Chengtu

a city in Southwest China, in the valley of the Min Chiang. Capital of Szechwan Province. Population, 2.2 million (1975).

Ch’engtu is a major transportation junction and industrial center. The city’s machine-building industry manufactures such products as radios, machine tools, instruments, precision tools, and transportation equipment. There is copper and aluminum smelting. The city also manufactures rolled pipes, chemical products, textiles, food products, wood products, and leather goods. A fossil-fuel-fired steam power plant is located in the city. Ch’engtu, which is noted for its fine handicrafts, has a university.

Ch’engtu was founded in the fourth century B.C. It was the capital of the Shu state from A.D. 221 to A.D. 263 and the capital of the Earlier and Later Shu kingdoms from 908 to 965. From 1644 to 1646 the city was occupied by the rebel army of Chang Hsien-chung. In the second half of the 17th century, after the Manchu conquest of China, it became the capital of Szechwan Province. In September 1911 the city was besieged by nationalist rebels (seeSZECHWAN UPRISING OF 1911). The city was freed from Kuomintang rule by the People’s Liberation Army of China on Dec. 27, 1949.

Early in the Common Era, Ch’engtu was renowned for its brocades and was often called Chinch’eng, or “city of brocade.” The city has numerous gardens and parks, and its architectural monuments include the Wu-hou Tz’u shrine (16th–18th centuries), the temple Ch’ing Yang Kung (literally, “Black Sheep Palace”; 13th century), and the monastery Pao Kuang Ssu. The Tu Fu House-Museum and the Szechwan Provincial Museum are located in Ch’engtu.