Overview
Chengdu is the capital city of the Sichuan Province of the country. The city lies in the southwestern region of the Mainland China. It is located in the Chengdu Plain. In the Chinese language the place is called Tianfu zhi guo, meaning "the Heavenly country". Chengdu, China claims to be a densely populated city it also ranks 5th in the entire country. Along with these important facts, Chengdu is a very famous tourist spot in China. Thousands of people come to visit this beautiful city from various corners of the world.
The city of Chengdu in China has strong economical aspects. Chengdu is considered as one of the prominent economic zones in the Mainland China. Besides being an economical center of China, Chengdu is also a center for transportation and communication. Various industries are there in the city. Except that, many important markets have also grown in this city.
"Chengdu" is meaning 'Became a Capital' in Chinese. Chengdu is best known for its temples, pandas, tea and spicy food. Favored by superior natural conditions and rich natural resources, the city is known for its great abundance of products and many scenic and historic spots. Chengdu is also one of the cleanest Chinese cities and serves as the main gateway to Tibet and other major tourist attractions in Sichuan.
Its nickname
The Brocade City (Jincheng)
In the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-23 AD), brocade produced in Chengdu enjoyed great popularity among the royal and elite class in China. Emperor installed Jin Guan (an official in charge of brocade production) to oversee brocade production in Chengdu. Since then, Chengdu has been called "Jin Guan Cheng" (Brocade Official's City), or in its short form, "Jin Cheng" (Brocade city).
The City of Hibiscus (Rongcheng)
In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907-960), Mengchang, the king of the Later Shu Kingdom, ordered the planting of hibiscus on the fortress wall surrounding the city. After this, Chengdu started being referred as the City of Hibiscus. Nowadays, the hibiscus is still the city flower of Chengdu. But the last city wall was torn down in the 1960s along with the Royal Palace situated in the middle of the city.
Culture
In China's southwest basin, there lies one of the most leisurely and carefree cities -- Chengdu. The theme of Chengdu people's life is no other than having fun: playing mahjong, enjoying the spicy hot malatang, speculating in stocks, and gazing at beautiful ladies.
Mahjong Culture
While not the first to play mahjong, Chengdu people are indisputably the most addicted. Mahjong is nicknamed "table shadowboxing," as it is seen as a sort of physical and brain exercise. It was reported recently that a 71-year-old man from Chengdu had invented a kind of dual-function mahjong, in which players could learn English while killing time. That is typical Chengdu innovation. People from Chengdu tend to eat spicy. Many local specialties include Grandma Chen's Bean Curd (Mapo doufu), Chengdu Hot pot, and Carrying Pole Noodles (Dan Dan Noodles).
Tea cuture
If you want to experience Chengdu civilian's local life, you have to go local teahouses at Chengdu.Tea culture is admittedly sedate, but strangely addictive, like a holiday spent at home. There's mahjong and cards, sometimes chess. Families pack sacks of food for potluck picnics. Sometimes, there is opera, not the Peking brand, but Sichuan's own unique blend of song, mime and movement that originated right here, in local teahouses. Sitting in a teahouse is a very popular hobby of local people, you can see teahouses everywhere in Chengdu. People enjoy their spare time there chatting, relaxing. killing time or even not doing anything. Actually teahouse is a mirror of social life. Chengdu has numerous teahouses with long tea culture and strong local flavor. People's Park, Wenshu Temple and Qingyang Temple are good places to drink tea among Chengdu people.
An article by the Los Angeles Times (2006) called Chengdu "China's party city". Chengdu outnumbers Shanghai in the number of tea houses and bars despite having less than half the population. The inhabitants have a reputation both within Sichuan and in China at large for having a laid back attitude and for knowing how to enjoy life. The carefree lifestyle of Chengdu greatly benefits its local women, who are generally of a sweet and charming nature. A Chengdu-based writer has portrayed Chengdu girls in this way: "Chengdu girls sound delectable and tender, even when they are squabbling.
Climate
Chengdu belongs to the subtropics monsoon climate. There is early in spring, hot in summer, cool in autumn and warm in winter.
The climate is mild and humid. The short winter is milder than in the Lower Yangtze because of the sheltering effect of the Qinling. Snow is rare but there are a few periods of frost each winter. The summer is longer, but not as hot as in cities such as Wuhan and Nanjing in the Lower Yangtse downstream. Average daytime highs are 10?ер(49?? in January and 30?ер(85?? in July. Rainfall is reliable year-round but peaks in the summer months.
Chengdu has one of the lowest sunshine totals in China, and most days are cloudy even if without rain. This is especially so in the winter months, when it is typically interminably grey and dreary. Spring (March-April) tends to be sunnier, warmer and drier than autumn (October-November).