Introduction of Chengdu
Sipping fragrant tea and tasting some uniquely delicious dishes while sitting quietly in a teahouse and having the opportunity to appreciate the local opera, an eyeful cotton roses and ginkgos as well as delicate embroideries, where on the earth can a cozy life appear like this? It is just the common daily life of Chengdu, the capital of the well known 'Heavenly Kingdom' (Tian Fu Zhi Guo) of Sichuan Province. It is also called 'a city where one would not think of leaving once there'.
Chengdu is located in the west of Sichuan Basin and the hinterland of Chengdu Plain with an area of about 12.4 thousand sq km (3 million acres). It has a mild subtropical monsoon climate. The population is more than 10 million people. Regarded as the starting point of the Southern Silk Road leading towards Europe, it has historically played an important role in the political, economical, cultural and military development of the southwest China. As a matter of fact, Chengdu is famous for three unique characteristics, that is, 'Heavenly Scenery', 'Bashu (one title of Sichuan) Culture' and 'Hometown of Pandas'.
Chengdu is blessed with many rare and valuable natural resources that include dove trees, the gingkoes or city tree, the cotton roses or city flower and hundreds of Chinese medicines plants. Wild animals like giant pandas, lesser pandas and snub-nosed monkeys and others can be found here. The panda breeding and research centre is ranked first-class across the world.
There are also some other cultural relics like the Taoist Temple - Qingyang Palace, the Buddhist Wenshu Monastery and the majestic Baoguang Temple that are for the religious followers or curious travelers who may be interested in the architecture, painting, antiques and other aspects. The Leshan Giant Buddha which is about 160km away from Chengdu is also a hotspot.
