Welcome to Sichuan

Dear Visitors,

On behalf of Sichuan I would like to thank you for visiting Sichuan’s official tourism website. As someone who has had many opportunities to travel abroad, I wish to return the gesture by inviting you to come to my home province.

     Personally, I have had many opportunities to experience American culture first hand. Whether it was for school, work, or travel; I have always felt the warm hospitality of the American people. While in America I was fortunate enough to experience many activities, such as potlucks and spending time with friends in various parks having barbeques. Because I cherish these memories so much and learned a great deal about American culture; I want to encourage people to come experience Sichuan’s unique culture.

    During my travels I once met a young American and I decided to ask him what he knew about China. The young American told me that he knew very little about China; that he knew of the Great Wall, Deng Xiaoping and Giant Pandas. This young man was a great influence on me because it was then that I realized that Chinese culture and China itself is still widely unknown and new to the average American. What made me very proud about this encounter though is that two out of three things he mentioned comes from my home province of Sichuan. Not only are these iconic symbols from Sichuan, a lot of famous Chinese food in America also comes from Sichuan; Kungpao Chicken and Mapo Tofu are both popular dishes in America that originated in Sichuan too. Because Chinese know only a small portion of American culture, and vice versa; I believe that it is important to increase tourism between both nations so that we may better understand each other in this ever globalizing world. It is my personal belief that this cultural exchange will prevent future conflicts and misunderstandings between the US and China.

   It is our hopes here at the Tourism Administration of Sichuan Province, and me in particular, that through this website that you are able to get a glimpse of Sichuan and spark your interests to come and visit us. I wish to promote world peace through travel and what better way to start than by inviting you to come visit my home province.

We here in Sichuan look forward to seeing you!

张谷
Zhang Gu
Director of Tourism Administration of Sichuan Province