Province in China
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| Location of Sichuan Province in China |
Sichuan is a large province in Western China; home to over 87 million people, it is greater in size and population than Germany. Consisting of the broad, fertile Sichuan basin, surrounded on all sides by the imposing mountain ranges of Western China and Tibet, it is known for its beautiful scenery and independent-minded culture.
From the broad flat countryside of the the coastal provinces to the vast Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas, China generally slopes upward from East to West. However, as can be seen on a relief map of the country, the lush green of the Sichuan Basin stands out amongst the mountainous terrain of Western China.
Ringed by the Wu Mountains to the East, the Daba Mountains to the North, the Hengduan Mountains to the South, and the foothills of the Himalayas to the West, Sichuan has always been somewhat isolated from the rest of the country. [Source] This isolation has contributed to the independent nature of the province, which has frequently slipped from the control of the Imperial Dynasties of Central and Northern China.
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| Relief map of China. The Sichuan Basin can be clearly seen in the centre of the picture |
The Sichuan Basin, an expanse of low hills and plains, covers the Eastern half of Sichuan and also much of Chongqing province (previously a part of Sichuan, before breaking away in 1997). As one of China's most productive agricultural areas, it provides 7.2% of China's grain (mostly rice), and is also the country's main producer of pork. [Source]
The richness of the region has earned it the name 'The Land of Abundance', and the bountiful food production supports a total population of nearly 120 million people - 1 in every 50 people on Earth lives in the Sichuan Basin.
The name Sichuan literally means "Four Rivers", though no-one is quite sure which of the thousands of rivers that drain the province the name refers to. All but three of them drain into the mighty Yangtze, the world's third longest river. Meandering through Sichuan from its source high in the Himalayas, it has historically been the main artery that linked the province to the rest of China by trade. However, the fact that Sichuan is far from the sea and possibilities for ocean-based commerce has meant that it, along with the other provinces of Western China, has not shared in the rapid economic growth of the coastal regions.
The tall mountains around the Sichuan Basin impede air circulation, and keep the area relatively warm in winter and cool in summer. They are also responsible for the constant mist and fog that wreaths the rolling hills of Sichuan; the provincial capital, Chengdu, averages over 300 days of foggy weather a year. It is said that in Sichuan, dogs bark when they can see the sun, because it is such a rare sight.
A relief map of Sichuan shows a sharp distinction between the Eastern and Western halves of the province; in contrast to the flat and fertile East, West Sichuan is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas. This area has a mountainous continental climate in contrast to the subtropical climate of the East - West Sichuan has an average annual temperature of 6-12°C, in contrast to the East's average temperature of 16-18°C. [Source]
West Sichuan was traditionally a part of the Tibetan province of Kham, and is still home to a large Tibetan population, as well as other ethnic groups.
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| Giant Panda | Red-Billed Leiothrix | Sichuan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey |
Before the arrival of humans, the Sichuan Basin would have been covered in subtropical forests. After 5,000 years of intensive agriculture, little remains of the original forest cover, but patches still remain on inaccessible slopes and hills, and on holy mountains such as Emei Shan. [Source]
Sichuan is home to some unique animal species, the most famous being the Giant Panda. The mountains of Sichuan are home to most of the world's remaining wild pandas, and the province also hosts several large panda breeding centres and sanctuaries.
The majority of Sichuan's population are Han Chinese, but the province is also home to a number of minority peoples; West Sichuan is largely home to Tibetans, as well as other minority groups such as the Qiang, Miao, and Yi.
The history of the different cultures and their relationships has been shaped by the lay of the land; the Han mostly live in the fertile East of the province, whereas the mountains of West Sichuan have protected the indigenous cultures that live there from Chinese assimilation. One likely reason for this is that the terrain in West Sichuan is not suitable for the type of intensive rice cultivation usually practised by Chinese farmers.
As a result, the East and West of the province can feel like different countries, and for centuries, they were. West Sichuan only joined the province in the 20th century; it was previously a part of the Tibetan province of Kham. The Tibetans in Sichuan have a culture different to those in Lhasa; many of them are nomad herders far from the influence of the Buddhist priesthood, and in places, Bön, the original Tibetan religion, is still worshipped. [Source]
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| Tibetan Girl | Han Chinese man |
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| Qiang woman | Yi people |
Bön is currently discouraged by the Chinese government, which only recognizes five official religions (Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Protestantism and Catholicism), and is also marginalised by many Tibetan Buddhist sects, because it incorporates ritual animal sacrifice. The current Dalai Lama has, however, recognized Bön as one of the five spiritual schools of Tibet, and urges Buddhists not to discriminate against Bön worshippers.
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| Fire breathing performer in Sichuan opera |
One of the most iconic elements of Sichuan's culture, the Sichuan Opera is famous for its distinctive masks, fire-breathing, and a magic trick called face-changing, whereby performers change masks in a fraction of a second.
The language that some people refer to as 'Chinese' is actually a whole family of languages, the two most widely spoken being Mandarin and Cantonese. There are also smaller languages such as Hakka and Wu, and these are all split into numerous dialects. Sichuan dialect, or Sichuanhua, is generally considered a dialect of Mandarin, though some linguists argue that it should be considered a separate language, with nearly as many speakers as Japanese.
In China, everyone is taught to speak a standardized Mandarin (based on the Beijing dialect) in schools, and although most Chinese can understand the national standard, not all can speak it. For this reason, some Sichuanese may sound like they are speaking Mandarin with only a slight accent, whereas others may be incomprehensible to a resident of Beijing. Some may also be required to use standard Mandarin for work, but tend to revert to the dialect when speaking to friends or family.
Some general features of Sichuan dialect include a confusion of the 'n' and 'l' sounds, and sometimes the 'h' and 'f' sounds. The Chinese sounds 'zh', 'ch' and 'sh', produced by curling the tongue backwards, are often pronounced as 'z', 'c' and 's', with the tongue on the bottom teeth. Mandarin is a tonal language, with each syllable spoken with one of five tones, and Sichuan dialect often gives words a different tone to that used in standard Mandarin. Sichuan dialect speakers also tend to drawl their words somewhat.
Sichuan dialect also contains words and expressions not found in standard Mandarin. "Guawazi" is one popular insult in Sichuanhua, translating roughly as "stupid melon". "Sazi ma?", spoken in a slow Sichuan drawl, is the trademark Sichuan saying, and translates as "what are you talking about?".
Different towns and areas in Sichuan also have their own local subdialects, though the difference between these is not as great.
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| Traditional pace of life in Chengdu |
The capital of Sichuan is one of the largest cities in China, with an urban population of 3.75 million, or 11 million in the Chengdu administrative area. [Source] It is famous for its laid-back way of life, and Chengdu's residents often like to spend the day relaxing in the many teahouses that line the city's waterways and back alleys. In fact, although it has only half the population of Shanghai, Chengdu has more teahouses and bars, earning it a reputation as something of a 'party city'. [Source]
Major industries in Chengdu include textiles, food, machinery and electronics/IT. Major IT-related companies in the "Chengdu Hi-tech Industial Development Zone" include Intel (which has its second largest Chinese factory in Chengdu), IBM, NOKIA, Motorola, SAP, Siemens, Canon, HP, Xerox, Microsoft, and Lenovo. [Source] I want to live here!
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| Chongqing |
Historically part of Sichuan province, the city of Chongqing, three neighbouring townships and the surrounding countryside split from the rest of Sichuan in 1997 to make the area easier to govern; together Sichuan and Chongqing are home to over 120 million people. Covering an area the size of Scotland, the newly formed Chongqing province was designated as a municipality, the same as Beijing or Shanghai, making Chongqing the largest city in the world by official boundaries.
Built on the sides of steep hills at a point where the Jialing river meets the Yangtze, present-day Chongqing is the world's fastest growing metropolis; it is considered an integral part of the Chinese government's programme to improve the underdeveloped West of the country. [Source]
Despite being an important city in Chinese history, including being capital of the Republic of China during the 1940's Civil War, few have ever found the hot and polluted Chongqing to be a charming town. Its location in the Sichuan basin and rapid industrialisation means that it suffers from terrible smog, and it is one of China's three 'furnaces'; three cities in central China that endure extremely high temperatures during the Summer months.
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| Some of my students at No. 5 Middle School, Deyang |
Sichuan's second city in terms of economic output. I lived in Deyang from September 2007 to January 2008, where I taught English in No. 5 Middle School, which stands on the shores of Jinghu lake in the city centre. Deyang is a very modern city, with wide boulevards and many new apartment buildings, but more traditional areas can be found if you look in the right places.
Historically, Zigong was an important source of salt. It is also known for its lantern festival and for the well-preserved dinosaur skeletons discovered nearby, housed in the city's museum.
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| Rob and Simon at the Giant Buddha, Leshan |
Carved directly into the cliff face overlooking the city of Leshan, at 71 metres this is one of the largest Buddha statues in the world, and a UNESCO world heritage site. Built between 713 and 803 AD, it is now one of Sichuan's main tourist attractions, and thousands of visitors arrive every year to take amusing photos of their Australian flatmates.
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| Jiuzhaigou National Park |
An old legend tells that the Taoist Goddess Semo dropped her mirror, and the 109 shards become the 109 lakes of Jiuzhaigou national park. The astonishingly clear blue water of the lakes, set against a backdrop of stunning Alpine mountains, draws over 7,000 visitors a day. [Source]
One of the holiest mountains of the Taoist religion, Emei Shan attracts pilgrims and tourists alike. Stairs climb all the way to the top of the mountain, but reaching the summit is still a gruelling hike that can take several days - travellers may stay the night in Buddhist monastries on the mountain that provide lodging for guests. Considered an integral part of the Mount Emei experience by many are the monkeys that live on the mountain and like to accost travellers for food. The monkeys have learned a clever trick to do this; they stand in the way of hikers with upturned hands, not letting them pass until they are given 'tribute'.
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| Hotpot is the ultimate Sichuanese dish |
Chinese food is famous the world over, however the dishes that many Westerners think of as "Chinese" only represent the Cantonese food of Guangdong (also known as Canton, hence Cantonese) and other southern provinces, as this is where a majority of Chinese people emigrated from in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In a country as large and diverse as China, Cantonese-style food is only one of "Eight Great Traditions", or regional cuisines, each with its own distinct style. Of these eight, four are considered to represent the best of Chinese food.
In the north, Shandong cuisine is known to be heavy on the salt and vinegar, and has contributed many grain-based foods such as noodles and dumplings. In the East, the food of Jiangsu is often sweet, and contains many fish dishes. In the South, the food of Guangdong is famous for using a very wide range of exotic ingredients, as well as a similarly diverse array of cooking methods. Finally, in the West, the food of Sichuan stands out as being the spiciest in Chinese cooking. [Source]
This is achieved through the use of a variety of chillis, peppercorns, star anise, and Sichuan pepper, also known as flower or mountain pepper.
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| The Sichuanese are great lovers of tea |
Famous Sichuan dishes include mapo dofou (pock-marked tofu), tofu and mince meat in a spicy sauce; Kung Pao chicken; chicken with peanuts or cashews stir-fried with Sichuan peppercorns and Shaoxing rice wine; and Tea-Smoked Duck, a non-spicy dish that gains its flavour by being smoked over tea leaves.
The signature dish of Sichuan cuisine is hotpot. This is a social meal, a little like fondue, where the diners gather around a single large pot in the centre of the table. This is filled with the spicy and oily mala sauce, which is kept on the boil. Dishes such as tofu, sliced meat and vegetables are placed in the hotpot to cook, and then eaten when ready, often being first dipped in peanut or oyster sauce.
People from Sichuan tend to drink green tea rather than the red teas drank in the north of China. The Sichuanese are great lovers of tea, and their teahouse culture, where patrons often spend all day chatting and playing mahjong, is famous across China.
In 2008, Sichuan was caught up in three of the biggest events in China that year: in March protesters and police clashed during riots in the Tibetan West of the province; in May, the nineteenth deadliest earthquake in history struck Sichuan, killing over sixty thousand people [Source]; in August, Sichuan sent 34 athletes to comepete at the Olympic games in Beijing, who returned with one bronze and three gold medals. [Source]
Whether it continues to rise and rise or if its phenomenal growth begins to peak, China looks destined to be a major power on the world stage in the decades to come, and as the key to China's underdeveloped western regions, Sichuan will be an integral part of this singular country's future.