title: Sichuan
text: Sichuan (; ) is a province in western China with its capital at Chengdu. It is also informally called 蜀 (). 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 四川 () is an abbreviation of 四川路 (, translated as "Four circuits/subdivisions of rivers"), which is itself shortened from 川峡四路 (, 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