Chengdu City Map

Natural &Geographic Situation

Chengdu is situated in the middle of Sichuan Province, the West Sichuan Plain.Covering an area of 12390 sq km, it is 192 KM long from east to west and 166 KM wide from south to north. Up to the year 2000, the city zone of Chengdu is 208 sq km. Chengdu is adjacent to Deyang City in the northwest, Ziyang District in the southeast, Meishan District in the south, Yaan District in southwest and Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in the northwest. Chengdu belongs to inland zone. It is 1,600 km away from the East China Sea and 1,090 km from the South China Sea.

Topographic Features:The geology of Chengdu has a long history and the stratigraphic exposure is relatively complete. The hypsography of Chengdu slants gradually from northwest to southeast. Characterized by hills and gullies is the western peripheral area of Sichuan Basin, which is 1,000 -3,000 above the sea level.

Climate: Located in the bordering areas of the Sichuan northwest highland and Sichuan basin, Chengdu has its own climatic features. First, the eastern part of the city is different from western part in climatic zone, due to the abrupt change of the height from the east to the west. In Chengdu, generally speaking, the west is cool while the east is warm at the same time. Even in the same mountain, the foot of hill is several degrees higher in temperature than that on the top of the hill.

History of Chengdu

Chengdu enjoys a long history. 2,500 years ago, Kaiming IX, king of ancient Shu in the Zhou Dynasty (11th century 256BC), started to set up the capital in Chengdu. "A town was built in this area in the first year and the capital in the second year, so the ancestor named the city as Chengdu, which means to become a capital. Later on, Chengdu gradually became one of the most important centers of politics, economy and culture in China. It has been the capital for the feudal dynasties five times and twice for the peasant uprising regimes, known as Dashu and Daxi. As early as in the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD)), Chengdu began to enjoy the fame of one of the Top Five Capitals. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Chengdu was reputed as the Yang (Yangzhou) first, yi (Chengdu) second; it had by then became the economic center just after Yangzhou. In the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-8AD), brocades produced in Chengdu were very popular in China. So Chengdu was also called the City of Brocade. In the Five Kingdoms Period (907-960), Mengchang, king of the Houshu Kingdom, decreed to plant hibiscuses on the protective wall of the city, so Chengdu was also called the City of Hibiscus. As one of Chinas famous historical and cultural cities, Chengdu enjoys rich tourist resources. 15,500 years ago, a well-known poet in the Jin Kingdom, Zuo Si extolled Chengdu as lofty and pretty. This city has also gained the eulogium by both Li Bai, the poet immortal and Du Fu, the poet sage. With rich cultural heritage and beautiful scenic spots, Chengdu is a peaceful and prosperous city.

Chengdu Travel Guide

Jiuzhaigou (Nine Stockaded Gap) Nated by the UN as one of the greatest natural legacies in the world. Jiuzhaigou is located in the Nanping county of Aba province which lies 450 kilomiles away from Chengdu.