Administration Type Sub-provincial city
City Seat Qingyang District
Area 12,390 km2
Population 10,597,000 (2005)
Elevation 500m/1650ft
Major Nationalities Han
County-level divisions 19
Area code 028
Postal Code 610000
License Plate Prefix 川A
Chengdu (Chinese: 成都; Pinyin: Chéngdū; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. It is the fifth most populous city in China. Chengdu is also one of the most important economic centers and transportation and communication hubs in China.
More than four thousand years ago, the prehistorical Bronze Age culture of Jinsha (Chinese: 金沙; Pinyin: Jīnshā) established itself in this region. The fertile Chengdu Plain, on which Chengdu is located, is called Tianfuzhi guo (Simplified Chinese: 天府之国; Pinyin: Tiānfǔzhi Guó) in Chinese, which literally means "the country of heaven", or more often seen translated as "the Land of Abundance".
Population
Throughout most of Chinese history, Chengdu has been a city with a large number of people. By 2006 the population was 11.03 million (other sources cite 2.3 million), which made Chengdu the fifth largest city in China in terms of population, just following Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and Chongqing. The urban populace excluding recognized city dependants is 3.9 million.
