Welcome to Chengdu!
Chengdu (成都 Chéngdū) is the provincial capital and largest city of Sichuan Province in southwest China. Chengdu (simplified Chinese: 成都, pinyin: Chéngdū), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese province of Sichuan. It is one of the six most-populous cities in China. As of November 2020, the permanent resident population of Chengdu is 20.937 million, the largest in Sichuan and the sixth largest in China. Chengdu is considered a "Beta + (global second-tier)" city classification (together with Barcelona and Washington, D.C.) according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. In 2021, Chengdu ranked 35th in the Global Financial Centres Index.Chengdu is located in central Sichuan. The surrounding Chengdu Plain is known as the "Country of Heaven" (Chinese: 天府之国, pinyin: Tiānfǔ zhi Guó) and the "Land of Abundance". Its prehistoric settlers included the Sanxingdui culture. The site of Dujiangyan, an ancient irrigation system, is designated as a World Heritage Site. The Jin River flows through the city.
Founded by the state of Shu prior to its incorporation into China, Chengdu is unique as a major Chinese settlement that has maintained its name mostly unchanged throughout the imperial, republican, and communist eras. It was the capital of Liu Bei's Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms Era, as well as several other local kingdoms during the Middle Ages. During World War II, refugees from eastern China fleeing from the Japanese settled in Chengdu. After the war, Chengdu's importance as a link between Eastern and Western China expanded, with railways built to Chongqing in 1952, and Kunming and Tibet afterwards. In the 1960s, Chengdu became an important centre of China's national defense industry.
Chengdu is now one of the most important economic, financial, commercial, cultural, transportation, and communication centers in China. Its economy is diverse, characterized by the machinery, automobile, medicine, food, and information technology industries. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, a hub of Air China and Sichuan Airlines, is one of the 30 busiest airports in the world, and the Chengdu railway station is one of the six biggest in China. Chengdu also hosts many international companies and more than 14 consulates, more than 270 Fortune 500 companies have established branches in Chengdu. Chengdu is the seat of the Western Theatre Command region of the People's Liberation Army. Chengdu will host the FISU Summer World University Games in 2021, an international multi-sport event. It is considered one of the most livable cities in China.Chengdu's culture largely reflects that of its province, Sichuan, in 2011, it was recognized by UNESCO as a city of gastronomy. It is associated with the giant panda, a Chinese national symbol, which inhabits the area of Sichuan, the city is home to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
Chengdu is one of the world's top 40 cities by scientific research output, and home to the greatest number of universities and research institutes in Southwestern China, notably Sichuan University, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics,Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu University of Technology, Sichuan Normal University, and Xihua University.