Earthquake: What does 四川 Sìchuān mean?

四川 Sìchuān  is famous for its delicious spicy food and scenic spots, but this week the 7.8-magnitude earthquake made all the world astonished because of the big death toll. All the people come to support 四川 Sìchuān Province. Look at this earthquake relief advertisement , it writes “CHINA” with “川 chuān” inside it. Isn’t it creative?

Sichuan Province, located in southwest China, is one of the largest and most inaccessible provinces in the nation. This province covers an area of 485,000 kilometers (187,000 miles) and boasts the largest population in China, with 87 million people.

Do you know the character meanings for the name? It is easy and interesting. ChineseHour is telling you now.
四川 Sìchuān, 四 Sì — FOUR, 川 chuān — RIVER.

See? It means FOUR RIVERS there.

Sichuan is bordered by the Tibetan Plateau in the west and by the Three Gorges and the Yangtze River in the east. The eastern part of the Sichuan basin is ringed by lofty mountains and experiences a subtropical and humid climate. The western part is considered the highland area and experiences frequent fog with intense sunlight, but low temperatures. The annual rainfall in this province is 1000 millimeters and the average annual temperature is 16.5C.

If you look carefully at this characters “川 chuān”, it is a pictographic one, see? Two strokes on both sides resembles two banks of a river, and the central stroke resembles a river. Do you understand what it means now?

Let’s learn two common idioms with “川 chuān”:
名山大川 míngshān dàchuān

Meaning： 泛指有名的高山和源远流长的大河。
English: famous mountains and great rivers
Example: I love China’s 名山大川 (míng shān dà chuān).
川流不息 chuān liú bù xī

Meaning: 形容行人、车马等象水流一样连续不断。
English: flowing past in an endless stream; never-ending
Example: Passengers at the railway 川流不息 (chuān liú bù xī).

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan and is the cultural and industrial center for the agricultural Chengdu Plain. Chengdu was one of the first centers of printing in China and has been famous for its luxurious satins, brocades, and lacquer ware since the 13th century.

Chengdu is also home to the Chengdu Giant Panda Research base, one of the most important centers in the world for the captive conservation of the Giant Panda. The Research Centre has evolved into China Panda City. Panda City encompasses a museum, as well as the Chengdu Zoo.

Sichuan is known as the ‘天府之国 Land of Abundance’ and has three places on the World Cultural and Natural Heritage List: 九寨沟 Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area, Huang Long Valley (Yellow Dragon Valley) and Mount Emeishan including Leshan Giant Buddha. Visitors to this province can experience a wide variety of beautiful landscapes including plateaus, mountains, ravines, basins, hills, plains, rivers, lakes, hot springs, waterfalls and limestone caves. In addition, tourists can visit important historic relics and taste the delicious spicy Sichuan Cuisine. Learn Chinese at www.chinesehour.com today with native Chinese teachers, you can have a better understanding of the local culture in Sichuan Province.

Sichuan Cuisine is one of the Eight Great Cuisines in China and is famous all over the world for its richness and variety. Characterized by spicy and pungent flavors, Sichuan Cuisine, with a myriad of tastes, emphasizes the use of chili, red hot peppers and garlic. Sichuan food is known for being ’spicy’ hot! It’s said that one who doesn’t experience Sichuan food has never reached Sichuan.