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| Overview of Sichuan |
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Sichuan, Chuan or Shu for short, is located in southwest China and on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. It is hailed as the "Land of Abundance". With a total area of 486,000 square kilometers, Sichuan has jurisdiction over 21 cities (prefectures) and 183 counties (county-level cities and districts). It borders seven provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government), including Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu, and Shaanxi. In Sichuan, there is the largest inhabited area of the Yi ethnic group, the second-largest inhabited area of the Tibetan ethnic group, and the only inhabited area of the Qiang ethnic group. By the end of 2020, the provincial population of family households was 77.093 million, and the permanent resident population was 83.675 million, including 5.688 million people of ethnic minorities.
Long history and time-honored cultures. During the Pre-Qin Dynasty, Sichuan was the territory of the Ba and Shu states; in the Northern Song Dynasty, Chuanxia Road was built in the present Sichuan area and then divided into Yizhou Road, Zizhou Road, Lizhou Road, and Kuizhou Road, which were collectively referred to as Sichuan Road. Since then, the area has been called "Sichuan". Sichuan is one of the birthplaces of Chinese Taoism, the cradle of ancient Shu civilization, and the place where "Jiaozi" — the earliest banknote in the world — was born. Sichuan Brocade and Sichuan Shadow Play have been included in UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage. Sichuan's salt industry culture and wine culture are long-standing and well-established; its Three Kingdoms culture, Red Army culture, and Ba People culture are brilliant with profound connotations; its ancient Shu civilization represented by Sanxingdui Site and Jinsha Site is especially resplendent and mysterious. Currently, Sichuan has eight famous national-level historical and cultural cities, 262 key cultural relics sites under state protection, and 1,215 cultural relics sites under provincial protection.
Abundant natural resources. Sichuan has 26 world-class tourism resources and brands, three "world natural heritage" sites (Jiuzhaigou Valley, Huanglong, Giant Panda Habitat), one "world cultural heritage" site (Mount Qingcheng-Dujiangyan), and one "world cultural and natural heritage" site (Mount Emei-Leshan Giant Buddha). In addition, Sichuan boasts 565 national A-class tourist scenic spots, including 15 5A-class scenic spots; 18 national-level scenic areas; and 145 key species of wild animals under state protection — ranking first in the country — including 1,387 wild giant pandas. Its forest growing stock is 1.897 billion cubic meters, ranking third domestically, forest coverage registers 39.6%, and comprehensive vegetation coverage of grassland (CVCG) reaches 85.6%, making it possible for the province to serve as the ecological barrier of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and Yellow River.
Strong scientific and educational strength. Sichuan is among the eight national comprehensive innovation reform pilot zones. It boasts a lot of key regional innovation platforms, including China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Tianfu New Area, China (Mianyang) Science and Technology City and Panxi National Strategic Resources and Innovation Development Pilot Zone. Sichuan is home to 23,900 schools including 147 universities and colleges, 16 national key laboratories, 128 provincial key laboratories and 61 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering including the one who is the academician of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
Complete industrial system. Sichuan is one of the three national power equipment manufacturing bases and four electronic information industry bases. Throughout the year, the electronic information, equipment manufacturing, food and beverage, advanced material and energy and chemical industries, five pillar industries of Sichuan, generated RMB 4.03 trillion in operating revenue, growing by 9.6%. The added value of the core industries of the digital economy in Sichuan reached 401.2 billion yuan. Sichuan has established more than 30 industry alliances covering intelligent manufacturing, 5G, blockchain, industrial internet, ultra-high-definition videos and so on. Sichuan owns 1,299 enterprise technology centers above the provincial level and 78 technological innovation demonstration enterprises above the provincial level. Sichuan boasts 176 first sets of major technological equipment, first batches of new materials and first versions of software, to which it subsidized RMB 480 million. Sichuan has seen its nuclear power equipment, heavy-duty gas turbine, commercial drone and many other products listed among the top in China and even the world.
Convenient transportation facilities. The total mileage of railways and highways in Sichuan has reached 5,687 kilometers and 8,608 kilometers respectively. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport has been able to handle more than 50 million passengers a year. Chengdu Tianfu International Airport has been officially put into operation, and the "four-way and eight-corridor" strategic comprehensive transportation pattern is gradually taking shape. Sichuan is speeding up the construction of the Chengdu-Nanchong-Dazhou-Wanzhou High-speed Railway in the east, which leads to the Yangtze River Delta and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region; the Chengdu-Zigong-Yibin High-speed Railway in the south, which connects to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone; the Sichuan-Tibet Railway in the west, which stretches to the Tibetan Plateau; and the Chengdu-Lanzhou High-speed Railway in the north, connecting with the Silk Road Economic Belt.
Since the 19th CPC National Congress, the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and People's Government of Sichuan Province have adhered to the guidance of Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and fully put into practice the spirits of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions on Sichuan's development and the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. Sichuan makes overall plans to promote epidemic prevention and control, as well as economic and social development. Sichuan is working to deeply implement the development strategy of "one trunk and multiple branches" and according to the working ideas of "improving the contribution of agriculture, playing the pillar role of industry and the leading role of investment, and promoting upgrade through consumption", doing a solid job to stabilize employment, finance, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment and expectations and ensure employment, basic livelihood, market players, food and energy security, the stability of industrial chains and supply chains, and grassroots operation, standing up to all difficulties facing it. By now, Sichuan has seen its economy picking up quarter by quarter, society remaining stable overall, and the new progress made in the governance and revitalization of the whole province. Sichuan has lifted all of its 88 impoverished counties and 11,501 impoverished villages as well as 6.25 million people registered as living under the poverty line out of poverty. It has basically established the social security system covering both urban and rural residents, and achieved 91.7% of gross enrollment rate of preschool education and the basic balanced development of compulsory education across all counties (county-level cities and districts), and witnessed the continuous development of law-based Sichuan and peaceful Sichuan and constant improvement of social governance capability. |
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