Sichuan province is located southwest
of China. The province covers 480,000 square kilometers,
and has a population of about 87 million. Sichuan
is often referred to as "heaven endowed land"
because the province is rich in natural resources
and has an abundance of beautiful scenery.
There's several different ways of
spelling "Sichuan" floating around, and
I'm really not sure which is the correct "official"
spelling. The spellings you're likely to see include:
- Sichuan
- Szechuan
- Sichwan
- Szechwan
So when you see these different
spellings, they all mean the same thing, but I believe
"Sichuan" is the spelling that is used most
often.
Coming From a Szechwan Ren
Sichuan ren means Sichuan person,
and I'm a "Sichuan ren". I was born in a
mid sized city in szechuan called Neijiang, about
2 hours drive from Chengdu Although I moved to Canada
when I was a young boy, I never forgot my heritage,
and definitely never forgot how to eat spicy food.
I'm sure most know that Sichuan
is famous of its spicy and tongue numbing food.
Now that I travel to Sichuan several
times each year for touring and visiting my family,
my capacity for eating spicy food seems to be improving
even more. I can't get enough of spicy food. Well....
the only downside is the aftermath of eating extremely
spicy food. =D
(DaZhou Plaza of my Hometown NeiJiang in Sichuan.
All the red balloons you see are put up for Chinese
New Years.)
Being a Szechuan ren, I know the
province quite well, and I also know the tourism spots
very well. I've been to most of them, and you can
read more about them on the site here. Some of the
most popular tourism spots include: Leshan
Giant Buddha, Mount Emei,
and JiuZhaiGou.
Cities worth visiting are Chengdu
and Chongqing,
and I'll also include an honorable mention of my hometown
Neijiang, although
it's not well known to foreigners. I've also been
to some of the lesser well known tourist destinations
among foreigners, but that are quite famous in Sichuan
province, and these include the WuLiangYe
wine factory in YiBing, and the Museum
of dinosaurs in ZiGong.
(Here I am at the entrance of the WuLiangYe Wine Factory
in YiBing - one of the most famous wine makers in
China.)
Sichuan Economy
Szechuan is one of the major agricultural
production provinces in China. Because of its rich
natural resources, it's referred to as the "heaven
endowed land" (Ì츮֮‡ø). The major products of Sichuan
include grain, rice, wheat, peaches, sugar canes,
and sweet potatoes. I have to say that sugar cane
and sweet potatoes are very common, and very inexpensive.
When in season, you'll find small merchants selling
sugarcane almost everywhere you go. These usually
cost $2, $3, up to $6 yuan per sugarcane - depending
on the quality. The good thing about these merchants,
is that they'll peel the sugarcane for you as well.
Szechuan is rich in mineral resources
and natural gas. The province's iron reserve is the
second largest in China and accounts for 13% of China's
total reserve. The province is also famous for its
wine making, accounting for 22% of China's total wine
production. Sichuan's GDP for
2004 was about $656 billion yuan (US$81.33 billion)
and a per capita of $6,270 RMB ($757 USD).
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