Thursday, October 16, 2008

Shuangliu County

Shuangliu County is a county in the northwestern part of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, China. Located approximately 19 kilometers away from downtown Chengdu, the county covers 1068 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 920,000. It is the home of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, the fifth busiest airport in the People's Republic of China.

Pi County

Pi County is a county within Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China. It is located just 10 km north-west of Chengdu's city centre. The seat of the Pixian County Government is located in Pitong Town , one of the 14 towns within the county.

Pi County covers an area of 437.5 square kilometres, with a total population of 480,000.

Pi County has over 2300 years of history -- it was established by the State of Qin two years after it defeated the State of Shu, in 314 BC. It is famous throughout China for Pixian ''doubanjiang'', a type of spicy fermented bean sauce.

Dujiangyan City

Dujiangyan is a county-level city of Chengdu, Sichuan Province in China. It has an area of 1208 square kilometers and a population of 600,000 in 2003.

Dujiangyan used to be a county named ''Guanxian'' or Guan County , in Chinese literally "irrigation" county . The People's Republic of China created a county-level city in 1988, and renamed it in honor of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, which is located in the northwestern area of the city, famous for still providing neighboring major city Chengdu with water even though it was built around 250 BC.

History


Around 250 BC during the Warring States Period , Li Bing, a governor of Shu in the Qin state with his son directed the construction of Dujiangyan. The governor gave up the old way of dam building, which was simply trying to catch the floodwaters. Instead he employed a new method by channeling and dividing the water to harness the . He accomplished this by separating the project into two main parts: the headwork and the irrigation system. The project effectively put flood waters under control. For over two thousand years the whole system has functioned perfectly, serving not only for flood prevention but also as an immense source for irrigation and a means to facilitate shipping and wood drifting. It has contributed greatly to the richness of Chengdu Plain with its reputation as "The Land of Abundance".

On 12 May 2008, the city was the closest to the epicenter the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the city suffered severe damage. Xinjian Primary School, Juyuan Middle School, and Xiang'e Middle School collapsed in the earthquake; Beijie Primary School did not collapse.

Administrative divisions


Dujiangyan has 17 and 2 :
*Towns:
**Guankou
**Xingfu
**Puyang
**Juyuan
**Chongyi
**Tianma
**Shiyang
**Liujie
**Yutang
**Zhongxing
**Qingchengshan
**Longchi
**Xujia
**Anlong
**Daguan
**Zipingpu
**Cuiyuehu
*Townships:
**Xiang'e
**Hongkou

China National Highway 317

China National Highway 317 runs from Chengdu, Sichuan to Naqu, Tibet. It is 2,028 kilometres in length.

Chengdu-Chongqing Expressway

Chengyu Gaosugonglu is the first thruway from Chengdu to Chongqing, which was finished in July 1,1995. The whole distance is about 340.2 kilometers, and between Wugui Qiao of Chengdu and Chenjia Ping of Chongqing.

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, or simply Chengdu Panda Base, is a non-profit research and breeding facility for giant pandas and other rare animals. It is located in Chengdu, Sichuan, People's Republic of China.

Chengdu Panda Base was founded in 1987. It started with 6 giant pandas that were rescued from the wild. By 2007, it has had 110 panda births, and the captive panda population has grown to 62.

Its stated goal is to "be a world-class research facility, conservation education center, and international educational tourism destination."

Partnerships


Chengdu Panda Base has partnered with many organizations in improving ways to conserve giant pandas. For example, its partnereship with Zoo Atlanta helped the zoo secure the loan of 2 giant pandas.. To date, these 2 giant pandas, and Lun Lun, have produced two off-springs — 2-year-old Mei Lan, and a new male cub born on August 30, 2008.

Other research partners include:
*Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama, Japan
*East Bay Zoological Society, Oakland, California,
*Liverpool University,
*National Institute of Health/National Cancer Institution, USA
*, Washington, D.C., USA
*North of England Zoological Society, UK
*The Oakland China Wildlife Preservation Foundation, California, USA
*San Diego Zoo, California, USA
*University of Japan

Chengdu Railway Bureau

Chengdu Railway Bureau is a regional bureau affiliated to the Ministry of Railways of the People's Republic of China. It is in charge of 9 primary railway routes, with operating length of 4,457.8 kilometers. It oversees the railway networks in Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, although the portion of Nanning-Kunming railway in Guizhou is administered by Kunming Railway Bureau.

Chengdu Plain

The Chengdu Plain is a plain in Sichuan, China. Chengdu is located on it.

Chengdu Metro

Chengdu Metro is a system in Chengdu currently under construction. It will initially have one line, Line 1 which started construction in December 2005 and is expected to be completed by 2010. There will be five lines constructed in the first phase, covering 126km with 116 stations including 11 interchange stations. Line 1 will have 15 stations at first along the 15.1 kilometre route. The first phase will start from a station at Honghuayuan and end at Shiji Square. The system is the sixth metro system to be built in the People's Republic of China. It will be operated by Chengdu Metro Limited Liability Company.

Construction



The construction of the first phase of Line 1, costing 7 billion , will change the city. One of the metro planners said the construction of the metro will change the layout of residential quarters in the city, with residential areas moving out to the suburbs. A natural ventilation system has been used in the construction of the underground section of Line 1 on the subway system from Southern Third Ring Road to Chengdu New Exhibition and Convention Center. Square ventilation units are built every 30m along the subway top to allow fresh air from the ground enter the construction site underground. The method is used in subway construction in other countries as it cuts the construction cost and it saves energy. The subway system is the first in China to adopt such a ventilation system during construction. Chengdu Metro is planning to set up a section for subway fire control and introduce the latest fire fighting technologies and vehicles.

Rolling stock and technology


There will be 22 sets of three cars each when the line opens, made by a Chinese manufacturer, possibly the Changchun Car Company. The trains will be and can hold up to a maximum of 1,200 people. The cars will be 2.8m wide and 19m long. In the future, trains will be expanded to five cars. The rolling stock's average train speed will be 35km/h and its maximum speed will be 80km/h. The metro system will be equipped with Automatic Train Protection, Automatic Train Control, Automatic Train Stop and Automatic Train Operation. Fire alarms, on-train/track systems, and automatic fare collection systems will also be installed. A minimum curve radius of 400m will be used where possible, though some restricted areas will have a curve radius of 300m. The maximum gradient will be 35% and the railway tracks will be laid to standard gauge using 60kg/m rail, allowing a maximum speed of 80km/h. The power supply will be 750V DC with third rail collection and running rail return.

Network expansion


Seven lines are planned to be constructed over the next thirty years and five have been planned so far, with all around the city centre. When the whole of Line 1 is completed, it will have a length of 26.7km with 11.76km of underground tracks and 14.9km of tracks at either ground level or elevated. There will be a depot at Huayang, two main substations, ten traction substations and one control centre. Line 1 will interchange with and Chengdu South railway stations.

Future lines


*Line 2 — From Longquan East to Shiniu
*Line 3 — From Hongxing to Banqiao South
*Line 4 — From Wenjiang to Xihe
*Line 5 — From Simaqiao to Jianghe
*Line 6 and 7 — In planning stage, routes not confirmed

Chengdu Daxue Road

Daxue Road is a small but historical street in Chengdu, China. The meaning of its name in Chinese is “University Road”, as it was first a road near West China Union University in 1910.


Orientation



Daxue Road is located in the south of Chengdu, running a west-east direction. It begins from South Renmin Road and continues eastward towards Hongxing Road. The road is about 800 meters long and 20 meters wide. 116phoenix trees lining the street and divided it into 3 parts, 2 for pedestrian, 1 for cars.


History



In the beginning of 20th Century

In 1905, West China Union Middle School was established as a union intervention of the American Mutual Foreign Mission Society, the Friends' Foreign Mission Association of Great Britain and Ireland, the General Board of Missions of theMethodist Church of Canada, and the Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Episcopal Church USA. Then West China Union University opened in 1910 under the same supervision and built according to the plans set out mainly by Fred Rowntree. The Daxue Road was one of the interior roads of the university at that time. Moreover, it was called “Main road to city south gate” and “road to city east gate” as the gateway road of the university to the city. On the north side of the street there were mainly dormitories of university students and staff accommodations of West China Union Middle School and on the south side were the teaching area of university. Along the street there are the Whiting Memorial Administration Building(Chinese: 怀德堂),The Lamont Library and Harvard-Yenching Museum(Chinese:懋德堂), education offices, Religious Room and etc.


After the foundation of the P.R. China to the 21st Century

As the mushrooming of urban construction in Chengdu, in 1960, the newly planned South Renmin Road separated the university into two parts. And as the increasing of residence housings built in and around this district, Daxue Road, from an interior university road, gradually became a city street serving for all the citizens. In the 1990s, it was one of the major markets in Chengdu, named as “Daxue Road Market(Chinese: 大学路菜市场)”. Between every phoenix tree there was one or two stalls, strengthened to the pedestrian area. The total area of the market reached about 8, 000 m2. During the night, there was night market, mobile stalls selling cheap food and small commodities everywhere. Pedestrians, bicycles and cars all went through in the center of the road.


From 2006 to present


In 2006, Chengdu government listed Daxue Road as one of the important reforming Culture Blocks. A new Market building was built and all the former venders had been asked to move in. Buildings along the street had been repainted. Brick walls enclosing the campus had been replaced by iron railings or hedges in order that people walking on the street could see the campus buildings. After this renewal, although on the ground floor of the buildings along this street are mostly small restaurants and groceries, Daxue Road became one of the main transportation roads west-east orientation of Chengdu.

Sightseeing



Along the street there are two buildings listed in the Heritage buildings in Chengdu in 2001.


The Whiting Memorial Administration Building

The Whiting Memorial Administration Building was originally the studio of West China Union University. It was built from 1915 to 1919, designed by British Architect Fred Rowntree, who was also the main designer of the whole campus. It used the inverted arched technology at that time, which was the advanced during that time. Now this building is used as the office building of Huaxi District of Sichuan University.


The Lamont Library and Harvard-Yenching Museum

The Lamont Library and Harvard-Yenching Museum finished construction in 1926 and now is used as Campus History Museum of Sichuan University.

Chengdu

Chengdu located in southwest People's Republic of China, is the capital of Sichuan and a sub-provincial city. Chengdu is also one of the most important economic centers and transportation and communication hubs in Southwestern China. According to the 2007 Public Appraisal for Best Chinese Cities for Investment, Chengdu was chosen as one of the top ten cities to invest in, out of a total of 280 urban centers.

More than four thousand years ago, the prehistorical Bronze Age culture of Jinsha established itself in this region. The fertile Chengdu Plain, on which Chengdu is located, is called ''Tianfuzhi guo'' in Chinese, which literally means "the country of heaven", or more often seen translated as "the Land of Abundance". It was recently named China's 4th-most livable city by China Daily.

History







In the early 4th century BC, the 9th Kaiming king of the ancient moved his capital to the city's current location from today's nearby Pixian. He was said to have been inspired by the ancient story of King Tai of Zhou, Grandfather of King Wu of Zhou, moving his capital. History recorded King Tai of Zhou's move as "it took a year to become a town; it took three years to become a capital". Following this, king of Shu named the new city as "Cheng Du", which means "become a capital" . There are, however, several versions of why the capital was moved to Chengdu, and more recent theories of the name's origin point to it as stemming from, or referring to, earlier non-Han inhabitants and/or their languages.

After the conquest of by the in 316 BC, a new city was founded by the Qin general Zhang Yi . This can be seen as the beginning of the Chinese Chengdu. It was renamed Yìzhou during the Han Dynasty.

During the partition following the fall of the Eastern Han Dynasty, i.e. the era of the Three Kingdoms, Liu Bei founded the southwest kingdom of Shu-Han with Chengdu as its capital.

During the Tang Dynasty, both the "Poet God" and the "Poet Sage" spent some part of their lives in Chengdu. Du Fu constructed the celebrated "Caotáng" in the second year of his four-years stay . But today's Caotang, a rather sumptuous house in the traditional style, was only constructed in 1078 in memory of Du Fu. During Tang, Chengdu was the best commercial city second to only Yangzhou.

Chengdu was also the birthplace of the first widely used paper money in the world .

Two rebel leaders, one around the end of Song Dynasty, the other near the end of Ming Dynasty, set up the capitals of their short-lived kingdoms here, called Dàshu and Dàxi , respectively.

During the Second World War the Kuomintang government under Chiang Kai-shek fled to Sichuan Province to escape the invading Japanese forces. They brought with them businesspeople, workers and academics, who founded many of the industries and cultural institutions which continue to make Chengdu an important center. However, the city soon became a symbol of Nationalist corruption and ineffectiveness.

In 1944 the American XX Bomber Command launched Operation Matterhorn, an ambitious plan to base B-29 Superfortresses at Chengdu and strategically bomb the Japanese Home Islands. Because it required a massive airlift of fuel and supplies over the Himalayas, it was not a great military success, but it did earn Chengdu the distinction of launching the first serious retaliation against the Japanese homeland.

Chengdu was the last city on the to be held by the Kuomintang-controlled government. President Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo directed the defence of the city at Chengdu Central Military Academy until 1949, when the city fell into Communist hands. The People's Liberation Army took the city on December 10 and the remnants of the Nationalist Chinese government fled to Taiwan.

Today the industrial base is very broad, including light and heavy manufacturing, aluminum smelting and chemicals. The textile industry remains important, with cotton and wool milling added to the traditional manufacturing of silk brocade and satin.

Today it is the headquarters of the Chengdu Military Region.

On May 12, 2008, a struck causing damage to the area, killing about 80,000 people and injuring 26,413 in the area as of May 24, 2008. 4021 of the casualties and most of the property damage were from Dujiangyan and Pengzhou, two suburban cities of Chengdu. While 75 kilometers from the epicenter, the urban area did not suffer any discernible damage. .

Geography and climate




Chengdu is situated at the western edge of the Sichuan Basin. It is therefore sheltered from northwest winds from Siberia in winter by the Qinling Mountains to the north. The climate is mild and humid. The short winter is milder than in the Lower because of the sheltering effect of the Qinling. Snow is rare but there are a few periods of frost each winter. The summer is longer, but not as hot as in cities such as Wuhan and Nanjing in the Lower Yangtse downstream. Average daytime highs are 10°C in January and 30°C in July. Rainfall is reliable year-round but peaks in the summer months.













































January




6


July



26



February



7.6



August



26



March



13




September



22




April



18



October



16



May



21



November




12



June




24



December



7


::::::::::::::Asia-Planet.net Chengdu climate

Chengdu has one of the lowest sunshine totals in China , and most days are cloudy even if without rain. This is especially so in the winter months, when it is typically interminably grey and dreary. Spring tends to be sunnier, warmer and drier than autumn .

Administrative divisions




#Qingyang District
#Jinjiang District
#Jinniu District
#Wuhou District
#Chenghua District
#Longquanyi District
#Qingbaijiang District
#Xindu District
#Wenjiang District
#Dujiangyan City
#Pengzhou City
#Qionglai City
#Chongzhou City
#Jintang County
#Shuangliu County
#Pi County
#Dayi County
#Pujiang County
#Xinjin County

Notable people


*Sima Xiangru, a great writer of the Western Han Dynasty.
*Zhuo Wenjun, wife of the famous writer Sima Xiangru.
*, a great writer and philosopher during the Western Han Dynasty.
*Chang Qu, the famous historian of the Western Jin Dynasty; his work 'Hua Yang Guo Zhi' is the first Chinese historical geography work.
*Xue Tao, a noted female poet of the Tang Dynasty.
*Ba Jin, a great writer, who was born in Chengdu and died in Shanghai in 2005.
*Wang Guangxi, a noted musician, the first Chinese awarded a doctoral degree in music.
*Zhou Taixuan, a noted biologist.
*Li Jieren, the famous writer, was born in Chengdu in 1891.
*Kong Xiangming, the famous female player of Go.
*Zheng Jie and Yan Zi have been making quite an impact on the Women's Tennis Tour. Although both are successful in singles , they are better known for their doubles grand slam wins in the 2006 Australian Open and in the 2006 . Recently Zheng made a run to the Wimbledon Ladies singles semifinals. She donated all of her prize money to the earthquake relief situation that occurred in Chengdu shortly before the tournament.
*Jung Chang, writer and historian, born in Yibin in 1952, and raised in Chengdu.
*Bai Ling, Chinese-born American actress, born in Chengdu in 1970.
*Jane Zhang, Mandopop singer, born in Chengdu in 1984.
*Li Yuchun, Mandopop singer, born in Chengdu in 1984.
*Zhang Li Yin, aka Jang Ri In. She is a Korea-based Chinese singer, signed with SM Entertainment.
*Liu Bei, former ruler of Chengdu in 211 CE during the end of the Han Dynasty.

Previous names




The Brocade City: Jinchéng,
In the Western Han Dynasty , brocade produced in Chengdu enjoyed great popularity among the royal and elite class in China. Emperor installed Jin Guan to oversee brocade production in Chengdu. Since then, Chengdu has been called "Jin Guan Cheng" , or in its short form, "Jin Cheng" .

The City of Hibiscus: Róngchéng,
In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period , Mengchang, the king of the Later Shu Kingdom, ordered the planting of hibiscus on the surrounding the city. After this, Chengdu started being referred as the City of Hibiscus. Nowadays, the hibiscus is still the city flower of Chengdu. But the last city wall was torn down in the 1960s along with the Royal Palace situated in the middle of the city.

The aforementioned "previous names" are not formal names, however, but are more accurately thought of as nicknames. The name "Chengdu" has never changed during thousands years since the city was founded, and the city has always been in the same location.

Culture and folklore


People from Chengdu tend to eat spicy. Many local specialties include Grandma Chen's Bean Curd , Chengdu Hot pot, and Carrying Pole Noodles .

An article by the ''Los Angeles Times'' called Chengdu "China's party city". Chengdu outnumbers Shanghai in the number of tea houses and bars despite having less than half the population. The inhabitants have a reputation both within Sichuan and in China at large for having a laid back attitude and for knowing how to enjoy life.
The carefree lifestyle of Chengdu greatly benefits its local women, who are generally of a sweet and charming nature. A Chengdu-based writer has portrayed Chengdu girls in this way: "Chengdu girls sound delectable and tender, even when they are squabbling.

Economy


The main industries in Chengdu - which include food, medicine, machinery and the information technology - are supported by numerous large-scale enterprises, such as Chengdu Sugar and Wine Co.. Ltd., Chengdu Food Group, Sichuan Medicine Co. Ltd., Chengdu Automobile Co. Ltd. etc. Many high-tech enterprises from outside Chengdu are also beginning to settle down there.

The National Development and Reform Commission has formally approved Chengdu's proposed establishment of a national bio-industry base there. China's aviation industries have begun construction of a high-tech industrial park in the city that will feature space and aviation technology. The local government plans to attract overseas and domestic companies for service outsourcing and become a well-known service outsourcing base in China and worldwide.

Electronic and IT industry


Chengdu has long been established as a national base for electronic and IT industry. Several key national electronic R&D institutes are located in Chengdu. Chengdu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone has attracted a variety of multinationals, at least 30 Fortune 500 companies and 12,000 domestic companies, including Intel, IBM, NOKIA, Motorola, , Siemens, Canon, HP, Xerox and Microsoft, as well as domestic powerhouses such as Lenovo.

Intel's Chengdu factory is its second one after its Shanghai factory in China and the first such large-scale foreign investment in electronic industry in interior mainland China. Intel, the world largest chipmaker has invested US$525 million in two assembly and testing facilities in Chengdu. Following the footsteps of Intel, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation , the worlds third largest foundry, set up an assembly and testing plant in Chengdu. Intel's rival AMD is likewise set to open an R&D center in this city.

In November 2006 IBM signed an agreement with the Chengdu High-Tech Zone to establish a Global Delivery Center, its fourth in China after Dalian, Shanghai and Shenzhen, within the Chengdu Tianfu Software Park. Scheduled to be operational by February 2007, this new center will provide multi-lingual application development and maintenance services to clients globally in English , Japanese and Chinese, and to the IBM Global Procurement Center, recently located to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. On March 23 2008, IBM announced at the "West China Excellent Enterprises CEO Forum" that the southwest working team of IBM's Global Business Services is now formally stationed in Chengdu. On May 28 2008, Zhou Weikun, president of IBM China disclosed that IBM Chengdu would increase its staff number from the present 600 to nearly 1,000 by the end of the year.

Over the past few years, Chengdu's economy has flourished rapidly. Chengdu has been quick to become a major base for communication infrastructure, with one of China's nine top level postal centers and one of six national telecom exchanges.

In 2009, Chengdu will host the World Cyber Games Grand Final. It's the first time China hosts the world's largest computer and video game festival.

Financial industry



Chengdu is now building itself to be the financial hub for Western People's Republic of China and has successfully attracted major international financial institutions, including Citigroup, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, ABN AMRO, BNP Paribas, etc.

Historically, Chengdu has marked its name in the history of financial innovation. The world’s first ever paper currency 'Jiao Zi' was seen in Chengdu in the year 1023, during the Song Dynasty of ancient China.

Now, Chengdu is not only the gateway of Western People's Republic of China for foreign financial institutions, but also a booming town for Chinese domestic financial firms. The Chinese monetary authority, People's Bank of China , set its southwest China headquarters in Chengdu City. In addition, almost all domestic banks and securities brokerage firms located their regional headquarters or branches in Chengdu. At the same time, the local financial firms of Chengdu are strengthening their presences nationally, notably, West China Securities, GuoJin Securities and Chengdu Commercial Bank. Moreover, on top of banks and brokerage firms, the flourish of local economy lured more and more financial service firms to the city to capitalize on the economic growth. KPMG opened this first west China office in Chengdu City this October, and before the inauguration of KPMG Chengdu office, its rival, Ernst & Young, had already integrated Chengdu into its global operation for several years.

Defense industry


Located within the city limits is the Chengdu Aircraft Company which produces the recently declassified Fighter. The company is one of the major manufacturers of Chinese Military aviation technology.



Investment


The Chengdu Statistics Bureau reports that the total investment in fixed assets in 2006 was 189.95 billion yuan . Domestic investment was 72.84 billion yuan , an increase of 71.1 percent from 2005. The total amount of foreign direct investment reached 5.74 billion yuan , an increase of 36.6 percent from 2005. The total amount of revenue in the first half of 2007 stands at 13.15 billion yuan , of which 32 percent came from state-owned enterprises and 25.5 percent came from enterprises with foreign equities. Both components of revenue increased by almost 80 percent, as compared with the previous year.

Industrial zones


*Chengdu Economic & Technological Development Zone
*Chengdu Export Processing Zone
*Mianyang High-Tech Industrial Park

Transportation


Chengdu's transportation network is well developed, and it is the start of many national highways, with major routes going from Sichuan-Shanxi, Sichuan-Tibet, and Sichuan-Yunnan.

For the year 2007, Chengdu announced the official launch of 37 significant projects, including the Chengdu-Jianyang Expressway, to accelerate the construction of the experimental district. This will try to solve the current transportation problem, which is proving to be the bottleneck in Jianyang's development. Development of major tunnels and the Longquan Lake scenic spot has also been planned to integrate Jianyang better into the Chengdu economic circle.

Several major road projects were mentioned in the paper: a 15 km tunnel from Shuangliu Taiping to Jianyang Sancha Lake; alteration of the National Expressway 321, from Jiangyang to Longquanyi, totaling 26 kilometers. There will also be a road that connects Longquan Town to Longquan Lake - it will be connected to the Chengdu-Jianyang Expressway and it will shorten the journey by 10 kilometers. It undecided whether drivers will have to pay to access the road.

Expressways


Four expressways, connecting the center of Chengdu to its suburbs, will be completed by the end of 2008. The expressways that will be open to the public by the end of December are the Chenglin Expressway, extensions of Guanghua Avenue, Shawan Line, and an expressway from Chengdu to Heilongtan.

*The toll-free Chengjin Expressway in the east of Chengdu is 38.7 km long, with six lines and designed for travel at 80 km/h. After it opens to the public, it will take only about half an hour to drive from the downtown Chengdu to Jintang, half the time of the current journey.

*The expressway between Chengdu to Heilongtan , going to the south of the city, is 42 km long. It is also toll-free and a journey from downtown Chengdu to Heilongtan will only take half an hour.

*The extension of Guanghua Avenue, going towards the west of the city, is 11.6 km long with an estimated investment of 300 million yuan. It will cut the journey time from Chongzhou city to Sanhuan Road to less than half an hour.

*The extension of Shawan Road going north will be 8.8 km long, and is designed for travel at 60 km/h. After it is connected to the expressways Bixian–Dujiangyan and Bixian–Pengzhou, it will take only 30 minutes to go from Chengdu to Pengzhou.

*Via the , from Chengdu to is a distance of 2028 km.

Public transport


A subway system with seven lines is planned for Chengdu. Line 1 is under construction. ''See Chengdu Metro.''

Air transport


Chengdu is served by the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport located 16 km southwest of downtown. In 2007, it was the busiest airport in Western China and the 6th busiest airport nationwide in terms of passenger traffic.

The city is also turning into an important hub for air travel in China. China Southern Airlines, says it is planning to add a Beijing-Chengdu route, while Chengdu Municipal Committee of Communication has announced that 3E Airlines will launch an international cargo air route, from Chengdu to Europe and America in August. Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu is one of the major national airports in China.

Chengdu plans to build an airport in Jintang County with six runways. Upon its completion, it will take less than 30 minutes to travel from Jintang to Chengdu downtown area.

River Transport


Located to the Northwest of Chongqing, Chengdu has no direct access to the Yangtze River, or any other river. However, to ensure that Chengdu's goods are able to access the river efficiently, the port cities of Yibin and Luzhou have begun a process of large scale port development, and as materials to support the rebuilding of northern Sichuan begin their movement from the East Coast to Sichuan, these ports will see significant throughput.

Colleges and universities


*Sichuan University
*Sichuan Normal University
*Southwest Jiaotong University
*University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
*Southwestern University of Finance and Economics
*Southwest University for Nationalities
*Sichuan International Studies University
*Chengdu University of Technology
*Chengdu University of TCM
*Sichuan Conservatory of Music
*Chengdu University of Information Technology
*Chengdu Kinesiology University
*Xihua University
*Chengdu University
*Chengdu Medical College
*Chengdu College of UESTC

Note: Institutions without full-time bachelor programs are not listed.

High schools




*Shishi Middle School
*Chengdu Shude High School
*Chengdu No. Seven High School
*Chengdu Liewu High School
*Shuangliu TangHu Middle School
*Chengdu No. Twelve High School
*Chengdu Foreign languages School
*Chengdu Experimental Foreign languages School
*Chengdu International School
*PengZhou middle School
*Chengdu No. Eighteen High School
*Shuangliu High School

Consulates


The United States Consulate General at Chengdu opened on October 16, 1985. It was the first foreign consulate in west-central China since 1949. Currently seven countries have consulates in Chengdu. The United Kingdom also opened a visa application center in Chengdu.




Sister cities


In 1979, Chengdu signed a agreement with Montpellier, France, the first pair of Sino-French sister cities. Later Chengdu signed sister city agreements with cities in ten countries, as well as signing a friendly region agreement with the Dalarna province in Sweden. Chengdu has had many friendly exchanges with the sister cities. Montpellier, for example, has a Chengdu Street and a Chengdu Plaza. The soccer team Chengdu Blades is owned by Sheffield United F.C.

* Montpellier, France; since 1979.
* Ljubljana, Slovenia; since 1981.
* Linz, Austria; since 1983.
* Kofu, Japan; since 1983.
* , United States.
* , United States; since 1986.
* Winnipeg, Canada; since 1988.
* Mechelen, Belgium; since 1993.
* Palermo, Italy; since 1999.
* Gimcheon, South Korea; since 2000.
* Medan, Indonesia; since 2001.