Chengdu

Meaning of the name
"Becoming Capital"

Chengdu is depicted in a poem as "Chengdu Landscape, as if endowed by the Ninth Heaven, is shared in the creations of many a master artist." A magnificent and modern provincial capital, Southeast of the Sichuan basin, Chengdu enjoys temperate climate and plentiful products.

The city located between latitude 10255 and 10453 east and longitude 3006 and 3126 north. With an annual rainfall of 997.6 mm, it occupies an area of 12,389.6 square kilometres, and now has over 3 million inhabitants in the city proper, and over 10 million in greater Chengdu. The average annual temperature of 16.2 , an annual sunshine time is 1,239 hours and the frost-free period is 300 days.

Chengdu is more than 2,000 years old. In contrast to some other Chinese urban centres, and despite raging redevelopment, Chengdu has managed to preserve the atmosphere how one might imagine China to have once been sometime in the past.

Chengdu was already the political, economic, and cultural centre of western Sichuan by 400 B.C. During the Five Dynasties Period (907-960), Meng Chang, a ruler of later Shu, had numerous hibiscus trees planted on the city wall, so the town eventually became known as the City of Hibiscus.

Skirted by famed tourist cities: Chongqing, Lhasa, Xi'an, Kunming, Guilin etc., Chengdu serves as the hub of communication and a tourist transit centre. Major tourist attractions include: Temple of Marquis Wu, Du Fu's Thatched Cottage, Wang Jian Tomb, River-viewing Pavilion, River Funan -- a city mote, Baoguang Temple, Giant Panda Breeding Base, Dujiangyan Ancient Water Project, Mount Qingchengshan and Xiling Snow Mountain and so on.

Chengdu, also known as the hibiscus city or the brocade city, has been a famous cultural centre with age-old colourful traditions of both religious and civil significance for the past 2,500 years in Chinese history. With the coming of the spring, peach blossoms abound on the plain and rape-seed flowers tinge the landscape golden while the wafting cooking smoke curls up from the farm huts amidst bamboo groves. All this makes the city and its suburbs truly poetic. The annual happy occasions of the traditional lantern festival, flower show, the yearly opening of the sluices at the Dujiangyan, the dragon boat races at Xinjing, and the folk-lore sing song contests at Wang-cong Memorial Temple are also charming and captivating scenes. The old street scene at Huanglongxi township, the gorgeous mansions of the Liu family at Dayi county and a number of picturesque civilian villages are well preserved for people and future generations to appreciate. In Tiexiangsi, there is the College for Buddhist nuns in China, and the Guanyin Temple in Xinjing has preserved the most lively colour sculpture and wall-painting of Ming Dynasty, Zhaojue Temple, Wenshu Monastery, Baoguang Temple and Daci Temple in the city are known as "the four famous Buddhist monasteries in western Sichuan". Hemingshan at Diyi county is the sacred seat of origin for Taoism, and Qingyang Palace is the best preserved memorial temple for Laotzu, the founder and master of the Taoist faith. Sichuan opera with the Chengdu brand as representative, is one of the principal genres of regional drama. It is particularly famous for its sense of humour and its unique skills in "Changing one's countenance".

Built on flat ground, Chengdu can easily be explored on foot or by bicycle. It has almost a southern aspect, with colorful old streets lined by scores of small restaurants and walkways that remain crowded until late with traders, buyers, and people out for a stroll.

One could eat one's way through the region's countless specialties by visiting the snack bars or teahouses, which often have free performances of Sichuan opera or other instrumental pieces to entertain guests as they sip their jasmine tea. These teahouses are popular gaming hangouts, particularly for older men playing Chinese chess, which resembles the Western game of chess. Not surprisingly, many teahouses have recently transformed into small cinemas, with recent releases shown from video discs.

Attractions in Chengdu

Chengdu Package Tour

Location: located between 10254' - 10453' east longitude and 3005' - 3126' north latitude, and in the hinterland of China's Sichuan province.

Neighboring areas: Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi, Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, and Yunnan Provinces, Tibet Autonomous Region

Population: 9.9million

Area: 12,300 sq km

Culture
The famous Tang dynasty poet Du Fu lived in Chengdu, and his thatched cottage remains one of the city's most popular tourist attractions.

In her memoir Wild Swans, Jung Chang tells of her coming of age during the Great Cultural Revolution of 1966-76 while living in Chengdu.

Only 150km away from Chengdu, in the Himalaya Mountains, are some of the last wild giant pandas left on earth. Just outside of Chengdu is the Panda Research Center where scientists hope to breed enough captive pandas to ensure the survival of the species.

Food
Chengdu's cuisine has been described as "one of China's most outstanding". The many local specialties include Grandma Chen's Bean Curd (Chen Mapo Dofu) with minced meat, chilli oil and wild pepper sauce and Husband and Wife Beef Slices.

Folklore
The sky is almost always cloudy in Chengdu and the people are shorter than average for China, so the locals say that they are so small because the sky is so low!

Climate lies in subtropical humid climate with free-frost period of about 337 days and average rainfall of 900-1,300mm per year, annual average humidity is 82%, and the sunshine ratio is 28%

Average Temperature: 15.5C -16.5C
Rainfall: average rainfall of 900-1,300mm annually

Mountain: Mt Qingchengshan, Mt. Emeishan

Rivers: Minjiang River, the Tuojiang River and other over 40 rivers