Chengdu, formerly romanized as Chengtu, is the provincial capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China, as well as a major city in Western China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status. The administrative area houses 14,047,625 inhabitants: 7,415,590 within the municipality's nine urban districts and 6,632,035 in the surrounding satellite towns and counties' urban, suburb and rural area. According to the 2010 census, Chengdu is the fourth most populous city in China. Chengdu is one of the most important economic, finance, commerce, culture, transportation, and communication centers in Western China. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is one of the top 50 busiest airports in the world, and Chengdu Railway Station is one of the six biggest train stations in China. According to the 2007 Public Appraisal for Best Chinese Cities for Investment, Chengdu was chosen as one of the top ten cities to invest in out of a total of 280 urban centers in China. Chengdu is also popular in international company and consulates.More than 250 Fortune 500 companies and 10 consulates have established branches in Chengdu due to huge demand of Western China. In 2006, it was named China's 4th-most livable city by China Daily.
Leshan (simplified Chinese: 乐山; traditional Chinese: 樂山; pinyin: Lèshān; literally: "Happy mountain"; Sichuanese Pinyin: No2san1; local pronunciation: [nʊʔ˧sã˥]) is a prefecture-level city located at the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers in Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China. Leshan is located on the southwestern fringe of the Red Basin in southern Sichuan, about 120 km (75 mi) from Chengdu. At the 2010 census, its population was 3,235,759 whom 662,814 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Shizhong district, as Wutongqiao and Jinkouhe districts are not conurbated yet.
Mianyang (simplified Chinese: 绵阳; traditional Chinese: 綿陽; pinyin: Miányáng) is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Its population was 4,613,871 at the 2010 census covering an area of 20,267.46 square kilometres (7,825.31 sq mi) consisting of Jiangyou, a county-level city, six counties and two urban districts. Its built-up (or metro) area was home to 1,722,133 inhabitants including the city proper of Mianyang (two urban districts) and An County largely being conurbated as urbanisation sprawls. In 2006, Mianyang was ranked as China's third "most suitable city for living" by China Daily, after coastal cities Dalian and Xiamen.
Nanchong (Chinese: 南充; pinyin: Nánchōng; Wade–Giles: Nan-ch'ung; Sichuanese: lan2cong1; ) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China, with an area of 12,479.96 square kilometres (4,818.54 sq mi), and at the 2010 census was home to 6,278,614 people whom 1,858,875 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of 3 urban districts. It is the second most populated city of Sichuan Province, only after Chengdu. The administrative center is Shunqing District.
Ya'an (Chinese: 雅安; pinyin: Yǎ'ān; Wade–Giles: Ya-an, Tibetan: Yak-Nga [གཡག་རྔ་]) is a prefecture-level city in the western part of Sichuan province, People's Republic of China, located just below the Tibetan Plateau.
Luzhou (simplified Chinese: 泸州; traditional Chinese: 瀘州; pinyin: Lúzhōu; Sichuanese Pinyin: Nu2zou1; Luzhou dialect: [nu˨˩tsəu˥]), formerly transliterated as Lu-chou or Luchow, is a prefecture-level city located in the southeast of Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China. The city, named Jiangyang until the Southern and Northern Dynasties, is known as the "wine city". Situated at the confluence of the Tuo River and the Yangtze River, Luzhou is not only an important port on the Yangtze river, but also the largest port in both size and output in Sichuan province since Chongqing seceded from Sichuan province in 1997. At the 2010 census its population was 4,218,427 inhabitants whom 919,832 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made of Jiangyang and Longmatan districts, as Naxi district isn't conurbated yet. Luzhou, which borders Yunnan, Guizhou and Chongqing, is the only geographic junction of the four provinces, and was therefore the logical place for a port in ancient China. After the PRC was founded in 1949, Luzhou became the capital of southern Sichuan province. In 1983, Luzhou was approved as a prefecture-level city administratively.
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