Sichuan

Sichuan (; ) is a province in western China with its capital at Chengdu. It is also informally called Shu (). Its Governor is Wei Hong and its CPC Ctte Secretary is Wang Dongming. With a population of 87,250,000 (2006), Sichuan is the third most populated administrative division of China. Sichuan used to be the province with the most people in China before Chongqing was separated from it, making Henan the most populous. However, when including migrants, Guangdong has more people than Henan.
Name
The name Si Chuan () is an abbreviation of Si Chuan Lu (, translated as "Four circuits/subdivisions of rivers"), which is itself shortened from Chuan Xia Si Lu (, translated as "Four circuits of rivers and gorges").
Subdivisions
There are 18 subdivisions within Sichuan, including both prefecture-level cities and autonomous prefectures:
Chengdu
Mianyang
Deyang
Yibin
Panzhihua
Leshan
Nanchong
Zigong
Luzhou
Neijiang
Guangyuan
Suining
Ziyang
Guang'an
Ya'an
Meishan
Dazhou
Bazhong
Aba Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture
Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture
People
Most people living in Sichuan are Han Chinese. There are also Tibetans, Yi people, Qiang and Naxi in the western side.
Culture
The Li Bai Memorial (located at his birthplace, Zhongba Town of northern Jiangyou County) is a museum in memory of the Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty, Li Bai. It was prepared in 1962 on the occasion of 1,200th anniversary of his death, completed in 1981 and opened to the public in October 1982. The memorial is built in the style of the classic garden of the Tang Dynasty.
Music
Sichuan has a long history of folk and classical music. Sichuan opera is an ancient tradition that very is well-known. The Sichuan lantern drama is popular in Sichuan. The Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu is one of the oldest of musical education in China, having been established in 1939.
There is also religious music in Sichuan, played by Taoist priests in their temples.
Traditional Sichuan folk music is usually played with instruments such as the bamboo flute, pan and cymbals, gong and horn.
Food
Sichuan cuisine has an international reputation for being hot and numbing (), because of the common ingredient of the Sichuan peppercorn ().
Some well-known Sichuan dishes include Kung Pao chicken () and Twice Cooked Pork ().
Language
Most dialects of the Chinese language spoken in Sichuan, including the Chengdu dialect, are similar to the dialects of neighbouring provinces Yunnan, Guizhou and Chongqing Municipality.
Sports
Chinese Basketball Association
Chinese Football Association Super League
Chengdu Blades
Chinese Volleyball League
Sichuan Volleyball Team
China Table Tennis Super League
Sichuan Quan-Xing Table-Tennis Team
Universities
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (Chengdu)
Sichuan University (Chengdu)
Southwest Jiaotong University (Chengdu)
University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (Chengdu)
Southwest University of Science and Technology (Mianyang)
Tourism
UNESCO World Heritage Sites include:
Dazu Rock Carvings - officially part of Chongqing Municipality, not Sichuan
Huanglong, Scenic and Historic Interest Area
Jiuzhaigou Valley, Scenic and Historic Interest Area
Mount Emei, Scenic Area
Leshan Giant Buddha, Scenic Area
Mount Qincheng and Dujiangyan Irrigation System
Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries
Daocheng Yading Airport (Highest civilian airport in the world)
Notable Sichuanese people
Alan Dawazhouma, pop singer
Deng Xiaoping, communist leader of China
Jang Ri-In, pop singer
References
Provinces of China