Chengdu

Chengdu is the capital of "Heavenly State" (Tian Fu Zhi Guo), habitat of giant pandas and city of cotton-rose hibiscus.
Located in the west of Sichuan Basin and in the center of Chengdu Plain, Chengdu covers a total area of 12.3 thousand square kilometres (4,749 square miles) with a population of over 11 million.

Benefiting from Dujiangyan Irrigation Project which was constructed in 256 B.C., Sichuan Province is reputed as "Tian Fu Zhi Guo", literally a place richly endowed with natural resources. Chengdu, as the capital, is extremely productive. The Min and Tuo Rivers, two branches of the Yangtze River, connected to forty other rivers, supply an irrigation area of more than 700 square kilometres (270.27 square miles) with 150-180 million kilowatts of water. Consisting of abundant mineral resources, the land is extremely fertile.

The history of Chengdu can be traced back 2,400 when the first emperor built his capital here and named the city. Through thousands of years its original name has been kept and its position as the capital and as the significant center of politics, commerce and military of the Sichuan area (once called Shu) has remained unchanged. Since the Han (206B.C.-220) and Tang (618-907) Dynasties when its handicraft industry flourished, Chengdu has been famous for its brocades and embroideries. Shu embroideries still enjoy a high reputation for their bright colors and delicate designs, ranking among the four main embroideries in China. Chengdu was the place where the bronze culture, an indispensable part of ancient Chinese culture, originated, the place where the Southern Silk Road started, and the place where the earliest paper currency, Jiaozi (not the dumpling!), was first printed. It is listed among the first 24 state-approved historical and cultural cities and owns 23 state and provincial cultural relic units.
In addition to its profound historical and cultural background featuring historic places of interest such as the Thatched Cottage of Du Fu , Wuhou Memorial Temple and Wenshu Monastery , etc, natural beauty abounds in surrounding areas such as in the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area and Huang Long Valley (Yellow Dragon Valley) . The natural habitat of giant pandas, Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center , supports the world's only giant panda breeding and research base.
Sampling the famous Sichuan cuisine is a must on a trip to Chengdu. Enjoying the food as well as the culture, shopping and having tea at a teahouse afford a deeper understanding of Chengdu.

Improved land and airlines extending nationwide provide greater convenience. Chengdu is also the main inland access city to Tibet.

Chengdu the earliest settlement in Southwest China is a famous cultural city with a recorded history of more than 2,300 years, although there is evidence of human habitation there 3,700 – 4,500 years ago. This is a rare and great city. Its name has never changed and since its foundation, the city has always been the capital of Sichuan province. The geographical location of the fertile Chengdu Plain has proved beneficial to the local populace.

Ancient Shu Kingdom

The Shu is an age-old ethnic group. The earliest Shu people moved to Sichuan and established their own kingdom more than four or five thousand years ago. They created the most brilliant civilization of Sichuan and the fertile Chengdu Plain was the center of the Shu Kingdom. The 3,200 year-old Sanxindui Cultural Site in Central China was probably the kingdom's early capital. A new cultural branch from the west plateau invaded the Chengdu Plain and so formed the Sanxingdui Culture by assimilation with that of the plain, culminating in a pinnacle during the development of the Shu Kingdom.

Some 2,300 years ago, the capital relocated to present Chengdu and for a long time, people deemed that the Chengdu built during that period was the real start of the city.
Jinsha Culture

However, the discovery of Jinsha Cultural Site in 2001 (in Jinsha Village, west suburb of Chengdu) overthrows the common impression of Chengdu's history. The establishment of Chengdu city recedes for 700 years (from 2,300 year ago to 3,000 year ago). A great number of excavations from Jinsha Site exhibit a different ancient civilization from that of Central China but relative to Sanxingdui Culture. Apart from jade articles, there are many astonishing bronze masks, tree-shaped articles as well as gold masks and staffs. Gold masks and staffs are rarely found in Chinese ancient culture but they are suggestive of the gold masks of the ancient Egyptian and Mycenaean Civilizations while the sacred tree and staff occurred in Mesopotamia.

All of these add an exotic flavor to Jinsha. There do remain some unsolved mysteries, but most people would rather to believe that Jinsha is another center of ancient Shu Kingdom (late Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th Century BC) to Western Zhou Dynasty (11th Century BC - 771 BC)) after the vanishing of Sanxingdui, and Chengdu is undoubtedly the central area of the ancient kingdom.