Chengdu Overview

Basic Information

  • Chinese Name: 成都
  • Location: In the central of Sichuan Basin and hinterland of West Sichuan Plain
  • Area: 14605 square kilometers
  • Population: 15.91 million, Han Chinese is the vast majority nationality group
  • Language: Mandarin, Sichuan Dialect

Administrative Division

Chengdu, serve as the capital of Sichuan province, has direct jurisdiction over 11 districts, 4 counties, 5 county-level cities, 259 townships and 116 streets. Besides, there are Chengdu High-tech District and Tianfu New Area.

Geography

Located at the western edge of the Sichuan Basin and sits on the Chengdu Plain, Chengdu has a 192 kilometers’ length from west to east and 166 kilometers’ width from north to south, covering an area of 14,605 square kilometers and among which 6.48 million mu cultivated land. Besides the dominating plain terrain accounting for 40.1% of the total land area, there are also hills and mountains. The high terrain of the northwest has an elevation of 1000-3000m and the southeast low in Chengdu plain in meters about 500m. Therefore, there are many different kinds of biological resources in Chengdu area, with complete category and concentrated distribution. Since ancient times, Chengdu has been known as "the Land of Abundant" on account of its fertile soil, favorable climate, and the splendid Dujiangyan Irrigation System.

Climate

Chengdu enjoys a subtropical humid monsoon climate characterized by early spring, hot summer, cool autumn and warm winter. But because of the surrounding mountains, it also forms the typical basin climate. The annual average temperature is between 15.2 to 16.6 degrees Celsius and annual rainfall is about 1000 mm. A prominent feature of the Chengdu climate is the cloudy and short duration of sunshine. Chengdu gets about 250-300 cloudy, foggy, or rainy days each year. An old saying describing the infrequency of sunshine as "Shu dogs bark at the sight of the sun". Another notable feature of the Chengdu climate is the humidity of the air, so it is sweltering in the summer, although the temperature is not high (the maximum temperature is usually not more than 35 degrees Celsius). In winter, the average temperature is above 5 degrees Celsius, but because of the cloudy and humid weather, it is also very cold. The rain in Chengdu is concentrated in July and August, and little in winter and spring as well as little ice and snow. More about Chengdu Climate.

The Best Time to Go

Spring and autumn is the best season to travel Chengdu because of the moderate temperature and good climate suitable for getting around. The temperature in Chengdu is not high but sweltering in summer, and above 0 degrees in winter, few snows but gloomy and cold. In the hot summer, Qingcheng Mountain, Tiantai Mountain, Kowloon Valley, etc are famous summer resort to get some shade and respite from the heat, and Jiuzhaigou and Xiling Snow Mountain, etc are fantastic places to enjoy the view of snow.

Things to Do

As a national historical and cultural city and the best tourist cities in China, Chengdu bears a history of thousands of years , and was designated the "Capital of the World's Gourmet Food" by UNESCO. Chengdu is endowed with numerous famous tourist attractions, first of all, the giant panda is the No.1 choice of many tourists. Beside, some sights concentrated in Chengdu downtown area that can be covered in 1-2 days, such as Du Fu Thatched Cottage, Qingyang Palace, Wenshu Monastery, The Wide and Narrow Alleys, Jinsha Site, Wuhou Temple, Jinli Street, Etc. While some other of the best spots are in the surrounding area, such as the must-see place, Dujiangyan Irrigation System and Qingcheng Mountain. More about Chengdu Attractions.

What’s more, Sichuan Opera, Sichuan Cuisine, Chengdu Tea are all deserve your visiting with relish.

Transportation

Chengdu, as the traffic hub in the southwest China, has relatively convenient transportation and is easily approached by tourists at home and board. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, is the busiest civil airport in the Midwest with lots of routes. Another airport, Chengdu Tianfu International Airport being constructed to serve Chengdu, is located at Lujia, Jianyang, 51 kilometers south-east of the center of Chengdu. Chengdu Railway Station and Chengdu East Railway Station are the main station in Chengdu at present. Chengdu is also the largest highway hub in the southwest region, and has a developed public transport. There are buses from large and medium-sized cities in southwest China to Chengdu, and Chengdu also has non-stop bus to various scenic spots in Sichuan province. More about Chengdu Transportation.

History & Culture

Chengdu is the earliest area in southwest China and enjoys the reputation of "the Land of Abundance" and "Xiu Jiangnan", which is one of the 24 famous historical and cultural cities in China. Chengdu has a history of more than 2300 years from the exact record. The Jinsha Site, unearthed in 2001, has brought its history to 611 BC .

As early as the West Han Dynasty, the brocade of Chengdu was already well developed, therefore "Jin Guan" in Chinese, a special officer was appointed by the central government to supervise the brocade weaving industry. That is why Chengdu is also known as the “City of the Brocade Officer.

During the Sui and Tang dynasty, Chengdu was economically developed with a flourishing culture and Buddhism. It became the third largest city in the country (Chang 'an, Yangzhou, Chengdu and Dunhuang). Also, the "Shu Embroidery" is one of the three famous embroideries in the country.

After Song and Yuan dynasty, Chengdu was the political, economic, military and cultural center of Sichuan and the whole southwest region.

During Qing Junji three years (1646), the city of Chengdu was burned to the ground. And during Kangxi period, the imperial government implemented the great immigration of the "Hu-Guang Fills Sichuan". Chengdu gradually regained its vitality, and the provincial capital moved back to Chengdu. See Chengdu History. 

Religion

There are five religions in Chengdu, including Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity. In the eastern Han dynasty, Mr. Zhang Daoling founded the Five Pecks of Rice sect, or Five Dou of Rice sect in Heming Mountain in today’s Dayi county as the beginning of China's Taoism. Buddhism was introduced to Chengdu as early as Eastern Han Dynasty. Islam was introduced to Chengdu in the Ming dynasty and has a history of more than 600 years. Catholicism and Christianity were separately introduced to Chengdu in AD 1640 and in AD 1881. There are 178 fixed venues for their religious activities with 1509 Clerical staff in Chengdu.

Economy

Chengdu is one of the most important central cities in central and western China, ranking the first of the super-large cities in the west, which also attracts many foreign capital and boasts many Fortune 500 companies.

As the trade, finance, science and education center and transportation and communication hub of southwest China, Chengdu is also dominated by electronic information, medicine, aerospace, food and tobacco industries. In recent years, it has vigorously developed metallurgy, building materials, chemical, machinery and automobile industries. Since ancient times, Chengdu has been an important commercial center and the Chengdu Branch of the People's Bank of China is responsible for the financial supervision of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and the Tibet.

Festival

Chengdu is a city full of relaxation and leisure. There are many famous festivals and activities in this city which give us different pleasure in different seasons, such as flower festivals. Chengdu is a city full of flowers, so besides Peach Flower Festival and Osmanthus Festival, there are also Apricot Blossom Festival, Pear Flower Festival, Canola Flower Festival and so on, at the time of flowers, Chengdu Flower Festival is held in Qingyang Palace.

Besides flower festivals, there are also some meaningful festivals such as Chengdu Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the 1st month, Xinjin Dragon Boat Race in Nanhe Rive; Dujiangyan Water Releasing Festival around the Qingming Festival, as well as Wangcongci Singing Contest around May 15, etc. More about Chengdu festival. More about Chengdu Festivals and Activies.

Tourism

Chengdu is the first “National Historic and Cultural City”, “China's Best Tourist City”, “the World's Best Tourist Destination”, as well as the "Capital of the World's Gourmet Food" designated by UNESCO creative cities network. With two world heritages and two tentative world heritages, Chengdu has the most number of world heritages in central and western China along with several thousand years of history.

Chengdu is one of the most popular travel destinations in China mostly owning to its urban vitality, historical civilization and food culture. Chengdu has the Wuhou temple,Thatched Cottage of Dufu, Qingyang Palace, Wangjiang Pavillon, Wenshu Temple, Ming Shu King Tomb, Zhaojue Temple, and many other historical sites and cultural landscapes.

Dining

Chengdu, the "Capital of the World's Gourmet Food" , the representative of slow-paced life, is truly foodie’s paradise. Chengdu snacks has a long history with a wide varieties and and strong local characteristics; Chengdu hotpot is spicy and delicious, so appealing and a hundred tire; Chengdu cuisine owns the specific properties of hot and spicy, lingering aftertaste and creative efforts. Look around the city of Chengdu, from the east to west, catering street is abound by fours and fives, which make it possible to eat from day to night and from spring to winter. This is Chengdu, and this is the happiness of people traveling Chengdu. More about Chengdu Dinning.