◀ CHEN Ziang Comprehensive index starts in volume 5, page 2667.

Chengdu Chéngdū ​成 都 11.1 million est. 2007 pop

Chengdu is the modern, busy capital city of but independently manages its own economy and le- Sichuan Province in south central China. It is gal structure. Its status is below that of a municipality, a key economic area, a major transportation which does not belong to any province, but above that of hub, an important communication center, and a ­prefecture-​­level city, which is governed by its province. Chengdu’s government controls nine districts, four cities, the gateway to the Wolong Nature Reserve, and six counties. the natural habitat of the giant panda. It also Greater Chengdu has a population of more than 11 became widely known in 2008: the epicenter million people. The majority of the people are of the Han of the deadly Sichuan earthquake was a mere ethnic group. Chengdu residents have a reputation for 80 kilometers away. being relaxed and fun loving. The city has more bars and teahouses than Shanghai has, even though Shanghai has twice the number of people. The local cuisine is the hot and spicy Sichuan style, with such popular dishes as dan hengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province in ­south-​ dan noodles and the many varieties of the hotpot. ­central China, lies on the western edge of the Chengdu was founded in the third century bce by the Sichuan Basin. The climate of the area is mild, ancient state of Qin, and benefited from one of the oldest with long summers and short winters but quite humid and and best Chinese irrigation systems constructed in the cloudy all year round. Chengdu, in fact, has fewer sunny same century with water from the Min River, which is days per year than London has. still in effective use today. It has remained a prosperous Sichuan Province is rich in natural resources and fer- city through the centuries and gained a position as one tile farmland. The Min and Tuo rivers, two branches of the of the most important trade centers of the empire. Trad- Yangzi (Chang) River, supply an irrigation area of more ers in Chengdu were the first to use paper money, in the than 700 square kilometers (270 square miles) and help tenth century. Chengdu also became the center of the silk supply Chengdu with abundant hydroelectric power. brocade manufacturing industry. Chengdu covers a total area of 12,300 square kilome- The 1937–​1945 Japanese occupation of eastern China ters (4,749 square miles), which is quite large for a city gave Chengdu an unexpected boost because the Chinese (again, for comparison: London, a large city by any stan- Nationalist Party (Guomindang) established its capital in dard, covers 2,263 square kilometers). In China’s adminis- Sichuan and moved important industries to the city. trative structure, Chengdu is one of sixteen subprovincial Today Chengdu has a wide variety of industries. cities, an entity that controls other cities and counties in Heavy machinery, aluminum plants, chemical plants, its region. A subprovincial city is governed by its province and especially electronics are important. In addition,

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the textile ­industry—​­manufacturing cotton, wool, silk, humanitarian aid. The city’s hospitals and shelters were and satin ­products—​­is a major part of the economy. In forced to erect tents to help care for the injured and home- recent years the city has become a major regional finan- less. The city itself, however, was mostly untouched. There cial center. The city also has a number of universities was no disruption of essential services or business or busi- and other higher education institutions, including Si- ness. Within a few days of the quake, Chengdu was back chuan University and a college of traditional Chinese to its bustling normalcy. medicine. Bent NIELSEN and Wendell ANDERSON Chengdu received international attention on 12 May 2008 when the deadly Sichuan (or Wenchuan) earthquake struck the region, killing more than 69,000 people and in- Further Reading juring a further 374,000. The initial quake measured 7.9 Gates, H. (1999). Looking for Chengdu: A woman’s adven- on the Richter scale, and there were as many as 21,000 ture in China. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. aftershocks for several weeks after. The epicenter of the Kirk, M. (Ed.). (2009). China by numbers 2009. Hong earthquake was 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Kong: China Economic Review Publishing. Quian, J. (2006). Chengdu: A city of paradise. Blooming- Chengdu in Wenchuan County. The areas hardest hit ton, IN: AuthorHouse. were within 100 kilometers (62 miles) of the epicenter. Stapleton, K. E. (2000). Civilizing Chengdu: Chinese urban Dams, bridges, and schools collapsed, and about 3.5 mil- reform, 1895–​1937. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univer- lion homes were destroyed. In some of the smaller cities sity Press. and villages, as many as 80 percent of the structures were Walcott, S. (2007). The dragon’s tail: Utilizing Chengdu demolished. Estimates are that more than 14 million sur- and Chongqing technology development zones to an- vivors have had to rebuild their homes. chor west China economic advancement. Journal of Chengdu became a hub for rescue operations and Chinese Economic and Business Studies, 5(2), 131–​145.

It is easy to dodge a spear that comes in front of you but hard to avoid an arrow shot from behind. 明枪易躲，暗箭难防

Míng qiāng yì duǒ, àn jiàn nán fang

CHIANG Ching-kuo ▶

© 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC