Although most people misinterpret the name Sichuan as “four rivers,” this misinterpretation is an apt description of the province and its prosperity. The rivers and their basins in the region make the soil so fertile that it is able to sustain 100 million people. Sichuan is a far-flung region from the central plains heartland of China, but since the Qin’s subjugation of the province in 316 BC, irrigation systems were implemented to further develop agricultural production, placing it on par with the agriculture of the Yellow River Valley region. Sichuan is generally considered to have the best food in China, known for its wildly spicy food.
Geographically, Sichuan is split between the Han-populated lowlands of the Sichuan Basin and the Sichuan-controlled area of the Tibetan Plateau, a sparsely populated region inhabited mostly by Tibetans. Sichuan is also home to the world’s oldest ongoing school, the ShiShi School, founded in 141 BC during the time of the Han.
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