Misplaced Pages

#312687

90-428: According to the 2020 Chinese census , the prefecture-level city of Zigong has a population of 2,489,256 inhabitants, less than its population in 2010 (the average annual population growth for the period 2010–2020 was of -0.73%). However, the built-up ( or metro ) area, consisting of the 4 urban districts, grew, with 1,297,695 inhabitants (1,262,064 in 2010). The area of Zigong has a long history in ancient China - with

180-598: A Gregorian calendar - but is roughly between January 16 and February 19 each year - depending on which of the Twelve earthly branches it is currently. The Lantern Festival has been going on since the Tang dynasty and gets more elaborate each year and is certainly a sight to behold. Now a historic teahouse built by the Sichuan-based salt merchants originally served as a guild hall for salt merchants. Originally called

270-470: 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

360-499: A borehole well cost 3,000 pieces of silver, but transportation cost into the Sichuan valley negated the cheaper production methods (as they usually involved sea water). Zigong is located in the central Chinese Sichuan province, which was a large basin, surrounded by mountains on three sides and therefore somewhat isolated. Before refrigeration was available salt was a key chemical used in preserving vegetables, meat, and fish. Because of

450-511: A paradigm of China's festival economy, has been copied throughout China, which dilutes the uniqueness of Zigong's original version. As a measure to promote the city, the lantern show has already been brought to many cities in mainland China and even southeast Asia throughout of the years. Since China is on a Lunar calendar - known in the west as the Chinese calendar , Spring Festival - which is also known as Chinese New Year will vary each year on

540-518: A target of increasing its population to about 1.42 billion by 2020, from 1.34 billion in 2010 . After the relaxation of the one-child policy, 17.9 million babies were born in 2016, an increase of 1.3 million over the previous year, but only half of what was expected. In 2017, the birth rate fell to 17.2 million, far below the official forecast of more than 20 million. It is possible that the Chinese government will further relax its fertility policy in

630-486: A tributary to the Tuo River , snakes through the city's core. The area is very humid and the visibility can be reduced dramatically in the area due to ground fog. The humidity and fog of Zigong can be attributed to that it sits on what was once a vast inland sea. Changes in the environment caused the water levels to subside leaving salt, brine, and natural gas. Zigong is situated south of the Sichuan basin hill country. To

720-523: A tribute. The people of Zigong believe its taste to be superior to the popular French sea salts such as Fleur de sel . Salt production via boreholes was once prevalent in the entire Sichuan area - but for several factors (war, rebellion, taxes, wells drying up) Zigong became the center of production. Salt wells in Zigong were deeper and had better brine salinity - making for better yields in the salt extraction process. The method in which boreholes were drilled

810-670: 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

900-408: 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

990-774: Is host to the Sichuan University of Science and Engineering as well as a new High Technology Zone. Salt was once one of the major sources of revenue for China. To give an idea of how much money was generated from salt in China - after the fall of the last emperor, the Republic of China under Sun Yat-sen secured loans based upon the revenues of the Chinese Salt Administration (the government agency in charge of taxation on salt). The chief inspector of that administration stated "The best salt in China

SECTION 10

#1732773113313

1080-645: Is located in the Sichuan Basin , and has an area extension of 4,372.6 km (1,688.3 sq mi). Granted the recognition as one of the Historical and Cultural Cities of China by the State Council of the People's Republic of China . Zigong has long been renowned as "Salt City" for its brine extraction techniques and the attendant salt -related culture. In ancient China, Salt was regarded as

1170-607: Is produced from the salt wells of Sichuan". The best salt wells in Sichuan are in Ziliujing District , Zigong. The people of Zigong have been drilling in the area for Salt since before the Han Dynasty (76-88 A.D.) to extract salt from brine. Some historian estimates are that China has been active in producing salt since about 6000 BC. The brine aquifers in the area have salinity of at least 50 grams per liter. The classical method of drilling and production

1260-546: 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 the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding . Sichuan is the 6th-largest provincial economy of China, the largest in Western China , and

1350-469: 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 ),

1440-445: Is significant. In 1835, the world's (at that time) deepest well was drilled reaching 3,300 feet. The miners of Zigong refined the techniques of deep borehole drilling. Later, Europeans copied and further refined the percussion drilling methods - so its effects can be seen in the modern Drilling rig used for oil and water. Salt became an engine of commerce and wealth for Zigong. There were cheaper methods for salt production, as to start

1530-762: 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

1620-647: 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

1710-547: The Financial Times reported that according to some sources who know the data of the seventh census, Chinese population in 2020 did not meet 1.4 billion. Chinese state media say that Chinese mainland population in 2019 was 1.40005 billion. If true, this would indicate the first population decline since the Great Leap Forward . On April 28, 2021, Bloomberg News , quoting the Chinese state media outlet

1800-550: The Global Times , reported that it is unlikely there would be a drop in the total population in the 2020 census, citing a comment by Lu Jiehua, a professor at Peking University . Still, it was reported that China's population may peak in 2022, which is much earlier than previously estimated. In May 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics of China released a report revising the data for the previous 10 years before

1890-477: The 2020 Chinese Census , was the seventh national census conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China . Census work began on November 1, 2020, and continued through December 10, 2020, involving seven million census workers. The 2020 Chinese census covers all Chinese citizens living in mainland China , as well as those living abroad on temporary visas. Foreigners who live in

SECTION 20

#1732773113313

1980-685: 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

2070-690: 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

2160-475: 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

2250-714: 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

2340-574: The Hong Kong SAR Government at the end of 2020) and Macau's population was 683,218 (provided by the Macau SAR Government at the end of 2020). According to the census, China has 1,430,695 immigrants, dividing between 845,697 foreign nationals and 584,998 residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. In October 2015, China scrapped the one-child policy in the hope of boosting the number of births. In 2016, China set

2430-753: 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

2520-608: 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

2610-514: 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

2700-528: 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 the 19th century. During World War II , Chongqing served as the temporary capital of the Republic of China , and was heavily bombed . It

2790-583: 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

Zigong - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-548: The Zigong Salt Museum and is used to generate funds for the museum. However, the original purpose of the teahouse was the assembly hall for shipping merchants and was called Wangye Miao Temple. For its origin please refer to "Merchants Assembly Halls" below. Along the Fuxi river are several stone paved roads that are called the "ancient streets". This section of Zigong has traditional houses and shops, typical of life in

2970-417: 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

3060-472: 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

3150-532: The 2020 census. They announced that there were about 10 million more births between 2011 and 2019 than previously thought. That means there were actually more births before Beijing ended one-child policy in 2016. 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

3240-629: 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

3330-560: The Beijing born novelist Li Rui . One of Li Rui's best known works, titled Silver City ( 旧址 , not to be confused with 银城故事 ), recounts the history of the Li family clan that held large stakes in the salt industry of what is modern day Zigong. 2020 Chinese census The Seventh National Population Census of the People's Republic of China ( Chinese : 第七次全国人口普查 ; pinyin : Dì Qī Cì Quánguó Rénkǒu Pǔchá ), also referred to as

3420-727: 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

3510-537: The Historical and Cultural Cities of China, Zigong is called " Lantern Town in the South Kingdom". In recent years, although the annual lantern show forces the local residents to endure unpredictable and extended blackouts during China's Spring Festival, the lantern festival is a boon for tourism in the remote but tranquil city and generates large revenues for the local government. The pattern of Lantern Show,

3600-611: 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

3690-566: 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

Zigong - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-502: The Shenhai Well, as a tribute to the workers and industry. The Shenhai Well (Bore depth: 1,001.4 meters/4,400 feet) still operates using the older manual methods of pumping and boiling. The salt is used for pickling or canning - and makes an important ingredient to Sichuan style pickles (which are a local favorite). Today, Zigong is a primary source for natural gas, coal, and inorganic chemical production in addition to salt. Although

3870-434: 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

3960-615: The Wang Sanwei Lineage Hall - it's now called the Wangye Miao Teahouse. The Wangye Miao Teahouse was popular during the height of the salt trade and still stands along a bend in the Fuxi River - which runs through the center of Zigong. The structure has classic Chinese architecture and still operates today. The teahouse is located next to the river, on Binjiang Lu street. The teahouse is in fact part of

4050-475: 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

4140-417: 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

4230-461: 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, the area of modern Sichuan including

4320-526: 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

4410-446: 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

4500-525: The days that Zigong was a bustling Salt trade center. Several salt well heads are capped and marked along the streets that wind along the river. At the end of the street is a hand rowed ferry boat that takes a visitor to the opposite shore where stone steps led up into the city. Since the first century, thousands of pre-eminent people have been calling Zigong home. Among them the most famous individuals are Wu Yuzhang , Gao Min , Liu Guangdi , Jiang Zhujun . Li Zongwu (1879–1943), founder of Thick Black Theory ,

4590-461: 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

SECTION 50

#1732773113313

4680-594: The east of Zigong is Luzhou and to the west of Zigong is Leshan . To Zigong's south is Yibin and to the north-east is the city of Neijiang . In the 1980s, vast dinosaur fossils were excavated in the Shaximiao Formation , near the town of Dashanpu 7 km (4.3 mi) north-east from downtown Zigong, including a dinosaur named after the township, Dashanpusaurus . Because of the unique and intact bone remains, Zigong has ever since been attracting paleontologists and dinosaur enthusiasts from around

4770-476: 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

4860-470: 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

4950-449: The energy for body and valued higher even than Gold . Therefore, salt trading was always the most profitable business and salt merchants were the wealthiest people. Hence, Zigong had always been one of the richest cities in China until the founding of the People's Republic of China with the introduction of new salt producing methods and advancing of technologies. It has had what is now the Zigong Salt Museum since 1736. The Fuxi River ,

5040-465: The evaporation method). Later methods involved very innovative drilling and retrieval methods. An unexpected byproduct of the drilling and resulting wells was natural gas. Since natural gas didn't have the uses it does today, it was channeled into pipes and primarily used onsite to boil the brine and extract the salt. The salt Zigong produced was very rich in taste and was served to the Emperor of China as

5130-446: The factors mentioned above (war, wells drying up, and a rebellion) Zigong became a significant supplier of salt to the Sichuan province up until the 1930s. In 1892, miners discovered a vein of rocksalt that feeds Zigongs aquifers. In 1946, a well was drilled with a rotary drillbit. Ancient percussion drilling methods became obsolete and most of the drilling rigs were torn down due to decay. Today, only one traditional salt well still exists,

5220-533: The farmers as their leader, petitioned the government for investigation and review. On April 20, 2005, villagers tried to hand in a petition to the Mayor of Zigong, but were stopped by the police. During the altercation with the police, several villagers were badly injured, including Mr. Liu. Mr. Liu and several others were then briefly detained for "disorderly conduct" and "obstruction of traffic". The 2010 Peace Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo wrote that when Liu Zhengyou

5310-419: 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

5400-724: 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

5490-425: The future. On November 2, 2020, Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping answered census workers' questions in Beijing . The 2020 census showed that the gender ratio of mainland China has improved, with the male-to-female ratio reaching a new record low of 105.07. This is the most balanced gender ration since the People's Republic of China began conducting censuses in 1953. On April 27, 2021,

SECTION 60

#1732773113313

5580-438: The invention and development of "Percussion Drilling rig " being one of the city's accomplishments. Zigong is famous for its abundant production of well salt and is known as the "Salt Capital".The production of well salt in the Zigong area originated in the Eastern Han Dynasty , was famous in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and flourished in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.There are essentially two cities - that of

5670-408: The mainland for more than six months are also recorded in the data. The preliminary results were released on May 11, 2021, with a news conference being held on the same day. The release was originally planned to be in early April, but was delayed by a month. The population of mainland China was 1,411,778,724 as of 1 November 2020. In addition, Hong Kong's population was 7,474,200 (provided by

5760-474: 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

5850-422: The metric system and data from 2010 Census. Both previous cities - Gongjing and Ziliujing made up what had become one of the busiest saltworks (or saltyards as they are called locally) in China - the Furong Saltyard . The main products were a uniquely rich salt called "hua" salt - which dominated salt from the other Sichuan producers and the "ba" salt which became popular in other provinces in China . Zigong

5940-414: 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

6030-407: 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 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

6120-416: 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

6210-420: 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

6300-441: The old and the new. The city was reached by rail in the 1950s. Several four-lane highways reach the city from other cities in the Sichuan province. The new city of Zigong has been modernizing since the late 1970s - but more rapidly since the early 1990s. The old " Salt " city is based on industry and farmland and a new " Tourism " city which caters primarily to Chinese tourists (as Zigong is better known within mainland China). Zigong

6390-437: 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 the division of the existing imperial administrative circuit in

6480-491: 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

6570-508: The region has rich history into antiquity, the prefecture-level city called "Zigong" is a modern name. In 1939, two older cities were combined to make Zigong - Ziliujing (some have romanized this name as "Tzeliutsing") and Gongjing to be named Zigong. The Zigong name is a combination of both older cities' names. Today there are four municipal districts and two counties of the Zigong Prefecture. The information here presented uses

6660-516: 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

6750-532: 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

6840-430: The salt. Once boiled, a yellow layer is formed - this is scraped off leaving absolutely pure salt. The salt is a medium grain salt with different size flakes which have a very strong and unique salt taste. This salt has no additives so it does clump. Locals use grains of rice in the salt to keep the salt from clumping. Early methods of brine salt production involved digging large pits in the earth (other parts of China used

6930-410: 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 is commonly believed that the name Sichuan means 'four rivers '; in folk etymology , this is usually taken to mean four of

7020-531: 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

7110-697: 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

7200-613: The world. In 1987, the Zigong Dinosaur Museum ( 自贡恐龙博物馆 ) was established, becoming the first specialized dinosaur museum open in Asia. Mounted specimens include Omeisaurus , Gigantspinosaurus , Yangchuanosaurus hepingensis , Huayangosaurus and Xiaosaurus . Zigong is the originator of the Chinese Lantern Festival - which has been copied in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. As one of

7290-522: 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

7380-470: 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,

7470-442: Was also from Ziliujing. Indeed, in 1993, Zigong officials began to seize more than 2,500 acres of farm land, on which 30,000 farmers had lived for generations. The farmers were offered small living stipends and what they considered inadequate compensation, so they refuse to relocate and organised sit-ins. Police came to the villages many times to "clean out" villagers. Between 1995 and 2005, Mr. Liu Zhengyou, who had been designated by

7560-526: 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

7650-454: Was kidnapped on April 16, 2006, at Beijing Airport to fly to Geneva to attend the UN human rights conference, it was a trial for the new UN Human Rights Council to see if it's capable of responding to this evident human rights abuse and tell the world whether the reformed UN human rights organization can live up to its expectation or not. Ziliugong (once known as Silver City) is the ancestral home of

7740-595: 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

7830-539: 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 was again separated from it in 1997. The Sichuanese people speak distinctive dialects of Mandarin Chinese . The spicy Sichuan pepper

7920-541: 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

8010-415: Was the following: a drilling rig is erected and a borehole is drilled using a drilling bit and rope. Brine is extracted by dropping a long tube down the borehole. A membrane valve then captures the brine for retrieval on the surface. Once the brine is retrieved it's then piped to flat pans for boiling. In the boiling process some water and crushed yellow soybean is added. The soybean absorbs the impurities in

8100-575: 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

#312687