About Sichuan

Sichuan 四川 is a province in western China with its capital in Chengdu. It is the 5th biggest province in China, covering an area of 485,000km². However, despite it being the 5th largest province in China, it only covers %5.03 of her total land mass. There are an estimated 87,250,000 people living in Sichuan province, most living in the 18 cities which are still rapidly growing and modernising at what seems like an infinite rate.

Deyang, is just one of those 18 cities and will be my home during my time in China. It has a rough population of 3,810,000 

(Thats roughly 80,000 more people then the entire population of Wales, my home country. As a comparison, Cardiff, the Welsh capital city has a mere population of roughly 317,500!)

The area lies in the Sichuan basin and is surrounded by the Himalayas (喜玛拉雅山脉）to the west, Qinling (秦岭) range to the north, and mountainous areas of Yunnan to the south. The Yangtze River flows through the basin and thus is upstream to areas of eastern China. It sits on Longmen Shan Fault which contributed to the devestating earthquake of May '08

The Sichuanese are proud of their cuisine. Sichuan cuisine can be described as "one dish, one shape, hundreds of dishes, hundreds of tastes", as an old chinese saying goes. The most prominent traits of Sichuanese cuisine are described by four words: spicy, hot, fresh and fragrant. A famous dish is the Sichuan Hot Pot.

The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries in the south west of Sichuan are home to more then 30% of the worlds highly endangered Giant Pandas. Along with the Giant Panda, the sanctuary is a refuge to other endangered species such as the red panda, the snow leopard, and the clouded leopard.

Sichuan has been historically known as the "Province of Abundance". It is one of the major agricultural production bases of China. Grain, including rice and wheat, is the major product of this province