has launched Chengdu into one of the major pharmaceutical R&D centers in China, as well as the leading R&D region in Western China.
Electronic and IT Industry
Chengdu has long been established as a national base for electronic and IT industry. Several key national electronic R&D institutes are located in Chengdu. Chengdu's Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone has attracted a variety of multinationals, including
Intel,
IBM,
NOKIA,
Alcatel,
Motorola,
SAP, and
Microsoft, as well as domestic powerhouses such as
Lenovo. Intel's Chengdu factory is its second one after its Shanghai factory in China and the first such large-scale foreign investment in electronic industry in interior China.
Financial Industry
Chengdu is now building itself to be the financial hub for West China and has successfully attracted major international financial institutions, including
Citigroup,
HSBC,
Standard Chartered Bank,
United Overseas Bank (Singapore).
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (Singapore),
ABN AMRO,
Bank of East Asia,
BNP Paribas, etc.
Historically, Chengdu has marked its name in the history of financial innovation. The world’s first ever paper currency 'Jiao Zi' was seen in Chengdu in the year 1023, during the
Song Dynasty of Ancient China.
Now, Chengdu is not only the gateway of West China for foreign financial institutions, but also a booming town for Chinese domestic financial firms. The Chinese monetary authority,
People's Bank of China (China’s central bank), set its southwest China headquarters in Chengdu City. In addition, almost all domestic banks and securities brokerage firms located their regional headquarters or branches in Chengdu. At the same time, the local financial firms of Chengdu are strengthening their presences nationally, notably,
West China Securities,
GuoJin Securities and
Chengdu Commercial Bank. Moreover, on top of banks and brokerage firms, the flourish of local economy lured more and more financial service firms to the city to capitalize on the economic growth.
KPMG opened this first west China office in Chengdu City this October, and before the inauguration of KPMG Chengdu office, its rival,
Ernst & Young, had already integrated Chengdu into its global operation for several years.
Defense industry
Located within the city limits is the Chengdu Aircraft Company which produces the recently declassified
J-10 Fighter. The company is one of the major manufacturers of Chinese Military aviation technology.
International flights
Huaxi campus of Sichuan University
Temple in Chengdu
is the sixth largest airport in mainland China, after
Beijing Capital,
Shanghai Pudong,
Shanghai Hongqiao,
Guangzhou Baiyun and
Shenzhen Bao'an. In 2006, the passenger volume in Chengdu Shuangliu reached 16.28 million, one of the
world's 100 busiest airports by passenger traffic.
Currently, there are direct international flights connecting, Chengdu to
Singapore (
Silk Air and
Air China), Chengdu to
Bangkok (
Thai Airways International), Chengdu to
Tokyo (Air China), Chengdu to
Seoul (
Asiana Airlines and Air China), Chengdu to
Phnom Penh (
Angkor Airways), Chengdu to
Amsterdam (
KLM: Royal Dutch Airlines). The Chengdu to
Kuala Lumpur route with
Malaysia Airlines was canceled on 29 Nov 2006.
There are also intraregional flights connecting Chengdu to
Hong Kong (
Dragonair,
Hong Kong Express and Air China) and
Macau (
Air Macau).
Colleges and universities
★
Sichuan University (Founded in 1896)
★
Sichuan Normal University(Founded in 1946)
★
Southwest Jiaotong University (Founded in 1896)
★
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (Founded in 1956)
★
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics
★
Southwest University for Nationalities
★
Sichuan International Studies University
★
Chengdu University of Technology
★
Chengdu University of TCM
★
Sichuan Conservatory of Music
★
Chengdu University of Information Technology
★
Chengdu Kinesiology University
★
Xihua University
★
Chengdu University
★
Chengdu Medical College
★
Chengdu College of UESTC
Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
High Schools
The Wang Jiang Lou
★
Shishi Middle School [1]
★
Chengdu Shude High School [2]
★
Chengdu No. Seven High School [3]
★
Chengdu Liewu High School [4]
★
Chengdu No. Twelve High School(The High School Attached to Sichuan University) [5]
★
Chengdu Foreign languages School
★
Chengdu Experimental Foreign languages School
★
Chengdu International School [6]
★
PengZhou middle School
★
Chengdu No. Eighteen High School
★
Shuangliu High School
Consulates in Chengdu
In
1986, the
United States Consulate General at Chengdu was established. It is the first consulate established in west-central China since
1949. Currently seven countries have established consulates in Chengdu. The
United Kingdom also established a visa application center in Chengdu.
A Pakistani consulate will be opened soon.
Sister cities
In
1979, Chengdu signed a
sister city agreement with
Montpellier, France, the first pair of Sino-French sister cities. Later Chengdu signed sister city agreements with cities in ten countries, as well as signing a friendly region agreement with
Dalarna province in
Sweden. Chengdu has had many friendly exchanges with the sister cities.
Montpellier, for example, has a Chengdu Street and a Chengdu Plaza.The soccer team
Chengdu Blades is owned by
Sheffield United FC.
★
Montpellier,
France (1979)
★
Ljubljana,
Slovenia (1981)
★
Linz,
Austria (1983)
★
Kofu,
Japan (1983)
★
Phoenix, Arizona,
United States of America (1986)
★
Winnipeg,
Canada (1988)
★
Mechelen,
Belgium (1993)
★
Palermo,
Italy (1999)
★
Gimcheon,
Republic of Korea (2000)
★
Medan,
Indonesia(2001)
Notes
1. As of 2005.
See also
★
List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population
★
Capitals of subnational entities of China
★
List of current and former capitals of subnational entities of China
External links
★
Official site, in English
★
Chengdu Online, run by Chengdu Municipal People's Government
★
Chegndu Time. The Panda City.
★
Satellite picture by Google Maps
★
Living on Earth radio program, that describes Chengdu as a "backwater city in western China, became an urban metropolis overnight"
★
Chengdu weather forecast and links to images of the city
★
U.S. Consulate General Chengdu webpage
★
Dennis Rea's book ''Live at the Forbidden City'' includes a detailed eyewitness account of the massive civil uprising in Chengdu on June 4-6, 1989 .
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