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81-624: The Sichuan Basin is an expansive 229,500 km (88,600 sq mi) lowland region in China that is surrounded by upland regions and mountains. Much of the basin is covered in hilly terrain. The basin covers the eastern third of Sichuan Province and the western half of Chongqing Municipality . The westernmost section of the Sichuan Basin is the Chengdu Plain , occupied by Chengdu , provincial capital of Sichuan. The Chengdu Plain

162-470: A subarctic climate ( Köppen Dwc )- featuring extremely cold winters down to −30 °C and even cold summer nights. The region is geologically active with landslides and earthquakes. Average elevation ranges from 2,000 to 3,500 meters; average temperatures range from 0 to 15 °C. The southern part of the province, including Panzhihua and Xichang, has a sunny climate with short, very mild winters and very warm to hot summers. Sichuan borders Qinghai to

243-524: A critically endangered WWF ecoregion . The ecoregion occupies the Sichuan Basin in China and covers an area of 9,816,054 ha (24,256,000 acres). The broadleaf forest habitat once covered the Sichuan Basin, but today is limited to mountains and preserved temple grounds in the basin and around the basin's rim. An especially well-preserved example of remaining forest exists on Mount Emei at

324-670: Is a well-preserved 15th-century monastery complex built between 1440 and 1446 during the Zhengtong Emperor 's reign (1427–64). Dabei Hall enshrines a thousand-armed wooden image of Guanyin and Huayan Hall is a repository with a revolving sutra cabinet. The wall paintings, sculptures, and other ornamental details are masterpieces of the Ming period. In the middle of the 17th century, the peasant rebel leader Zhang Xianzhong (1606–1646) from Yan'an , Shaanxi Province, nicknamed Yellow Tiger , led his peasant troop from north China to

405-408: Is abundant where they live, pandas' diet consists of 99% bamboo, with small other plants, or small animals consisting of the other 1%. As the panda is native to China, they have become a national symbol of China. The politics of Sichuan is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China . The governor of Sichuan is the highest-ranking official in

486-607: Is commonly believed that the name Sichuan means 'four rivers '; in folk etymology , this is usually taken to mean four of the province's major rivers: the Jialing , Jinsha (or Wu ), Min , and Tuo . According to historical geographer Tan Qixiang , 'four rivers' is an erroneous interpretation of the name. The name of the province is a contraction of the phrases 'Four Plain Circuits ' ( 四川路 ; Sìchuān lù ) and 'Four Circuits of Chuanxia' ( 川峽四路 ; chuānxiásìlù ), referring to

567-710: Is evidenced at its margins. Orogeny formed by the Indian Plate 's collision with Eurasia has compressed against the Sichuan Basin's western edge, most notably along the Longmenshan Fault , the epicenter of the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake . The basin's rigidity withstands much of the Tibetan Plateau's eastern movement, but dramatic folds have formed within the Yangtze Plate along the Sichuan Basin's eastern edges. Here, ancient faults interact with

648-609: Is largely alluvial , formed by the Min River and other rivers fanning out when entering the basin from the northwest. This flat region is separated from the rest of the basin by the Longquan Mountains . The central portions of the Sichuan Basin are generally rolling, covered by low hills, eroded remnants of the uplifted Sichuan Basin floor . In some parts of the extreme northern Basin and in Weiyuan County in

729-469: Is rich in mineral resources. It has more than 132 kinds of proven underground mineral resources including vanadium, titanium, and lithium is the largest in China. The Panxi region alone possesses 13.3% of the reserves of iron, 93% of titanium, 69% of vanadium, and 83% of cobalt in the whole country. Sichuan also possesses China's largest proven natural gas reserves (such as the Dazhou and Yuanba gas fields ),

810-488: Is said to have been utilized by the Qin to first conquer the Sichuan Basin in 316 BC. Transportation to the west from Sichuan has proven to be an even greater challenge, with steep mountains and deep valleys hindering movement. Nevertheless, the Sichuan Basin has played a role as a stopover on the southern Silk Road and provided the most direct route between India and China. The southern trade route to Tibet also passed through

891-762: Is surrounded by the Hengduan Mountains to the west, the Qin Mountains to the north, and Yungui Plateau to the south. Since the Yangtze flows through the basin and then through the perilous Three Gorges to eastern and southern China, Sichuan was a staging area for amphibious military forces and a haven for political refugees. Qin armies finished their conquest of the kingdoms of Shu and Ba by 316 BC. Any written records and civil achievements of earlier kingdoms were destroyed. Qin administrators introduced improved agricultural technology. Li Bing , engineered

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972-562: Is the petroleum industry, currently exploring and extracting from oil reserves locked under the eastern parts of the basin. While population growth stagnated during the Great Leap Forward, it has since recovered. Today, the basin has a population of approximately 100 million. Administratively, the entire basin was part of Sichuan province until Chongqing was separated into a provincial-level municipality in 1997. In addition to Chengdu and Chongqing, significant cities found within

1053-702: The Chronicles of Huayang compiled in the Jin dynasty (266–420) , and the Han-dynasty compilation Chronicle of the Kings of Shu  [ zh ] . These contained folk stories such as that of Emperor Duyu  [ zh ] who taught the people agriculture and transformed himself into a cuckoo after his death. The existence of a highly developed civilization with an independent bronze industry in Sichuan

1134-566: The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding . Sichuan is the 6th-largest provincial economy of China, the largest in Western China , and the second-largest among inland provinces after Henan . As of 2021, its nominal GDP was CN¥5,385 billion (US$ 847.68 billion), ahead of that of Turkey ($ 815 billion). If it were its own country, Sichuan would be the 18th-largest economy and 19th-most populous as of 2021. It

1215-566: The Daba Mountains , in the province's northeast. The Yangtze River and its tributaries flow through the mountains of western Sichuan and the Sichuan Basin; thus, the province is upstream of the great cities that stand along the Yangtze River further to the east, such as Chongqing , Wuhan , Nanjing , and Shanghai . One of the major tributaries of the Yangtze within the province is the Min River of central Sichuan, which joins

1296-412: The Daba Mountains , themselves a result of pressure between the Yangtze and Eurasian Plates in a perpendicular direction. Until 6 million years ago, a large lake filled the Sichuan Basin. The basin's soils today are largely exposed red sandstone, leading to the "Red Basin" nickname for the region. The Sichuan Basin's well preserved Jurassic layers have proven valuable to paleontology , such of those of

1377-482: The Daba Mountains evergreen forests to the northeast and east. Previously only known in fossils and thought to be extinct, the Dawn Redwood ( Metasequoia glyptostroboides ) was rediscovered in 1943 in the hilly Lichuan County , on the eastern mountain fringe of the Sichuan Basin. The Dawn Redwood is distinctive because it is a deciduous conifer. Relative to the areas surrounding the upper Yellow River and

1458-690: The Dadu River caused by an earthquake gave way on 10 June 1786. The resulting flood killed 100,000 people. In the early 20th century, the newly founded Republic of China established the Chuanbian Special Administrative District ( 川邊特別行政區 ) on the province's territories to the west of the Sichuan Basin . The Special District later became the province of Xikang , incorporating the areas inhabited by Yi , Tibetan , and Qiang ethnic minorities to its west, and eastern part of today's Tibet Autonomous Region . In

1539-475: The Dujiangyan irrigation system to control the Min River , a major tributary of the Yangtze. This innovative hydraulic system was composed of movable weirs which could be adjusted for high or low water flow according to the season, to either provide irrigation or prevent floods. The increased agricultural output and taxes made the area a source of provisions and men for Qin's unification of China. Sichuan

1620-582: The Hengduan Mountains . One of these ranges, the Daxue Mountains , contains the highest point of the province Gongga Shan , at 7,556 m (24,790 ft) above sea level. The mountains are formed by the collision of the Tibetan Plateau with the Yangtze Plate . Faults here include the Longmenshan Fault which ruptured during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Other mountain ranges surround the Sichuan Basin from north, east, and south. Among them are

1701-562: The Min River , which enters the basin from the northwest at Dujiangyan City and flows southerly to meet the Jinsha at Yibin where together they form the Yangtze in name. The Dadu River enters from the west and joins the Min at Leshan . The Sichuan Basin forms the rigid northwest edge of the Yangtze tectonic plate . The Yangtze Plate's complex relationship with the surrounding Eurasian Plate

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1782-489: The North China Plain , the Sichuan Basin has played a peripheral role in the development of Chinese civilization . Due to the fertile agricultural characteristics of the basin, numerous cultures developed prior to integration with ancient Chinese dynasties. No written records exist from early cultures in the Sichuan Basin. What little is known about the area is from when contact was made with Shang and Zhou and from

1863-488: The Qin Mountains to the north. The basin was also connected with Yunnan to the southwest in 1970 , Hubei to the east in 1979 , and Guizhou to the south in 2001 . In the 21st century, many high-speed rail lines have been built or planned for the Sichuan Basin including the Chengdu-Guiyang and Chengdu-Xi'an lines. Highway construction within Sichuan Basin intensified in the 21st century. Expressways through

1944-691: The Shang in northern China. The region had its own distinct religious beliefs and worldview. The earliest excavated culture found therein is the Baodun culture ( c. 2700–1750 BC) excavated in the Chengdu Plain . The most important native states were those of Ba and Shu. Ba stretched into Sichuan from the Han Valley in Shaanxi and Hubei down the Jialing River as far as its confluence with

2025-488: The Shaximiao Formation , near Zigong , which preserves abundant remains of dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. Originally, the Sichuan Basin was covered by the Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests . With human settlement, agriculture has taken root across most of the fertile basin and reduced the original forest to small patches on hills and mountains including Mount Emei . The extensive ridges in

2106-608: The Sui dynasty , but it was during the subsequent Tang dynasty that Sichuan regained its previous political and cultural prominence for which it was known during the Han. Chengdu became nationally known as a supplier of armies and the home of Du Fu , who is sometimes called China's greatest poet. During the An Lushan Rebellion (755–763), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang fled from Chang'an to Sichuan which became his refuge. The region

2187-460: The Ten Kingdoms period (907–979). Currently, both characters for Shu and Chuan are common abbreviations for Sichuan. The region was formerly referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions . The Sichuan Basin and adjacent areas of the Yangtze watershed were a cradle of indigenous civilizations dating back to at least the 15th century BC, coinciding with

2268-735: The Tuo River , the Fu River , and the Qu River . Due to the surrounding mountains, the Sichuan Basin often experiences fog and smog as a result of temperature inversion caused by the basin's convective layer being capped by a layer of air moving east across the Tibet Plateau. A moist, often overcast, four-season climate dominates the basin, with cool to mild winters occasionally experiencing frost, and hot, very humid summers . The intensity of summer varies rather widely throughout

2349-583: The Yangtze at Chongqing . Shu occupied the valley of the Min , including Chengdu and other areas of western Sichuan. The existence of the early state of Shu was poorly recorded in the main historical records of China. It was, however, referred to in the Book of Documents as an ally of the Zhou. Accounts of Shu exist mainly as a mixture of mythological stories and historical legends recorded in local annals such as

2430-417: The "Province of Abundance". It is one of the major agricultural production bases of China. Grain, including rice and wheat, is the major product with output that ranked first in China in 1999. Commercial crops include citrus fruits, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, peaches, and grapes. Sichuan also had the largest output of pork among all the provinces and the second largest output of silkworm cocoons in 1999. Sichuan

2511-472: The 100 million mark shortly after the 1982 census figure of 99,730,000. This changed in 1997 when the Sub-provincial city of Chongqing as well as the three surrounding prefectures of Fuling , Wanxian , and Qianjiang were split off into the new Chongqing Municipality . The new municipality was formed to spearhead China's effort to economically develop its western provinces, as well as to coordinate

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2592-716: The 19th century. During World War II , Chongqing served as the temporary capital of the Republic of China , and was heavily bombed . It was one of the last mainland areas captured by the People's Liberation Army 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 (1959–1961) but remained China's most-populous province until Chongqing

2673-685: The 20th century, as Beijing , Shanghai , Nanjing , and Wuhan had all been occupied by the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War , the capital of the Republic of China had been temporarily relocated to Chongqing , then a major city in Sichuan. An enduring legacy of this move is those nearby inland provinces, such as Shaanxi , Gansu , and Guizhou , which previously never had modern Western-style universities , began to be developed in this regard. The difficulty of accessing

2754-570: The Basin. Sichuanese cuisine today is renowned for its unique flavours and levels of spiciness. The Sichuanese branch of Mandarin Chinese is barely mutually intelligible with Standard Mandarin and originated in the Sichuan Basin. Today, Sichuanese is spoken throughout eastern Sichuan province, Chongqing, southern Shaanxi , and western Hubei . While transportation across the Sichuan Basin has been facilitated by relative flatness, access to and from

2835-727: The Communists one after another, the Kuomintang government again tried to make Sichuan its stronghold on the mainland, although it already saw some Communist activity since it was one area on the road of the Long March . Chiang Kai-shek himself flew to Chongqing from Taiwan in November 1949 to lead the defense. But the same month Chongqing switched to the Communists, followed by Chengdu on 10 December. The Kuomintang general Wang Sheng wanted to stay behind with his troops to continue

2916-679: The Kingdom of Shu-Han as a step on the path to reuniting China. Salt production becomes a major business in Ziliujing District . During the Six Dynasties period of Chinese disunity, Sichuan began to be populated by non- Han ethnic minority peoples, owing to the migration of Gelao people from the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the Sichuan basin. Sichuan came under the firm control of a Chinese central government during

2997-619: The People's Government of Sichuan. However, in the province's dual party-government governing system, the Governor has less power than the Sichuan Communist Party of China's Party Committee Secretary , colloquially termed the "Sichuan CCP Party Chief". Sichuan is the 6th-largest provincial economy of China, the largest in Western China and the second largest among inland provinces after Henan . As of 2021, its nominal GDP

3078-464: The Sichuan Basin include Guangyuan , Mianyang , Deyang , Nanchong , Guang'an , Dazhou , Ya'an , Meishan , Leshan , Ziyang , Suining , Neijiang , Zigong , Yibin , and Luzhou . The former cities of Fuling and Wanzhou are now considered districts within Chongqing, but maintain their status as separate urban centres along the Yangtze. Some unique elements of Sichuanese culture remain in

3159-485: The Sichuan Basin was at the centre of another independent Shu State , until it was reunified with China in the 3rd century CE by the Jin dynasty . Around this time the basin's population is estimated to have been 1 million, with Chengdu the leading city. After the collapse of the Tang dynasty in 907, the Sichuan Basin became home to a third Shu state , this time lasting only two decades. During successive Chinese dynasties,

3240-490: The Sichuan Basin was firmly integrated with Greater China . Mass migration occurred during the Ming dynasty as the basin became one of the primary rice-producing regions of China. The basin's population fell sharply in the 17th century due to devastation caused by famine, war, and possible genocide. After this time, the basin was repopulated with emigrants from China, further assimilating the unique cultures and peoples inhabiting

3321-434: The Sichuan tea industry to pay for warhorses, but this state intervention eventually brought devastation to the local economy. The line of defense was finally broken through after the first use of firearms in history during the six-year Battle of Xiangyang , which ended in 1273. Allegedly there were a million pieces of unspecified types of skeleton bones belonging to war animals and both Song and Yuan soldiers who perished in

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3402-627: The Wu Mountains to the east. Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China , occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau —between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Chengdu , and its population stands at 83 million. Sichuan neighbors Qinghai and Gansu to the north, Shaanxi and Chongqing to

3483-475: The Yangtze at Yibin . There are also a number of other rivers, such as the Jialing River , Tuo River , Yalong River , Wu River , and Jinsha River , and any four of the various rivers are often grouped as the "four rivers" that the name of Sichuan is commonly and mistakenly believed to mean. Due to great differences in terrain, the climate of the province is highly variable. In general, it has strong monsoonal influences, with rainfall heavily concentrated in

3564-417: The anticommunist guerilla war in Sichuan, but was recalled to Taiwan. Many of his soldiers made their way there as well, via Burma . The People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, and it split Sichuan into four areas and separated Chongqing municipality. Sichuan was reconstituted in 1952, with Chongqing added in 1954, while the former Xikang province was split between Tibet in the west and Sichuan in

3645-589: The archaeological site of Sanxingdui . Predominant among the known ancient cultures was the Shu State that was independent from the Zhou until it was strategically conquered by the Qin in 316 BCE during the Warring States period . The Sichuan Basin was integrated into Imperial China under Qin dynasty for whom it was an important agricultural resource. During the period of the Three Kingdoms ,

3726-505: The area of modern Sichuan including the now separated Chongqing Municipality was known to the Chinese as Ba–Shu , in reference to the ancient state of Ba and the ancient kingdom of Shu that once occupied the Sichuan Basin . Shu continued to be used to refer to the region to the present day; several states formed in the area used the same name, for example, the Shu of the Three Kingdoms period (220–280), and Former Shu and Later Shu of

3807-526: The authority of Yangtze Valley emperors over China. In 221, during the partition following the fall of the Eastern Han – the era of the Three Kingdoms – Liu Bei founded the southwest kingdom of Shu Han ( 蜀 漢 ; 221–263) in parts of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, with Chengdu as its capital. Shu-Han claimed to be the successor to the Han dynasty. In 263, the Cao Wei of North China conquered

3888-560: The basin has long been a challenge. Chinese poet Li Bai once claimed that the road to Sichuan was "harder than the road to heaven". Until the construction of the Three Gorges Dam , the Yangtze River was the primary transportation corridor. Connecting the basin with the Yellow River valley to the north, the 4th century BCE Shu Roads were an engineering feat for their time. Most famously, the semi-legendary Stone Cattle Road

3969-558: The basin include the G5 , G42 , G50 , G65 , G75 , G76 , G85 , and G93 . All expressways that connect the Sichuan Basin with other parts of China have been designed to utilize a series of tunnels and bridges to cross the mountainous surrounding terrain. Notable examples include the 18 km (11 mi) long Zhongnanshan Tunnel through the Qin Mountains to the north and the 500 m (1,600 ft) high Sidu River Bridge through

4050-463: The basin, depending on location. Generally, the climate is warmer and wetter in the eastern parts of the Sichuan Basin. The basin's climate is classified as humid subtropical under Koppen classification. The entirety of the Sichuan Basin is drained by the Yangtze River and its tributaries. The main stem of the Yangtze, the Jinsha River , enters the basin in the south at Yibin where it meets

4131-598: The basin, eventually crossing Kham and the Derge Kingdom to the west. The Long March passed to the west of Sichuan Basin in 1935 with great difficulty. In the 20th century, the Sichuan Basin was connected to the rest of China by railways. The Chengyu Railway , completed in 1952, connected Chengdu and Chongqing within the basin. The first rail link to outside the basin was the Baoji–Chengdu Railway , completed in 1961 to connect with Shaanxi province across

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4212-459: The basin. During the Second Sino-Japanese War when much of Eastern China was occupied by Japanese forces, Chongqing in the Sichuan Basin served as the Republic of China 's capital. Owing to its vast fertile plains, the Sichuan Basin has long supported a high concentration of human population. The major population centres of Chengdu and Chongqing have flourished with their hinterlands providing staples such as rice, wheat, and barley. Irrigation in

4293-446: The conventional historiography that the local culture and technology of Sichuan were undeveloped in comparison to the technologically and culturally "advanced" Yellow River valley of north-central China. The rulers of the expansionist state of Qin , based in present-day Gansu and Shaanxi , were the first strategists to realize that the area's military importance matched its commercial and agricultural significance. The Sichuan basin

4374-469: The corridor between Chengdu and Chongqing have become developed as an economic centre known as the Chengyu Area. This area is mostly coterminous with the basin; it is part of a branding scheme by the Chinese government to attract investment to the area. Chemical, textile, electronic, aerospace, and food industries have all been developed as part of the Chengyu Area. Another emerging industry in the basin

4455-411: The deportation of Sichuanese civilians to Mongolia occurred in the aftermath of a battle in 1259 when more than 80,000 people were taken captive from one city in Sichuan and moved to Mongolia. The Ming dynasty defeated Ming Yuzhen 's Xia polity which ruled Sichuan. During the Ming dynasty , major architectural works were created in Sichuan. Buddhism remained influential in the region. Bao'en Temple

4536-428: The division of the existing imperial administrative circuit in the area into four during the Northern Song dynasty , which were Yizhou , Lizhou , Zizhou , and Kuizhou . The word chuan ( 川 ) here means 'plain', not its typical meaning of 'river' as popularly assumed. In addition to its postal map and Wade–Giles forms, the name has also been irregularly romanized as Szű-chuan and Szechuen . In antiquity,

4617-460: The east, Guizhou and Yunnan to the south, and Tibet to the west. During antiquity, Sichuan was home to the kingdoms of Ba and Shu until their incorporation by the Qin . During the Three Kingdoms era (220–280), Liu Bei 's state of 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

4698-405: The east. The province was deeply affected by the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–1961, during which period some 9.4 million people (13.07% of the population at the time) died. In 1978, when Deng Xiaoping took power, Sichuan was one of the first provinces to experiment with the market economic enterprise. From 1955 until 1997, Sichuan had been China's most populous province; the population hit

4779-405: The eastern Sichuan Basin preserve elements of the original forests. A greater variety of natural landscapes and wildlife have been at least partially preserved in the mountains surrounding the basin where human settlement has been less intensive. The natural ecosystems of these mountains have been classified by the World Wide Fund for Nature as the Qionglai-Minshan conifer forests to northwest and

4860-406: The end of the year 2017, the total population is 83.02 million. Sichuan consists of two geographically very distinct parts. The eastern part of the province is mostly within the fertile Sichuan basin (which is shared by Sichuan with Chongqing Municipality). The western Sichuan consists of numerous mountain ranges forming the easternmost part of the Tibetan Plateau , which are known generically as

4941-419: The fighting over the city, although the figure may have been grossly exaggerated. The recorded number of families in Sichuan dropped from 2,640,000 families, as recorded from the census taken in 1162 AD, to 120,000 families in 1282 AD. Possible causes include forced population transfer to nearby areas, evacuation to nearby provinces, census under-reporting or inaccuracy, and war-related deaths. One instance of

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5022-433: The first true paper money in human history ( 交子 ; jiāozǐ ) was issued in Chengdu . It was also during the Song dynasty that the bulk of the native Ba people of eastern Sichuan assimilated into the Han Chinese ethnicity. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Southern Song dynasty established coordinated defenses against the Mongolian Yuan dynasty , in Sichuan and Xiangyang . The Southern Song state monopolized

5103-474: The majority of which are transported to more developed eastern regions. Sichuan is one of the major industrial centers of China. It was a major recipient of China's investment in industrial capacity during the Third Front campaign. In addition to heavy industries such as coal, energy, iron, and steel, the province has also established a light industrial sector comprising building materials, wood processing, food, and silk processing. Chengdu and Mianyang are

5184-414: The neighboring Huguang Province (modern Hubei and Hunan) and other provinces during the Qing dynasty. Sichuan was originally the origin of the Deng lineage until one of them was hired as an official in Guangdong during the Ming dynasty but during the Qing plan to increase the population in 1671 they came to Sichuan again. In 1904 Deng Xiaoping was born in Sichuan. During the Qing dynasty , Sichuan

5265-416: The northwest, Gansu to the north, Shaanxi to the northeast, Chongqing to the east, Guizhou to the southeast, Yunnan to the south, and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the west. Giant pandas live in bamboo forests and low mountainous areas such as the Minshan Mountains in Sichuan. The majority of the panda population lives in Sichuan, with their range spreading into Shaanxi and Gansu . As it

5346-697: The production centers for textiles and electronics products. Deyang , Panzhihua , and Yibin are the production centers for machinery, metallurgical industries, and wine, respectively. Sichuan's wine production accounted for 21.9% of the country's total production in 2000. Great strides have been made in developing Sichuan into a modern hi-tech industrial base, by encouraging both domestic and foreign investments in electronics and information technology (such as software), machinery and metallurgy (including automobiles), hydropower, pharmaceutical, food and beverage industries. Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests The Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests are

5427-491: The provincial capital of Chengdu. Official figures recorded a death toll of nearly 70,000 people, and millions of people were left homeless. Sichuan consists of twenty-one prefecture-level divisions : eighteen prefecture-level cities (including a sub-provincial city ) and three autonomous prefectures : The twenty prefectures of Sichuan are subdivided into 183 county-level divisions (53 districts , 17 county-level cities , 109 counties , and 4 autonomous counties ). At

5508-407: The region overland from the eastern part of China and the foggy climate hindering the accuracy of the Japanese bombing of the Sichuan Basin made the region the stronghold of Chiang Kai-shek 's Kuomintang government during 1938–45 and led to the Bombing of Chongqing . The Second Sino-Japanese War was soon followed by the resumed Chinese Civil War , and the cities of East China are obtained by

5589-466: The resettlement of residents from the reservoir areas of the Three Gorges Dam project. In 1997, when Sichuan split, the sum of the two parts was recorded to be 114,720,000 people. As of 2010, Sichuan ranks as both the 3rd largest (the largest among Chinese provinces with a population greater than 50 million) and 4th most populous province in China. In May 2008, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9/8.0 hit just 79 km (49 mi) northwest of

5670-424: The south and conquered Sichuan. Upon capturing it, he declared himself emperor of the Daxi dynasty ( 大西王朝 ). In response to the resistance from local elites, he massacred a large number of people in Sichuan, killing around one in three people. As a result of the massacre as well as years of turmoil during the Ming-Qing transition , the population of Sichuan fell sharply, requiring massive resettlement of people from

5751-416: The southwest, there are ancient dome-shaped low mountains in their own right. The Jialing River enters from the north and flows across the entire width of the Sichuan Basin to meet the Yangtze at Chongqing. Northeast of Chongqing, the Yangtze cuts an outlet through the mountains at the eastern edge of the basin known as the Three Gorges . Other significant rivers almost wholly within the Sichuan Basin include

5832-697: The summer. Under the Köppen climate classification , the Sichuan Basin (including Chengdu ) in the eastern half of the province experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa or Cfa ), with long, hot, wet summers and short, mild to cool, dry, and cloudy winters. Consequently, it has China's lowest sunshine totals. The western region has mountainous areas producing a cooler but sunnier climate. Having cool to very cold winters and mild summers, temperatures generally decrease with greater elevation. However, due to its high altitude and its inland location, many areas such as Garze County and Zoige County in Sichuan exhibit

5913-469: The western edge of the Sichuan Basin. The original forests are thought to have been made up of subtropical oaks , laurels , and Schima . Much of the remaining Sichuan Basin has been converted to anthropogenic agricultural use in the last 5,000 years. Endangered and critically endangered animal species that have traditionally inhabited the Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests include: Amphibians Birds Mammals This ecoregion article

5994-412: The western part of the basin has been controlled for over two millennia by the monumental Dujiangyan irrigation system , where the Min River enters. The region has been known as a major breadbasket of China, especially in the 20th century during times of war. Sichuan Basin also became a major focus of industrial development during Mao 's Great Leap Forward . In more recent times, the Sichuan Basin and

6075-522: Was 5,385 billion yuan (US$ 847.68 billion), ahead of the GDP of Turkey of 815 billion. Compared to a country, it would be the 18th-largest economy as well as the 19th most populous as of 2021. As of 2021, its nominal GDP per capita was 64,357 RMB (US$ 10,120). In 2021, the per capita net income of rural residents was 17,575 yuan (US$ 2760). The per capita disposable income of the urbanites averaged 41,444 yuan (US$ 6510). Sichuan has been historically known as

6156-572: Was absorbed by the Song . During the Song dynasty (960–1279), Sichuanese was able to protect themselves from Tibetan attacks with the help of the central government. There were rebellions against the Song by Li Shun in 994 and Wang Jun in 1000. Sichuan also saw cultural revivals like the great poets Su Xun ( 蘇洵 ), Su Shi , and Su Zhe . Although paper currency was known in the Tang dynasty, in 1023 AD,

6237-405: Was again separated from it in 1997. The Sichuanese people speak distinctive dialects of Mandarin Chinese . The spicy Sichuan pepper is prominent in modern Sichuan cuisine , featuring dishes—including Kung Pao chicken and mapo tofu , that have become staples of Chinese cuisine around the world. There are many panda stations in the province and large reserves for these creatures, such as

6318-526: Was excavated in 1986 at a small village named Sanxingdui in Guanghan , Sichuan. This site, believed to be an ancient city of Shu, was initially discovered by a local farmer in 1929 who found jade and stone artifacts. Excavations by archeologists yielded few significant finds until 1986 when two major sacrificial pits were found with spectacular bronze items as well as artifacts in jade, gold, earthenware, and stone. This and other discoveries in Sichuan contest

6399-595: Was merged with Shaanxi and Shanxi to create "Shenzhuan" during 1680–1731 and 1735–1748. The current borders of Sichuan (which then included Chongqing ) were established in the early 18th century. In the aftermath of the Sino-Nepalese War on China's southwestern border, the Qing gave Sichuan's provincial government direct control over the minority-inhabited areas of Sichuan west of Kangding , which had previously been handled by an amban . A landslide dam on

6480-541: Was subjected to the autonomous control of kings named by the imperial family of the Han dynasty. During the 11 years hiatus between 25 and 36 AD, Sichuan was controlled by the Chengjia Kingdom. Following the declining central government of the Han dynasty in the second century, the Sichuan basin, surrounded by mountains and easily defensible, became a popular place for upstart generals to found kingdoms that challenged

6561-581: Was torn by constant warfare and economic distress as it was besieged by the Tibetan Empire . In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period , Sichuan became the heart of the Shu kingdom with its capital in Chengdu . In 925, the kingdom was absorbed into Later Tang but would regain independence under Meng Zhixiang who founded Later Shu in 934. Later Shu would continue until 965 when it

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