Sichuan

Sichuan (四川; Sìchuān; also known as Szechwan), is a province in the west of the Southern Central Region of China. Regions Aba (Ngawa) Tibetan & Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Ganzi (Garze) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Muli Tibetan Autonomous County Cities Chengdu - the capital of Sichuan has 2,000 years of history, the southeastern part is encircled by small mountains and to the north east is Chengdu Campagna. Dege - home to an amazing Tibetan library. Ganzi - rough Tibetan town and launching point for exploring local monasteries. Kangding - gateway to western Sichuan's Tibetan region. Langmusi - beautiful Tibetan border town sitting in both Gansu & Sichuan, with two monasteries, horse trekking opportunities and a sky burial site. Leshan - home of the largest stone carved Buddha in the world. Songpan - base camp for exploring Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve and the Amdo Tibetan culture. Xiangcheng- On the high-road to Yunnan Xinlong Langzhong - ancient town in north-east Sichuan Chongqing Municipality is administratively separate, but culturally and historically still Sichuanese. See List of Chinese provinces and regions. Other destinations Bailonghu National Park Beichuan - Beichuan is a memorial city. It was destroyed by earthquake and landslide in 2008. Parts of it are open to tourists for viewing the damage and paying respect. Emeishan National Park Guangwushan-Nuoshuihe National Park Huanglongsi-Jiuzhaigou National Park Jianmen Shudao National Park - Jianmen Pass and Ancient Plankway of Shudao Kanggar Mountains National Park Longmenshan National Park Qingchengshan-Dujiangyan National Park - one of the ancient cradles of Daoism Qionghai-Luojishan National Park Shihai Dongxiang National Park - Stone Sea and Cave Countryside Shunan Zhuhai National Park - Bamboo Sea of Southern Sichuan Siguniangshan National Parks Tiantaishan National Park, Qionglai Xiling Xueshan National Park - Xueshan: Snow Mountains Hailougou Glacier Park Understand Climate - See the climate table on Chengdu page Talk The language of Sichuan is a variant of Mandarin, which differs from standard Mandarin significantly in pronunciation, and uses slang words which are unique to the area. Nevertheless, native speakers of Mandarin will be able to understand the local dialect albeit with some difficulty. Tibetan is still the mother tongue in most of the highland west. Many young people in the western regions are bi-lingual in both Tibetan and Mandarin. The vast majority of signage is always in Chinese throughout the province. Get in Get around See Dacheng Lamo Kerti Gompa - located at Langmusi, temple where traditional Tibetian sky-burials are still practiced Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries Do Eat Sichuan cuisine is well-known worldwide, including dishes like Kung Pao Chicken (宮保雞丁) and Twice Cooked Pork (回鍋肉). It is also famously spicy, with liberal use of chilies and the indigenous Sichuan pepper (花椒; huājiāo). One of the other specialty of the area is the Hot Pot (火锅; Huoguo）, cheap but extremely spicy. Drink Sleep Stay safe The province of Sichuan suffered a catastrophic earthquake on May 12, 2008 centered on Wenchuan County, about 100km north of Chengdu city. Many cities were nearly completaly destroyed and over 80,000 people are dead or missing with hundreds of thousands more injured or homeless. Government response was fast, but reconstruction will still take years. Many of Sichuan's main attractions are located at altitudes above 3,000 meters and thus altitude sickness is a threat. Make sure to monitor your own health and take it easy for a day or two if moving from the low lands to higher elevations. To help combat this sickness, many local Chinese eat medicine known as Hong Jing Tian. These are red capsules that the soldiers of the People's Liberation Army use to help them quickly adjust to altitude conditions in the Western Chinese provinces. Local tour companies will have a ready supply of this medicine if you ask. There is also tension in Western Sichuan between the Chinese government and the mainly Tibetan people there and travel restrictions may apply to this area. See the warnings under Tibet. Get out This article is an outline and needs more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. Please plunge forward and help it grow!