Sichuan – “the Hometown of Panda”

Sichuan is a province in western China with its capital at Chengdu. The current name of the province, Sichuan is an abbreviation of "Four circuits of rivers", which is itself abbreviated from "Four circuits of rivers and gorges", named after the division of the existing circuit into four during the Northern Song Dynasty. Sichuan, known in ancient times as Bashu for the two states of Ba and Shu, is a large province in southwestern China, occupying an area of 485,000 square kilometers and providing a home to a population of 83 million.
     Chengdu (成都), also known as the Brocade City, the Lotus City, the Panda City, and the City of Hibiscus. The face of Chengdu has been constantly changing during its history of more than 2300 years. Classic Chinese architecture is hard to find downtown as the new, affluent class of southwest China prefers modern skyscrapers. Still, Chengdu is an excellent urban locale to take a break during a likely tiresome, yet awe-inspiring travel through Sichuan province and neighboring Yunnan and Tibet. Foreigners truly love living in Chengdu, a fully modernized city with a fraction the cost of living of eastern giants like Beijing or Shanghai.

Tourist Attractions

- Jiuzhaigou (Nine Village Vally): Situated in the depths of the mountains in the border area of Nanping, Songpan and Pingwu counties in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern Sichuan, is a fairyland called Jiuzhaigou – Nine-Village Valley, which is the home of nine Tibetan villages. The valley is 50 kilometers in length. The place is dotted with more than 100 gorgeous lakes, which differ from others by having a high concentration of calcium carbonate, so that the lakebeds and embankments are all covered with crystals. The water is so clear that the bottom is visible despite depths of several dozen meters. Waterfalls are the essence of the scenery in Jiuzhaigou. They are created between lakes on different levels with water flowing down the cliffs covered with trees. The water actually oozes through the tree trunks into the falls. The trees in the primitive forest are thick with leaves that block the sunlight. As the height and temperature there vary, there is a distinctive distribution of plants, with the broadleaf forest, at the foot of the mountain, and a coniferous forest at the top. In autumn, the mountaintops are covered with white snow while the hill slopes and the valley are a blaze of color. In 1992, UNESCO entered this scenic area onto the world natural heritage list.
- Panda Base: The giant pandas are not only a Chinese national treasure but are also beloved by people the world over. They are found only in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. In total there are fewer than 1000, of which 80% are distributed within the territory of Sichuan province. Therefore, when visitors from home and abroad come to Chengdu, Sichuan Province one of their main objectives will be to see the giant pandas for themselves
     Located just 10km (6miles) away from downtown Chengdu, the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center has been created and imitated the pandas' natural habitat in order that they might have the best possible environment for rearing and breeding. The Center cares also for other rare and endangered wild animals. The Research Center covers an area of 560 mus (92 acres), 96% of which is verdure. Giant pandas, lesser pandas, black-necked cranes, white storks as well as over 20 species of rare animals are fed and bred there throughout the year. Verdant bamboo, bright flowers, fresh air, a natural hill scene and a beautiful artificial view are merged ingeniously at the base.
- The Leshan Giant Buddah: Located in the southwestern corner of Meishan county, at the center of a 160-km corridor between Chengdu and Leshan,the Sansu Shrine was the former residence of Su Xun, So Shi, and Su Zhe, famous writers from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). Standing at the toot of Mount Lingyun to the east of Leshan, the incredible Leshan Buddha is the largest .lone image of the Buddha in the world. Work on the masterpiece of religious sculpting hegan in 713, the I irst year of the reign of the Tang Emperor Kaiyuan, and lasted more than 90 years.
- Mt.Emei: Mount Emei is within the boundaries of Emeishan City, some 140 kilometers to the southwest of Chengdu and 33 kilometers to the east of Leshan. The mountain has four peaks, known as the Great E, 2nd E, 3rd E, and 4th E. The peaks rise one higher than the next to unfold into a vast and verdant scene, giving rise to the claim that "Emei's beauty is the finest under heaven." One of four famous Buddhist mountains in China, Emei includes several attractions, such as Baoguo Temple, Fuhu Temple, Leiyin Temple, Chunyang Palace, Da'e Temple, the Qingyin Pavilion, Hongchun Plain, Xian's Temple, Xixiang Pool, Golden Roof, Ten-Thousand-Year Temple, and White Dragon Cavern. In 1997, Mount Emei and the Leshan Grand Buddha were added to UNESCO's list of World Natural and Cultural Heritage.

Local Culture and Art

Known as a land of plenty, Sichuan has a long history and brilliant culture. The province includes 7 cities recognized by the central government as Statelevel historical and cultural cities. These are Chengdu, Zigong, Leshan, Yibin, Luzhou, Langzhong, and Dujiangyan. In addition, there are 40 key State-level reserves of cultural relics and 24 provincial-level historical and cultural cities or towns. Travellers can visit ancient irrigation works and towns. the former residences of famous Sichuan natives, Buddhist temples and Daoist shrines, forests of stone carvings, and prehistoric ruins, as well as modem art collections and state-of-the-art tourism facilities. Sichuan is home to 15 ethnic minorities, including the Tibetan, Yi, Qiang, and Naxi. Their traditional festivals offer another window on Chinese culture, including the lantern festival, the flower festival, horse racing, the torch festival, mountain pilgrimages, and others. The hospitality is legendary, and the native wines and cuisine are famous throughout the country and around the world.

Food

One of the four most famous in China. Sichuan cuisine features a variety of strong flavors in several styles. Sichuan cooking has been praised as having "one hundred dishes with one hundred flavors", but is particularly known for peppery dishes.
     Typical dishes are dry-stewed carp, dry-stewed shark's fin, meat in a clay dish, twice-cooked pork, spicy chicken, Zhangcha duck, spicy tofu, and bear's paw tofu. After thousands of years of development, Sichuan cuisine has become a favorite around the world.
     The Sichuan Hotpot originated in Chongqing and has become popular around China in recent years. The dish normally includes tripe blended with fresh fish, liver, duck's blood, and bamboo shoots. The meat and vegetable flavors are arranged in groups. Some of the more famous Sichuan snacks are stuffed balls made of glutinous rice flour, Longchaoshou dumplings, spicy sliced pork, meatballs, steamed bread stuffed with meat, and beef prepared in small bamboo steamer.

Shopping

Though not as famous as Hong Kong, Chengdu, too, is a shopping paradise characterized by the ancient culture of Shu which presents visitors a truly local flavor.
- Handicraft articles: Shu brocade, Shu embroidery, porcelain, bamboo weaving, bamboo articles and fan.
- Special local products: Tianfu peanut, Jiajiang fermented bean curd, Yibin sprouted broad bean, Pixian thick broad-bean sauce, Xinjin pickles, Guanghan silk twining rabbit, Jiang'an orange, Maowen apple, Longquan honey-dew peach and Cangxi snow pear.
- Famous liquor: Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao (old cellar), Jiannanchun, Quanxing Daqu, Lang liquor and Tuo Brand Qujiu.
- Famous tea: Mengding Huangya, Mengding Shihua, Emei Maofeng and Qingcheng Queshe.

Transportation

- By Air: Chengdu has one airport, the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), in the southwest of Chengdu City. It is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the center of Chengdu City. The facilities in the airport are complete.
- By Train: As the largest railway hub in southwest China, Chengdu Railway Station has trains to major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Urumqi, Xian, etc. A tourist express train serves neighboring areas including Guangyuan City, Yibin City, and Panzhihua City.
- By Bus: Chengdu has several main coach stations including Chengdu Bus Station (Wugui Bridge Bus Station), New South Gate Bus Station, Ximen (West Gate) Bus Station, Dongmen (East Gate) Bus Station, Chadianzi Bus Station, Beimen (North Gate) Bus Station, and Gaosuntang Bus Station.