Chengdu(中国:成都),原成都音译,是四川省的省会,西南,维护省级以下行政地位。成都也是中国西部最重要的经济中心、交通和通讯枢纽之一。
Chéngdū(Chinese:成都),formerlytransliteratedasChengdu,isthecapitalofSichuanprovince,ofSouthwestChina,maintainingsub-provincialadministrativestatus.Chengduisalsooneofthemostimportanteconomiccentres,transportationandcommunicationhubsinWesternChina.Accordingtothe2007PublicAppraisalforBestChineseCitiesforInvestment,Chengduwaschosenasoneofthetoptencitiestoinvestinoutofatotalof280urbancentersinChina.
Morethanfourthousandyearsago,theprehistoricalBronzeAgecultureofJīnshā(金沙)establisheditselfinthisregion.ThefertileChengduPlain,onwhichChengduislocated,isalsoknownas"天府之国"(TiānfǔzhiGuó),whichliterallymeans"thecountryofheaven",ormoreoftenseentranslatedas"theLandofAbundance".ItwasrecentlynamedChina's4th-mostlivablecitybyChinaDaily.
Szechuancuisine,Szechwancuisine,orSichuancuisine(Chinese:四川菜)isastyleofChinesecuisineoriginatingintheSichuanProvinceofsouthwesternChinafamedforboldflavors,particularlythepungencyandspicinessresultingfromliberaluseofgarlicandchilipeppers,aswellastheuniqueflavouroftheSichuanpeppercorn(花椒).Peanuts,sesamepasteandgingerarealsoprominentingredientsinSzechuancooking.AlthoughtheregionisnowromanizedasSichuan,thecuisineisstillsometimesspelled'Szechuan'or'Szechwan'inUnitedStates.TherearemanylocalvariationsofSichuancuisinewithinSichuanProvinceandtheChongqingMunicipality,whichwaspoliticallypartofSichuanuntil1997.Thefourbestknownregionalsub-stylesareChongqingstyle,Chengdustyle,Zigongstyle,andBuddhistvegetarianstyle.UNESCOhasdeclaredthecityofChengdutobeacityofGastronomyin2011,mainlybecauseofitsSzechuanstyleofcooking.
ChengduislocatedatthewesternedgeoftheSichuanBasinandsitsontheChengduPlain;thedominatingterrainisplains.Theprefectureprefecturerangesinlatitudefrom30°05'to31°26'N,whileitslongituderangesfrom102°54'to104°53'E,stretchingfor192kilometres(119mi)fromeasttowestand166kilometres(103mi)southtonorth,administering12,390squarekilometres(4,780sqmi)ofland.NeighbouringprefecturesareDeyang(NE),Ziyang(SE),Meishan(S),Ya'an(SW),andtheNgawaTibetanandQiangAutonomousPrefecture(N).Theurbanarea,withanelevationof500metres(1,600ft),featuresafewrivers,threeofthembeingtheJin,Fu(府河),andShaRivers.Outsideoftheimmediateurbanarea,thetopographybecomesmorecomplex:totheeastliestheLongquanRange(龙泉山脉)andthePenzhongHills(盆中丘陵);tothewestlietheQionglaiMountains,whichriseto5,364metres(17,598ft)inDayiCounty.ThelowestpointinChengduPrefecture,at378metres(1,240ft),liesinthesoutheastinJintangCounty.
