四川：天府之国，既壮阔亦美丽

Sichuan: The Magnificent and Beautiful Land of Abundance

文/李春林 Li Chunlin 译/丁鹏 Penny Ding

天下山水之观在蜀
The Finest Landscapes Under Heaven Are Found in Shu

四川位于中国西南部，地处长江上游，是西南内陆的重要省份。其人口约9000万，位居中国第四；面积约48.6万平方公里，位居中国第五。四川享有“天府之国”的美誉，其物产丰富、山川秀美，是一个充满魅力的地方。

Sichuan Province lies in the southwest of China, along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. As one of the most important inland provinces in this region, Sichuan ranks fourth in population—home to over 90 million people—and fifth in land area, covering about 486,000 square kilometers. Known throughout history as the 'Land of Abundance,' it is a place of enduring charm with rich produce and beautiful mountains and rivers.

四川东部多属海拔200～500米的盆地，而西部的川西高原则属海拔3000～7000米的青藏高原东缘。唐代诗人李白曾写下“蜀国多仙山”的诗句——要想读懂四川，首先要了解四川的山。

The eastern part of Sichuan lies within the basin, rising gently 200 to 500 metres above sea level, while the western Chuanxi Plateau stretches east of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, soaring to heights between 3,000 and 5,000 metres. As the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai once wrote, 'Shu is a land of many immortal mountains.' Indeed, to understand Sichuan, one must first understand its mountains.

四川名山众多。其中，岷山山脉的主峰为雪宝顶，海拔5588米，是中国最东的5000米级雪山之一。岷山的冰雪融水滋养了著名的九寨沟和黄龙景区。邛崃山脉主峰为四姑娘山么妹峰，海拔6247.8米，其附近的海子沟、长坪沟皆是观山的好地方，是著名的户外胜地。大雪山脉主峰贡嘎山，海拔7508.9米，其周边还环绕着10座以上海拔超6000米的山峰，堪称“川西高原屋脊”。沙鲁里山脉南段稻城县内有三座神山：海拔6033米的央迈勇、海拔5998.5米的仙乃日、海拔5951.3米的夏诺多吉。它们以其绝世身姿和神秘传说，吸引着世界各地的游客前去体会“香巴拉并不遥远”的美丽意境。四川的名山远不止这些，还有海拔3099米的峨眉山——中国四大佛教名山之一，以及海拔2434米的道教圣地青城山——享有“青城天下幽”之誉。

There are many famous mountains in Sichuan. Among them, the Mount Xuebaoding (literally meaning 'Snowy Treasure Peak') of the Minshan Mountains, rising 5,588 metres above sea level, stands at the far eastern end of the snow-capped range. Its ancient glaciers feed the crystalline waters of the world-famous Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong Scenic Areas. To the west is Yaomei Feng (the 'Youngest Sister' Peak) of Mount Siguniang (the 'Four Sisters' Mountain), which stands at 6,247.8 meters. Nearby, the Haizigou and Changpinggou valleys offer some of the finest vantage points for mountain viewing and have become a renowned resort for mountaineers and outdoor enthusiasts. Towering above them all is Gongga Mountain, the main peak of the Daxue (Big Snow) Mountains, reaching 7,508.9 metres above sea level. Surrounded by ten companion peaks—each soaring beyond 6,000 metres above sea level—Gongga is rightly praised as 'the Roof of the Western Sichuan Plateau.' Further south in Daocheng County, the southern section of the Shaluli Mountains is home to three sacred peaks: Yangmaiyong (6,033 metres), Xiannail (5,998.5 metres), and Xianuoduoji (5,951.3 metres). With their matchless beauty and mystical legends, these mountains draw pilgrims and travelers from around the world, offering a glimpse of the ethereal landscapes not far from Shangri-La. Beyond these, Sichuan boasts many other famous mountains, such as Mount Emei (3,099 metres), one of China's four great Buddhist mountains, and Mount Qingcheng (2,434 metres), a secluded Taoist sanctuary known as a 'world apart.'

有了雄壮的山，自然少不了灵动的水。四川号称“千江之省”，岷江、大渡河、雅砻江、金沙江等纵横其间。除了江河，四川还有很多高海拔湖泊。其中，最著名的当属九寨沟的五花海和长海——素有“九寨归来不看水”之美誉。此外，还有泸沽湖、邛海、木格措、新路海、措普湖、葫芦海等高原湖泊，静静铺展在山原之间。

Where there are majestic mountains, there is naturally no shortage of vibrant, flowing waters. Sichuan, often hailed as the 'Province of a Thousand Rivers,' is interlaced by rivers like Minjiang, Dadu, Yalong, and Jinsha as they carve through valleys and gorges. Its most celebrated bodies of water, however, are the lakes of Jiuzhaigou—Wuhua Hai (Five-Flower Lake) and Chang Hai (Long Lake)—which inspire the saying 'After seeing Jiuzhaigou, no other waters will ever impress you again.' Beyond these, plateau lakes such as Lugu Lake, Qionghai, Mugecuo, Xinlu Hai, Cuopu Lake, and Hulu Hai quietly spread between mountains and plains.

说了四川的山水，自然也该说说四川的原野。

After speaking about the mountains and waters in Sichuan, it's only natural to turn to its fertile fields.

每年二月到四月，四川盆地内的油菜花自川南向川中、川北依次绽放，将整个盆地点染成一幅金黄色油画。若将视野再放宽些，向川西北望去——这里是长江、黄河两大江河流域的上游地带。夏天到来时，天高云淡，草原上百花盛开，河流在大地上肆意蜿蜒，宛如上天挥洒的写意大手笔。

Every year from February to April, rapeseed flowers in the Sichuan Basin bloom from south to north, dyeing the entire basin into a vast golden oil painting. If you broaden your vision a little further to the northwest of the province—the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, another scene unfolds. When summer arrives, the sky stretches high and the clouds drift light, wildflowers carpet the grasslands, and rivers meander freely across the earth, like a spontaneous blessing brushed by heaven's hand.

四川的风景，不能错过的还有林。

Among Sichuan's breathtaking landscapes, the forests are treasures not to be missed.

夏天，四川的森林是让人尽情深呼吸的地方，也是著名世界自然遗产地四川大熊猫栖息地的核心片区之一，众多珍稀动物亦生活于此。而每到秋天，四川海拔2000米以上的山谷里，成片的枫树、青冈木、柏树等组成的彩林被秋阳“点燃”：毕棚沟、措普沟、奶子沟、卡龙沟、松坪沟，光雾山、东拉山，直至金川河谷，漫山遍野的红黄层叠，仿若一场盛大的色彩盛宴。

In summer, the forests of Sichuan become a sanctuary where people can breathe deeply and let their hearts unfold freely. It is also one of the core areas of the World Heritage Site: the habitat of the Sichuan giant panda. Numerous other rare species make their home here. When autumn arrives, valleys more than 2,000 metres above sea level are set ablaze with colour. Forests of maple trees, green hill trees, cypress trees, are ignited by the autumn sun. From Bipenggou, Cuopugou, Naizigou, Kalonggou, Songpinggou, Guangwu Mountain, Dongla Mountain to Jinchuan River Valley, the red and yellow cascading down the mountains form a magnificent feast of colour.

四川的风景，山是挺拔的骨骼，水是灵动的血脉，原野是柔美的肌肤，森林是浓密的毛发。古人曾赞“天下山水之观在蜀”，不妨走近细细品味，它的神奇与灵秀、壮阔与温柔皆令人沉醉！

The scenery of Sichuan forms a living portrait of nature's harmony: its mountains the steadfast bones; its waters the soul of the land; its fields the graceful skin, and its forests the thick rich hair. As the ancient people once praised, 'The World's finest landscapes are in Shu.' So walk closer and savour its magic and beauty, a land where grandeur and gentleness intertwine in intoxicating balance.

巴蜀文化，璀璨精彩
The Culture of Bashu Is Brilliant and Splendid

1986年，在四川广汉鸭子河畔，三星堆一号、二号坑（后称为“祭祀坑”）先后出土青铜大立人像、青铜神树、青铜面具、金面罩、金杖、象牙等上千件珍贵文物。此后十余年，又陆续发现城墙和宫殿基址等重要遗迹。基于这些发现，“三星堆文化”得以正式命名，为已消逝的古蜀国提供了独特的物证，也为中华文明的多元一体提供了更为有力的考古实证。

In 1986, two pits—later known as the 'sacrificial pits'—were discovered on the bank of the Yazi (Duck) River in Guanghan, Sichuan. They yielded thousands of prehistoric cultural relics, including majestic bronze standing figures, sacred bronze trees, bronze and golden masks, gold staffs, and exquisite ivory artifacts. Over the following decade, archaeologists at Sanxingdui continued to uncover major relics, such as ancient city walls and palace foundations. Based on these discoveries, the 'Sanxingdui Culture Site' was officially established, providing unique evidence of the once-vanished ancient Shu Kingdom and offering new insight into the diversity and integration of early Chinese civilization.

公元前256年，秦国蜀郡太守李冰父子率众修建都江堰灌溉成都平原，此后历代扩渠，最终成就“水旱从人、不知饥馑”的天府之国。2200余年过去，都江堰这座无坝引水工程仍在发挥巨大作用，被誉为“活的水利博物馆”。

In 256 BCE, Li Bing, the governor of Shu County under the Qin State, and his son led their troops to construct the Dujiangyan Irrigation System to bring the water to the Chengdu Plain. Subsequent dynasties expanded its network of canals, transforming the region into a 'Land of Abundance' where, with floods and droughts tamed by human hands, the people knew neither hunger nor famine. More than 2,200 years later, Dujiangyan—this ingenious dam-free water-diversion project—continues to function as much as in ancient times, earning its reputation as a 'living museum of water conservancy.'

四川也是三国文化的重要发源地，至今仍保留着剑门关、庞统祠、昭化古城等诸多与三国有关的历史遗迹与英雄传说。而成都武侯祠，是中国唯一一座君臣合祀祠庙，享有“三国圣地”之美誉。

Sichuan is also an important birthplace of Three Kingdoms culture, and to this day it still preserves many historical relics, such as the Jianmen Pass, Pang Tong Shrine, and Zhaohua Ancient City, which keep alive the legends of heroes of that era. The Temple of Marquis Wu (Wuhou Temple) is unique as the only temple where a ruler and his minister were worshipped together, and it has long enjoyed the reputation of being the 'Sacred Land of the Three Kingdoms.'

四川深厚的历史文化孕育了众多英雄豪杰和专家学者，也孕育了不少文人雅士。任凭时光流转，他们依然是四川的传奇。

Sichuan's profound history and culture have given birth to many heroes, experts, scholars, and literati. Though time moves on, they themselves have become the enduring legend of Sichuan.

大禹是中国古代的治水英雄、公认的华夏先祖、夏王朝的奠基者。大禹的故乡在哪里？司马迁《史记》记载，“禹兴于西羌”。至今，每年农历六月六日，汶川羌族人民都会纪念大禹的诞辰。

Dayu was the legendary hero who tamed the great floods in ancient China, a widely recognized ancestor of Huaxia people, and the founder of the Xia Dynasty (2070-1600 BCE), the first recorded dynasty in Chinese history. But where was Dayu's hometown? According to Sima Qian's Historical Records, 'Yu rose from the Western Qiang.' To this day, every year on the sixth day of the sixth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, the Qiang ethnic people of Wenchuan still commemorate the birth of Dayu.

汉武帝时（公元前141—公元前87年），四川阆中人落下闳参与制定太初历。太初历以正月为岁首，中国的春节亦由此而来，落下闳因此获称“春节老人”。

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (141-87 BCE), Luoxia Hong, a native of Langzhong, Sichuan, played a key role in the formulation of the Taichu Calendar. The Taichu Calendar designated the first month of the lunar calendar as the beginning of the year, marking the origin of what later became known as the Chinese Spring Festival. For this reason, Luoxia Hong is revered as the 'Old Man of the Spring Festival.'

李白出生于四川江油市，其诗歌雄奇奔放、俊逸清新，富有浪漫主义精神，对后代产生了极为深远的影响。公元759年，杜甫入蜀，随后在成都城西浣花溪畔建成一座草堂，世称“杜甫草堂”。据载，杜甫在成都作诗约475首。如今，成都杜甫草堂已成为中国文学的圣地。

Li Bai was born in Jiangyou City, Sichuan, and his poetry was magnificent, graceful and refreshingly original, filled with a romantic spirit that left a profound impact on generations to come. In 759, the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu came to Shu, and built a thatched cottage—known to later generations as the 'Du Fu Thatched Cottage'—on the bank of Huanhua Stream in western Chengdu. According to historical records, Du Fu wrote 475 poems during his time in Chengdu. Today, Du Fu Thatched Cottage in Chengdu has become a revered sanctuary for Chinese literature.

时间来到宋代（960—1279年），出生于四川眉山的苏东坡成为宋代文学的代表人物。他的父亲苏洵、弟弟苏辙皆以散文著称，三人一同入选“唐宋八大家”，成为中国文学史上的一段佳话。

In the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Su Dongpo, born in Meishan, Sichuan, became one of the most distinguished figures in Song Dynasty literature. His father Su Xun, and his younger brother, Su Zhe, were also celebrated for their prose, and the three together were included in the 'Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties'—each one legends in the history of Chinese literature.

“滚滚长江东逝水，浪花淘尽英雄……”《三国演义》的开篇词，出自明代（1368—1644年）川籍文学家杨慎之手。杨慎的诗词或许不为大众所熟知，但他实则是明代“记诵之博、著述之富”第一人。

'The rolling Yangtze River flows eastward, and its waves wash away the heroes...' These opening words of Romance of the Three Kingdoms were written by the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) poet Yang Shen, who was born in Sichuan. Although Yang's poetry is not as widely known today, he remains renowned for the breadth of his learning and the richness of his writings.

今日四川，开放包容
Sichuan's Openness and Inclusiveness

每个地区都有自己的性格。从古至今，若用一个词来概括四川的性格，那就是“开放包容”。

Every region has its own unique character. From ancient times to the present day, if we use one phrase to summarize the spirit of Sichuan, it would undoubtedly be 'open and inclusive.'

关于四川，曾经有“蜀道难”之说，但群山未能阻挡四川人对外交流的步伐。千百年来，人们凿通了一条条联通蜀地内外的道路，如“金牛道”“荔枝道”“茶马古道”“南方丝绸之路”等。沿着这些古道，从先秦（公元前221年之前）到现代，无数移民来到四川，其中清（1644—1911年）初期的“湖广填四川”尤为著名。这些移民带来了各地的农业技术、生活习俗、方言等，奠定了如今四川开放包容的基础，以及在衣食住行乐等方面的种种“巴适”。

Regarding Sichuan, there was once a saying 'the Shu Road is difficult,' but the mountains did not stop the people of Sichuan from engaging in foreign exchanges. For over a thousand years, local people carved out ancient pathways connecting Shu and the outside, such as the 'Jinniu Road,' 'Lychee Road,' 'Tea-Horse Ancient Road,' and 'Southern Silk Road.' Alongside these historic routes, from the pre-Qin period (before 221 BCE) to modern times, waves of immigrants journeyed into Sichuan. Among them, the great migration known as 'Huguang fills Sichuan'—the resettlement to Sichuan by immigrants from Hunan, Hubei and Guangdong provinces during the early period of Qing Dynasty (1644—1911)—was particularly famous. These immigrants brought with them agricultural technology, living customs, and dialects, laying the foundation for Sichuan's openness and inclusiveness, and for the many expressions of 'Bashi'—that sense of simple joy—found in the essentials of daily life such as clothing, food, shelter, travel, and entertainment.

当然，这些“巴适”源自四川的基础建设和现代化发展。2024年9月，四川高速公路通车里程突破10000千米，成为中国第三个高速公路通车里程“破万”的省份，其中，149个县直通高速公路。如今，四川已建立起航空、高铁、高速公路、航运一体化的综合立体交通体系，这不仅推动了成（成都）渝（重庆）地区双城经济圈建设，也重塑了四川在中国交通版图上的地位和形象。越来越多的四川人走出四川，与此同时，越来越多的外地人来到四川求学、旅游、创业、居住……

Of course, these senses of simple joy, or 'Bashi,' originate from Sichuan's remarkable progress in infrastructure and modernization. By September 2024, the total mileage of expressways exceeded 10,000 kilometers, making Sichuan the third province in China to surpass that milestone, with 149 counties now directly connected by highway. Today, Sichuan boasts a comprehensive, three-dimensional transportation network that integrates aviation, high-speed rail, highways, and shipping. This system not only fuels the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-City Economic Circle but also redefines Sichuan's position and image on China's transportation map. As a result, more people from Sichuan are venturing beyond the province to other parts of China and the world, while increasing numbers of newcomers are arriving to study, travel, work, and make Sichuan their home.

2024年，四川的经济总量为6.46万亿元，位居中国第五。这里产业体系完备，是中国三大动力设备制造基地和四大电子信息产业基地之一。人工智能、生物技术、无人机、核技术应用等新兴产业也在快速增长。目前，四川有19所高校的115个学科进入世界高水平学科行列，中国（绵阳）科技城、西部（成都）科学城声名远播。借助科技和新质生产力的发展，四川人将走得更稳、更远、更自信！

In 2024, Sichuan's total GDP reached 6.46 trillion yuan, ranking fifth in China. The province possesses a complete industrial system and is home to one of the nation's three major power-equipment manufacturing bases and four leading electronic-information industry hubs. Emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, drones, and nuclear technology applications are also growing rapidly. At present, Sichuan has 19 higher education institutions, with 115 disciplines recognized among the world's top academic fields. China (Mianyang) Science and Technology City, and Western (Chengdu) Science City have both earned national acclaim. Driven by advances in science and technology and the rise of new productive forces, the people of Sichuan are moving forward more steadily, further and with greater confidence than ever before.