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Sichuan guide

Abbreviation: Chuan or Shu

Capital: Chengdu

Area: Approximately 480,000 Square kilometres

Population: 84.74 million

Location: In southwest China and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River

   People often refer to Sichuan as “the heaven-endowed land” (or “the Land of Abundance”). The terrain of Sichuan Province varies in elevation, sloping from west to east and is divided into two sections-Western Plateau of Sichuan and the Sichuan Basin. The western plateau is one of the combinative sections of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with an average altitude of more than 4,000 metres. Low hillocks and plains dominate the Sichuan Basin. Rivers in the province mainly include the Yangtze River and its tributaries. The basin in east Sichuan belongs to subtropical and humid monsoon climate and the western part belongs to subtropical and plateau climate.

   The province is known as the “paradise in China or a land of abundance” or “heavenly-endowed land” because of the rich natural resources and beautiful scenery. The province is rich in its biological resources, with more than 10,000 kinds of utilizable plants, and ranks second in China in terms of its flora and fauna resources. Sichuan is an important area of forest in China, and has rich grassland and animal resources. One hundred and twenty three kinds of mineral resources have been discovered. It is also rich in water transportation, coal, natural gas and biological energies. In addition, the natural and man-made landscapes in Sichuan have also contributed to the exploitation and development of the local tourism resources.  The province boasts a lot of mountains, rivers and historic relics. UNESCO inscribed Jiuzhaigou, Yellow Dragon scenic area, Mount Emei with the Leshan’s Giant Buddha, and Mount Qingcheng-Dujiangyan Irrigation Project on the World Heritage List in 1992, 1996,and 2000 respectively. The province is the home to the national treasure= the Giant Panda.

   The province has 42 institutes of higher learning, hundreds of scientific and research institutions and 1.1 million scientific and technological professionals. Sichuan has abundant tourism resources. More than 850 pandas (about 85 percent of the world’s rare giant pandas) inhabit in the province. The province has eight national scenic areas and 40 national nature reserves.rves.