Chengdu, << chuhng doo >> (pop. 7,400,000), also spelled Ch’eng-tu and Chengtu, is a city in south-central China. It serves as the capital of Sichuan Province. Chengdu is a regional center of commerce, finance, technology, and transportation. It also has many educational institutions, including Sichuan University.
An ancient city, Chengdu has been the political center of Sichuan Province since about 300 B.C. It was an old-fashioned walled city before the Communists took control of China in 1949. The Communists modernized the city into an industrial center. Factories and office and apartment buildings were constructed, and most of the city’s walls and their towers were torn down. However, Chengdu still has an old section with narrow streets lined by traditional wooden houses and busy markets.
