Sichuan

Sichuan known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or the alternative romanisation Szechuan) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the southwest of the country. The capital is Chengdu, a key economic centre of Western China.

Sichuan consists of two very geographically distinct parts. The eastern part of the province is mostly within the fertile Sichuan basin (which is shared by Sichuan with Chongqing Municipality). The western Sichuan consists of the numerous mountain ranges forming the easternmost part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which are known generically as Hengduan Mountains. One of these ranges, Daxue Mountains, contains the highest point of the province Gongga Shan, at 7,556 metres (24,790 ft) tall.