Introduction Of Chengdu City

　Chengdu has more than 2,300 years' history .Early in the 4th century BC, Kaiming IX, king of ancient Shu, moved the capital from Guangdu Fanxiang (now called Shuangliu) to Chengdu. "A town was built in this area in the first year and the capital in the second year, so the ancestor name the city as Chengdu, which means that it became a capital in Chinese.

　In 311 B.C, people of Qin Dynasty (221 BC-208 BC) built a protective wall around Chengdu city according to the construction standard practiced in Xianyang, capital of Qin Dynasty. Thus, the wall was erected with a height of 3.5 meters and a perimeter of 6 kilometers, marking the beginning of Chengdu City.

　The Dujiangyan Irrigation System was constructed under the lead of Li Bing, prefect of Shu Prefecture. The Dujiangyan brings the vast Chengdu Plain under irrigation and protects it against droughts and floods for over 2000 years. Chengdu plain was turned into the Land of Abundance with temperate climate and fertile soil.

　In Western Han Dynasty (206 BC- AD 23), brocades produced in Chengdu enjoyed good popularity in China. The government assigned Jinguan (an official in charge of brocade production) to administrate the brocade production in Chengdu and the Jinguan City was constructed. So Chengdu is also called Jinguan City or Brocade City.

　In the Five Kingdoms Period (907-960), Mengchang, king of the Latter Shu Kingdom, decreed to plant hibiscuses on the protective wall of the city, so Chengdu is also called the City of Hibiscus.

　Through the history, Chengdu was a city densely covered by rivers and dotted with bridges, while trees grew in profusion and flowers bloomed all year around. No wonder that a traveler from France in the 19th century praised Chengdu as Oriental Paris. Over 2,000 years, Chengdu has remained a city of military importance in Southwest China on politics, economy and military affairs. Gongsun Shu, king of Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bei, emperor of the Three Kingdoms and Meng Zhixiang, King of the Latter Shu Kingdom all founded their capital in Chengdu. Later in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it remained the location of government for Sichuan province. Early in Ming Dynasty (1912-1949), it was the capital city of Sichuan province. On December 27, 1949, Chengdu was liberated and chosen as the location for the administration office for Sichuan province. Since 1952, when Sichuan resumed its status as an administrative province, Chengdu became capital.

　Chengdu has also been a city with prosperous industry and booming business activities. In the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC) and the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD220), it was a well-known business center. In the Han Dynasty, it was one of the five best cities in China, the other four cities being Luoyang, Handan, Linzi and Wan. It ranked second, next only to Yangzhou in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), next only to the capital city, Bianjing. Early in Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty, the commerce and trade in Chengdu had outgrown the traditional family workshops, gradually developing into a modern city of sophistication. Each month was devoted to different fair: January for lamps, February flowers, March silkworms, April embroideries, May fans, June incense, July jewel wares, August sweet-scented osmanthus trees, September wines, October plum trees, and December peach wood charms. Besides, in the downtown areas, the markets for after-supper shopping began to flourish. Even to this day, names of some old streets testify to that history, including names like Yanshi Street (street for salt trade), location of city council, and business Street, location of branch office of Communist Party of China in Sichuan. Paper money appeared and was first used in China, Chengdu being its birthplace. At that time, workshops for paper money making were located in Jingchong Temple to the north of Chengdu city (today known as Wan-fu Temple, Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas). The paper money made here was the earliest paper money ever used, which played a significant role in promoting trade, financial transaction, and economic development.

　Chengdu also has the longest history for gas exploration and utilization. Early in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 23), natural gas was discovered and used in salt-refinery. Li Bing, Magistrate of Sichuan province then, built canals to lead rivers to flow before Chengdu city, greatly improving its transportation. Soon later, merchants set out from Chengdu to embark on the long journey for silk trade known as the Silk Road. Chengdu has been proud of its great contribution to the culture of China as well as the world.

　With a long history, the education in Chengdu is well developed. Early in 141 B.C, Wen Weng built schools to promote education, which was the first attempt in China for public education. Till the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), the school had grown into a college with an enrollment totaling 1,000 members. This may explain why Sichuan has been the birthplace of so many talents with the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 23) and the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-220 BC) as its prime time. Chengdu was a leading city in paper making in the Sui Dynasty (581-618 ) and in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and he hemp paper made in Chengdu was officially prescribed for decree writing and the Central library of China at that time. Later, the wood block printing technology was another great contribution made by the Chinese people to the civilization of the whole world. Once again, Chengdu was among the first to introduce and adopt this technology. In the Song Dynasty (960 BC-1279 BC), Chengdu was one of the three printing centers, and its printing technology was honored as° the most advanced in China".