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Sichuan, China

Sichuan Province
四川省
Province
Name transcription(s)
 • Chinese 四川省 (Sìchuān Shěng)
 • Abbreviation or (pinyin: Chuān or Shǔ
Sichuanese: Cuan1 or Su2)
 • Sichuanese Si4cuan1 Sen3
Map showing the location of Sichuan Province
Map showing the location of Sichuan Province
Coordinates: 30°08′N 102°56′E / 30.133°N 102.933°E / 30.133; 102.933Coordinates: 30°08′N 102°56′E / 30.133°N 102.933°E / 30.133; 102.933
Named for Short for 川峡四路 chuānxiá sìlù
literally "The Four Circuits
of the Rivers and Gorges",
referring to the four circuits during the Song dynasty
Capital
(and largest city)
Chengdu
Divisions 21 prefectures, 181 counties, 5011 townships
Government
 • Secretary Wang Dongming
 • Governor Yin Li
Area
 • Total 485,000 km2 (187,000 sq mi)
Area rank 5th
Population (2013)
 • Total 81,100,000
 • Rank 4th
 • Density 170/km2 (430/sq mi)
 • Density rank 22nd
Demographics
 • Ethnic composition Han - 95%
Yi - 2.6%
Tibetan - 1.5%
Qiang - 0.4%
 • Languages and dialects Southwestern Mandarin (Sichuanese Mandarin), Khams Tibetan
ISO 3166 code CN-51
Vehicle registration 川A-Z
GDP (2016) CNY 3.27 trillion
USD 492.01 billion (9th)
 • per capita CNY 39,835
USD 5,999 (25th)
HDI (2014) 0.720 (high) (23rd)
Website www.sichuan.gov.cn
Sichuan
Sichuan (Chinese characters).svg
"Sichuan" in Chinese characters
Chinese
Postal Szechwan
Literal meaning "Four River [Circuits]"
Former names
Ba and Shu
Chinese

Sichuan, formerly romanized Szechuan, is a province in southwest China occupying most of the Sichuan Basin between the Himalayas on the west, the Daba Mountains in the north, and the Yungui Plateau to the east. Sichuan's capital city is Chengdu.

In antiquity, Sichuan was the home of the ancient states of Ba and Shu. Their conquest by Qin strengthened it and paved the way for the First Emperor's unification of China under the Qin Dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms era, Liu Bei's Shu was based in Sichuan. The area was devastated in the 17th century by Zhang Xianzhong's rebellion and the area's subsequent Manchu conquest, but recovered to become one of China's most productive areas by the 19th century. During the Second World War, Chongqing served as the temporary capital of the Republic of China, making it the focus of Japanese bombing. It was one of the last mainland areas to fall to the Communists during the Chinese Civil War and was divided into four parts from 1949 to 1952, with Chongqing restored two years later. It suffered gravely during the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–61 but remained China's most populous province until Chongqing Municipality was again separated from it in 1997.


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