Chengdu is the capital of "Heavenly State" (Tian Fu Zhi Guo), habitat of giant pandas and city of cotton-rose hibiscus.

Located in the west of Sichuan Basin and in the center of Chengdu Plain, Chengdu covers a total area of 12.3 thousand square kilometres (4,749 square miles) with a population of over 11 million.

Benefiting from Dujiangyan Irrigation Project which was constructed in 256 B.C., Sichuan Province is reputed as "Tian Fu Zhi Guo", literally a place richly endowed with natural resources. Chengdu, as the capital, is extremely productive. The Min and Tuo Rivers, two branches of the Yangtze River, connected to forty other rivers, supply an irrigation area of more than 700 square kilometres (270.27 square miles) with 150-180 million kilowatts of water. Consisting of abundant mineral resources, the land is extremely fertile.

The history of Chengdu can be traced back 2,400 when the first emperor built his capital here and named the city. Through thousands of years its original name has been kept and its position as the capital and as the significant center of politics, commerce and military of the Sichuan area (once called Shu) has remained unchanged. Since the Han (206B.C.-220) and Tang (618-907) Dynasties when its handicraft industry flourished, Chengdu has been famous for its brocades and embroideries. Shu embroideries still enjoy a high reputation for their bright colors and delicate designs, ranking among the four main embroideries in China. Chengdu was the place where the bronze culture, an indispensable part of ancient Chinese culture, originated, the place where the Southern Silk Road started, and the place where the earliest paper currency, Jiaozi (not the dumpling!), was first printed. It is listed among the first 24 state-approved historical and cultural cities and owns 23 state and provincial cultural relic units.

In addition to its profound historical and cultural background featuring historic places of interest such as the Thatched Cottage of Du Fu , Wuhou Memorial Temple and Wenshu Monastery , etc, natural beauty abounds in surrounding areas such as in the Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area and Huang Long Valley (Yellow Dragon Valley) . The natural habitat of giant pandas, Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center , supports the world's only giant panda breeding and research base.

Sampling the famous Sichuan cuisine is a must on a trip to Chengdu. Enjoying the food as well as the culture, shopping and having tea at a teahouse afford a deeper understanding of Chengdu.

Improved land and airlines extending nationwide provide greater convenience. Chengdu is also the main inland access city to Tibet.

Chengdu the earliest settlement in Southwest China is a famous cultural city with a recorded history of more than 2,300 years, although there is evidence of human habitation there 3,700 C 4,500 years ago. This is a rare and great city. Its name has never changed and since its foundation, the city has always been the capital of Sichuan province. The geographical location of the fertile Chengdu Plain has proved beneficial to the local populace.

Ancient Shu Kingdom

The Shu is an age-old ethnic group. The earliest Shu people moved to Sichuan and established their own kingdom more than four or five thousand years ago. They created the most brilliant civilization of Sichuan and the fertile Chengdu Plain was the center of the Shu Kingdom. The 3,200 year-old Sanxindui Cultural Site in Central China was probably the kingdom's early capital. A new cultural branch from the west plateau invaded the Chengdu Plain and so formed the Sanxingdui Culture by assimilation with that of the plain, culminating in a pinnacle during the development of the Shu Kingdom.

Some 2,300 years ago, the capital relocated to present Chengdu and for a long time, people deemed that the Chengdu built during that period was the real start of the city.

Jinsha Culture

However, the discovery of Jinsha Cultural Site in 2001 (in Jinsha Village, west suburb of Chengdu) overthrows the common impression of Chengdu's history. The establishment of Chengdu city recedes for 700 years (from 2,300 year ago to 3,000 year ago). A great number of excavations from Jinsha Site exhibit a different ancient civilization from that of Central China but relative to Sanxingdui Culture. Apart from jade articles, there are many astonishing bronze masks, tree-shaped articles as well as gold masks and staffs. Gold masks and staffs are rarely found in Chinese ancient culture but they are suggestive of the gold masks of the ancient Egyptian and Mycenaean Civilizations while the sacred tree and staff occurred in Mesopotamia.

All of these add an exotic flavor to Jinsha. There do remain some unsolved mysteries, but most people would rather to believe that Jinsha is another center of ancient Shu Kingdom (late Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th Century BC) to Western Zhou Dynasty (11th Century BC - 771 BC)) after the vanishing of Sanxingdui, and Chengdu is undoubtedly the central area of the ancient kingdom.

Characteristic of Shu Culture in Warring State Period (476BC-221BC)

It was in the middle 5th century BC when the capital of the Shu Kingdom moved to and constructed in Chengdu. Passing through the brilliance of Sanxingdui and Jinsha, the kingdom entered the tempestuous Warring State Period. Many ancient tombs have been discovered hereabouts by archeologists. The boat coffin is the most characteristic burial style of this period. So far, the biggest tomb discovered in Shangye Jie of Chengdu is of a lord's family. The 30.5 meters (100 feet) long and 20.3 meters (66.6 feet) wide grave contains some thirty boat coffins dating from 770BC C 256BC.

People hewed a canoe from a tree trunk. Using canoes as coffins is a unique burial custom to Ba (an ancient kingdom in present Chongqing) and Shu people. People put the deceased in a boat-like coffin hoping he can return home across the sea after death. However, boat coffins will not floating in water. Ba people usually hang them from cliffs, while the Shu people bury them deep in the earth. Generally, the bigger the boat coffin, the higher rank of the deceased occupant.

Chengdu under Qin

In 316BC, the Qin State conquered the Ba and Shu kingdoms and established the Shu Shire in the former kingdom. Chengdu was a county where the shire government sat. Five years later, the king ordered the building of Chengdu along the lines of the capital, Xianyang. The Dujiangyan Irrigation Project constructed around 250BC is world famous, continuing to work over 2,000 years later. After the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC) unified the warring states, Chengdu still belonged to Shu Shire, administrating twenty counties.

Concise History of Chengdu Thereafter

Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) C Chengdu became the center of world's lacquer craftwork and the birthplace of tea culture with advanced technology of Shu Brocade.
Five Dynasties period (907-960) C the emperor of Later Shu planted hibiscus all round the city wall, hence Chengdu got the nickname, Furong Cheng (Hibiscus City), or Rong Cheng for short.
Tang Dynasty (618-907) C Engraving typography was first invented and used in Chengdu.
Song Dynasty (960-1279) C Chengdu led the list, being a foremost prosperous city on a par with Yangzhou which had the busiest water transport and port in China at that time. The earliest paper currency in the world 'Jiao Zi' was issued there during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).
Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties C The previously flourishing city vanished during the war during the late Ming Dynasty but its economy made a gradual recovery during the Qing Dynasty. Through two expansions during Kangxi and Qianlong Periods , a grand new city of Chengdu evolved once more. Following the Opium War, Chengdu went into a decline and its role overtaken by Chongqing.
In modern times, Chengdu City was re-established as the capital of Sichuan Province in 1928, and has remained so following the foundation of the PRC.