Chengdu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Administration Type | Sub-provincial city |
| City Seat | Qingyang District |
| Area | 12,390 km² |
| Population | 10,597,000 (2005) |
| Elevation | 500m/1650ft |
| GDP - Total - Per Capita |
¥275 billion ¥25,950 |
| Major Nationalities | Han |
| County-level divisions | 19 |
| Township-level divisions | |
| CPC Committee Secretary | Li Chuncheng (李春城) |
| Mayor | Ge Honglin (葛红林) |
| Area code | 028 |
| Postal Code | 610000 |
| License Plate Prefix | 川A |
Chengdu (Chinese: 成都; pinyin: Chéngdu; Wade-Giles: Ch'eng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of the Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. It is the 5th[1] most populous city in China. Chengdu is also one of the most important economic centers as well as transportation and communication hubs in China.
More than four thousand years ago, the prehistorical Bronze Age culture of Jinsha (Chinese: 金沙; pinyin: Jinsha) established itself in this region. The fertile Chengdu Plain, on which Chengdu is located, is called Tianfu zhi guo (Simplified Chinese: 天府之国; pinyin: Tianfu zhi guó) in Chinese, which literally means "the country of heaven", or more often seen translated as "the Land of Abundance".
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[edit] Population
Throughout most of Chinese history, Chengdu has been a city with a large number of people. By 2006 the population was 11.03 million, which made Chengdu the fifth largest city in China in terms of population, just following Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and Chongqing. Urban growth excluding recognized city dependants is 3.9 million.
There were close to 200 long-term foreign residents (not including Chinese from Hong Kong or Taiwan) living in the city in late 2004, according to unofficial US Consulate estimates. There are now many more foreigners living in this crowded city, who are often visible on the street scene.
[edit] Famous People From Chengdu
Sima Xiangru, the great writer in West Han Dynasty.
Zhuo Wenjun, Sima Xiangru's wife, the famous writer.
Yang Xiong, the great writer and philosopher in West Han Dynasty.
Chang Qu, the famous historian in West Jin Dynasty, his work 'Hua Yang Guo Zhi' is the first chinese historical geography work.
Xue Tao, the famous woman poet in Tang Dynasty.
Ba Jin, the great writer, was born in Chengdu and died in Shanghai in 2005.
Wang Guangxi, the famous musician, the first chinese awarded doctor degree of music.
Zhou Taixuan, the famous Biologist.
Li Jieren, the famous writer, was born in Chengdu in 1891.
Kong Xiangming, the famous female player of Go.
Zheng Jie and Yan Zi have been making quite an impact on the Women's Tennis Tour. Although both are successful in singles (Zheng Jie with two titles and Yan Zi with one), they are better known for their doubles grand slam wins in the 2006 Australian Open and in the 2006 Wimbledon.
[edit] History
In the early 4th century BC, the 9th Kaiming king of the ancient Shu moved his capital to the city's current location from today's nearby Pixian. He was said to have been inspired by the ancient story of King Tai of Zhou, Grandfather of King Wu of Zhou, moving his capital. History recorded King Tai of Zhou's move as "it took a year to become a town; it took seven years to become a capital". Following this, king of Shu named the new city as "Cheng Du", which means "become a capital" (In Chinese, the word "cheng" means "become", "du" means "capital"). There are, however, several versions of why the capital was moved to Chengdu, and more recent theories of the name's origin point to it as stemming from, or referring to, earlier non-Han inhabitants and/or their languages.
After the conquest of Shu by the State of Qin in 316 BC, a new city was founded by the Qin general Zhang Yi (who as a matter of fact had argued against the invasion). This can be seen as the beginning of the Chinese Chengdu. It was renamed Yìzhou (益州) during the Han Dynasty.
During the partition following the fall of the Western Han Dynasty, i.e., the era of the Three Kingdoms Liu Bei founded the Southwest kingdom of Shu-Han (Shu-Hàn 蜀汉) (221-263) with Chengdu as its capital.
During the Tang Dynasty, both the "Poet God" Li Bó (李白) and the "Poet Sage" Dù Fu (杜甫) spent some part of their lives in Chengdu. Du Fu constructed the celebrated "Caotáng" (?? or grass-hut) in the second year of his four-years stay (759-762). But today's Caotang, a rather sumptuous house in the traditional style, was only constructed in 1078 in memory of Du Fu.
Chengdu was also the birthplace of the first widely used paper money in the world (Northern Song Dynasty, around A.D. 960).
Two rebel leaders, one around the end of Song Dynasty, the other near the end of Ming Dynasty, set up the capitals of their short-lived kingdoms here, called Dàshu (大蜀) and Dàxi (大西), respectively.
The Second World War brought an unexpected wave of prosperity to Chengdu as the Guomindang (Chinese Nationalist) government under Chiang Kai-shek fled to Sichuan Province to escape the invading Japanese forces. They brought with them businesspeople, workers and academics, who founded many of the industries and cultural institutions which continue to make Chengdu an important center.
In 1944 the American XX Bomber Command launched Operation Matterhorn, an ambitious plan to base B-29 Superfortresses at Chengdu and strategically bomb the Japanese Home Islands. Because it required a massive airlift of fuel and supplies over the Himalayas, it was not a great military success, but it did earn Chengdu the distinction of launching the first serious retaliation against the Japanese homeland.
Chengdu was the last city on the Chinese mainland to be held by the Kuomintang-controlled government. R.O.C. President Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo directed the defence of the city at Chengdu Central Military Academy, until 1949 when the city fell into communist hands. The People's Liberation Army took the city on December 10 and the remnants of the Nationalist Chinese government fled to Taiwan.
Today the industrial base is very broad, including light and heavy manufacturing, aluminum smelting and chemicals. The textile industry remains important, with cotton and wool milling added to the traditional manufacturing of silk brocade and satin.
Today it is the headquarters of the Chengdu Military Region.
[edit] Previous names
In the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-23 AD), brocade produced in Chengdu enjoyed great popularity among the royal and elite class in China. Emperor installed Jin Guan (an official in charge of brocade production) to oversee brocade production in Chengdu. Since then, Chengdu has been called "Jin Guan Cheng" (Brocade Official's City), or in its short form, "Jin Cheng" (Brocade city).
In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-960), Mengchang, the king of the Later Shu Kingdom, ordered the planting of hibiscus on the fortress wall surrounding the city. After this, Chengdu started being referred as the City of Hibiscus. Nowadays, the hibiscus is still the city flower of Chengdu. But the last city wall was torn down in the 1960s along with the Royal Palace situated in the middle of the city.
I have to point out, that the aforementioned so-called "previous names" are not formal name, call them nickname should be more precisely. This name "Chengdu" is during thousands years since the city was founded never changed and the city also never moves.
[edit] Culture and folklore
The Sichuan cuisine is famous for being very spicy, but in fact only slightly more than 30% of dishes officially labeled "local" rely on chili pepper. The reputation for hot food is, however, much older than the use of peppers, which became common only in the 17-18th century.
Chengdu's cuisine is considered to be one of China's most outstanding. The many local specialties include Grandma Chen's Bean Curd (Mapo doufu), Chengdu Hot pot, and Carrying Pole Noodles (Dan Dan Noodles).
An article by the Los Angeles Times (2006) called Chengdu "China's party city". Chengdu outnumbers Shanghai in the number of tea houses and bars despite having less than half the population. The inhabitants have a reputation both within Sichuan and in China at large for having a laid back attitude and for knowing how to enjoy life.
[edit] Economy
Chengdu is home to several key industries and markets in China that are both significant for domestic and international markets. First, Sichuan Province and the Chengdu region have long been the capital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This combined with recent intrigue into pharmaceuticals has launched Chengdu into one of the major pharmaceutical R&D centers in China, as well as the leading R&D region in Western China. Similarly, Chengdu’s Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone has attracted a variety of multinationals (Intel and Microsoft), as well as domestic powerhouses such as Lenovo.
[edit] Financial Industry
Chengdu is now building itself to be the financial hub for West China and has successfully attracted major international financial institutions, including Citigroup, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, United Overseas Bank (Singapore). Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation (Singapore), ABN AMRO, Bank of East Asia, BNP Paribas etc.
Historically, Chengdu has marked its name in the history of financial innovation. The world’s first ever paper currency 'Jiao Zi' was seen in Chengdu in the year 1023, during the Song Dynasty of Ancient China.
Now, Chengdu is not only the gateway of West China for foreign financial institutions, but also a booming town for Chinese domestic financial firms. The Chinese monetary authority, People's Bank of China (China’s central bank), set its southwest China headquarters in Chengdu City. In addition, almost all domestic banks and securities brokerage firms located their regional headquarters or branches in Chengdu. At the same time, the local financial firms of Chengdu are strengthening their presences nationally, notably, West China Securities, GuoJin Securities and Chengdu Commercial Bank. Moreover, on top of banks and brokerage firms, the flourish of local economy lured more and more financial service firms to the city to capitalize on the economic growth. KPMG opened this first west China office in Chengdu City this October, and before the inauguration of KPMG Chengdu office, its rival, Ernst & Young, had already integrated Chengdu into its global operation for several years.
[edit] Defense Industry
Located within the city limits is the Chengdu Aircraft Company which produces the recently declassified J-10 Fighter. The company is one of the major manufacturers of Chinese Military aviation technology.
[edit] International Flights
Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is the sixth largest airport in mainland China, after Beijing Capital, Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao, Guangzhou Baiyun and Shenzhen Bao'an. By 2006, the passenger volume in Chengdu Shuangliu reached 16.28 million, which is one of World's 100 busiest airports by passenger traffic.
Currently, there are direct international flights connecting, Chengdu to Singapore (Silk Air and Air China), Chengdu to Bangkok (Thai Airways International), Chengdu to Tokyo (Air China), Chengdu to Seoul (Asiana Airlines and Air China), Chengdu to Phnom Penh (Angkor Airways), Chengdu to Amsterdam (KLM: Royal Dutch Airlines). The Chengdu to Kuala Lumpur route with Malaysia Airlines was canceled on 29 Nov 2006.
There are also intraregional flight connecting Chengdu to Hong Kong (Dragonair, Hong Kong Express and Air China) and Macau (Air Macau).
Chengdu was the fourth city in mainland China (behind Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou) to have direct intercontinental flights.
[edit] Colleges and universities
- Sichuan University (Founded in 1896)
- Sichuan Normal University(Founded in 1946)
- Southwest Jiaotong University (Founded in 1896)
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
- Southwestern University of Finance and Economics
- Southwest University for Nationalities
- Sichuan International Studies University
- Chengdu University of Technology
- Chengdu University of TCM
- Sichuan Conservatory of Music
- Chengdu University of Information Technology
- Chengdu Kinesiology University
- Xihua University
- Chengdu University
- Chengdu Medical College
Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.
[edit] High Schools
- Shishi Middle School [1]
- Chengdu Shude High School [2]
- Chengdu No. Seven High School [3]
- Chengdu Liewu High School [4]
- Chengdu No. Twelve High School(The High School Attached to Sichuan University) [5]
- Chengdu Foreign languages School
- Chengdu Experimental Foreign languages School
- Chengdu International School [6]
- PengZhou middle School
[edit] Consulates in Chengdu
In 1986, the United States Consulate General at Chengdu was established. It is the first consulate established in west-central China since 1949. Currently six countries have established consulates in Chengdu. The United Kingdom also established a visa application center in Chengdu. A Pakistani consulate will be opened soon.
| Consulate | Year | Consular District |
|---|---|---|
 United States Consulate General Chengdu |
1986 | Sichuan/Chongqing/Yunnan/Guizhou/Tibet |
 Germany Consulate General Chengdu |
2003 | Sichuan/Chongqing/Yunnan/Guizhou |
 Republic of Korea Consulate General Chengdu |
2004 | Sichuan/Chongqing/Yunnan/Guizhou |
 Thailand Consulate General Chengdu |
2004 | Sichuan/Chongqing |
 France Consulate General Chengdu |
2005 | Sichuan/Chongqing/Yunnan/Guizhou |
 Singapore Consulate Chengdu |
2006 | Sichuan |
 Pakistan Consulate General Chengdu |
2007 | Sichuan/Chongqing/Yunnan/Guizhou/Tibet |
[edit] Sister Cities
In 1979, Chengdu signed a sister city agreement with Montpellier, France, the first pair of Sino-French sister cities. Later Chengdu signed sister city agreements with cities in ten countries, as well as signing a friendly region agreement with Dalarna province in Sweden. Chengdu has had many friendly exchanges with the sister cities. Montpellier, for example, has a Chengdu Street and a Chengdu Plaza.The soccer team Chengdu Blades is owned by Sheffield United FC.
- Montpellier, France (1979)
Ljubljana, Slovenia (1981)
Linz, Austria (1983)
Kofu, Japan (1983)- Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America (1986)
Winnipeg, Canada (1988)
Mechelen, Belgium (1993)
Palermo, Italy (1999)- Gimcheon, Republic of Korea (2000)
Medan, Indonesia(2001)
[edit] Notes
- ^ As of 2005.
[edit] See also
- List of cities in the People's Republic of China by population
- Capitals of subnational entities of China
- List of current and former capitals of subnational entities of China
[edit] External links
- Official site, in English
- Satellite picture by Google Maps
- Living on Earth radio program, that describes Chengdu as a "backwater city in western China, became an urban metropolis overnight"
- Chengdu weather forecast and links to images of the city
Prefecture-level divisions of Sichuan
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| List of Sichuan County-level divisions |
