Sichuan

Sichuan (Chinese: 四川; pinyin: Sì Chuān; listen) is a province in western China with its capital at Chengdu. It is also informally called 蜀 (pinyin: Shǔ). Its Governor is Wei Hong and its CPC Ctte Secretary is Wang Dongming. With a population of 87,250,000 (2006), Sichuan is the third most populated administrative division of China. Sichuan used to be the province with the most people in China before Chongqing was separated from it, making Henan the most populous. However, when including migrants, Guangdong has more people than Henan.

Sichuan Province 四川省
Province
Name transcription(s)
• Chinese	四川省 (Sìchuān Shěng)
• Abbreviation	SC / 川 or 蜀 (pinyin: Chuān or Shǔ Sichuanese: Cuan1 or Su2)
• Sichuanese	Si4cuan1 Sen3
Map showing the location of Sichuan Province
Coordinates: 30°08′N 102°56′E
Named for	Short for 川峡四路 Chuānxiá sì-lù literally "The Four Circuits of the Plains and Gorges", referring to the four circuits during the Song dynasty
Capital (and largest city)	Chengdu
Divisions	21 prefectures, 181 counties, 5011 townships
Government
• Secretary	Peng Qinghua
• Governor	Yin Li
Area
• Total	485,000 km2 (187,000 sq mi)
• Rank	5th
Highest elevation	7,556 m (24,790 ft)
Population  (2013)
• Total	81,100,000
• Rank	4th
• Density	170/km2 (430/sq mi)
• Rank	22nd
Demographics
• Ethnic composition	Han - 95% Yi - 2.6% Tibetan - 1.5% Qiang - 0.4%
• Languages and dialects	Southwestern Mandarin (Sichuanese dialects), Khams Tibetan, Hakka Chinese
ISO 3166 code	CN-SC
GDP (2017)	CNY 3.70 trillion USD 547.71 billion (6th)
• per capita	CNY 44,651 USD 6,613 (22nd)
HDI (2016)	0.780 (high) (23rd)
Website	www.sc.gov.cn

Sichuan
"Sichuan" in Chinese characters
Chinese name
Chinese	四川
Postal	Szechwan
Literal meaning	"Four Rivers"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Sìchuān Bopomofo ㄙˋ   ㄔㄨㄢ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Syhchuan Wade–Giles Ssŭ4-chʻuan1 IPA [sɨ̂.ʈʂʰwán] (listen) other Mandarin Sichuanese Pinyin Si4-cuan1 Wu Romanization Sy3-tshoe1 Hakka Romanization Si-tshôn Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Sei-chyūn IPA [sēi.tsʰýːn] Jyutping Sei3-cyun1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Sù-chhoan Tâi-lô Sì-tshuan
Tibetan name
Tibetan	སི་ཁྲོན་
Transcriptions Wylie si khron
Yi name
Yi	ꌧꍧ syp chuo

Name

The name 四川 (pinyin: Sì Chuān) is an abbreviation of 四川路 (pinyin: Sì Chuān Lù, translated as "Four circuits/subdivisions of rivers"), which is itself shortened from 川峡四路 (pinyin: Chuān Xiá Sì Lù, translated as "Four circuits of rivers and gorges").[1] Archived 2008-01-22 at the Wayback Machine

Subdivisions

There are 18 subdivisions within Sichuan, including both prefecture-level cities and autonomous prefectures:

• Chengdu
• Mianyang
• Deyang
• Yibin
• Panzhihua
• Leshan
• Nanchong
• Zigong
• Luzhou
• Neijiang
• Guangyuan
• Suining
• Ziyang
• Guang'an
• Ya'an
• Meishan
• Dazhou
• Bazhong
• Aba Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture
• Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
• Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture

People

Most people living in Sichuan are Han Chinese. There are also Tibetans, Yi people, Qiang and Naxi in the western side.

Culture

The Li Bai Memorial (located at his birthplace, Zhongba Town of northern Jiangyou County) is a museum in memory of the Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty, Li Bai. It was prepared in 1962 on the occasion of 1,200th anniversary of his death, completed in 1981 and opened to the public in October 1982. The memorial is built in the style of the classic garden of the Tang Dynasty.

Music

Sichuan has a long history of folk and classical music. Sichuan opera is an ancient tradition that very is well-known. The Sichuan lantern drama is popular in Sichuan. The Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu is one of the oldest of musical education in China, having been established in 1939.

There is also religious music in Sichuan, played by Taoist priests in their temples.

Traditional Sichuan folk music is usually played with instruments such as the bamboo flute, pan and cymbals, gong and horn.

Food

Sichuan cuisine has an international reputation for being hot and numbing (Chinese: 麻辣), because of the common ingredient of the Sichuan peppercorn (Chinese: 花椒).

Some well-known Sichuan dishes include Kung Pao chicken (Chinese: 宮保雞丁; pinyin: Gōng Bǎo Jī Dīng) and Twice Cooked Pork (Chinese: 回鍋肉; pinyin: Huí Guō Ròu).

Language

Most dialects of the Chinese language spoken in Sichuan, including the Chengdu dialect, are similar to the dialects of neighbouring provinces Yunnan, Guizhou and Chongqing Municipality.

Sports

• Chinese Basketball Association
• Chinese Football Association Super League
  • Chengdu Blades
• Chinese Volleyball League
  • Sichuan Volleyball Team
• China Table Tennis Super League
  • Sichuan Quan-Xing Table-Tennis Team

Universities

• Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (Chengdu)
• Sichuan University (Chengdu)
• Southwest Jiaotong University (Chengdu)
• University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (Chengdu)
• Southwest University of Science and Technology (Mianyang)

Tourism

UNESCO World Heritage Sites include:

• Dazu Rock Carvings - officially part of Chongqing Municipality, not Sichuan
• Huanglong, Scenic and Historic Interest Area
• Jiuzhaigou Valley, Scenic and Historic Interest Area
• Mount Emei, Scenic Area
  • Leshan Giant Buddha, Scenic Area
• Mount Qincheng and Dujiangyan Irrigation System
• Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries
• Daocheng Yading Airport (Highest civilian airport in the world)

Notable Sichuanese people

• Alan Dawazhouma, pop singer
• Deng Xiaoping, communist leader of China
• Jang Ri-In, pop singer