Leshan, formerly known as Jiading or Jiazhou, is a prefecture-level city located at the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers in Sichuan Province, China. Leshan is located on the southwestern fringe of the Sichuan Basin in southern Sichuan, about from Chengdu. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,235,759, of whom 662,814 lived in the built-up area made of Shizhong district, as Wutongqiao and Jinkouhe districts are not conurbated yet.
History
The area of present day Leshan was the seat of historical Jiading city, which the historical Jiading city covered not entirely the same area with modern day Leshan city. Some of the area of Leshan county, was ceded to Emeishan city in 1958. In 1978, Leshan as a county-level city was formed. In 1985, the Leshan prefecture-level city was formed, which Emeishan and other county level cities were under the administration of Leshan. Before 1978, Leshan county-level city had Shizhong, Wutongqiao and Shawan three districts. The establishment of Leshan prefecture-level city, also saw the disestablishment of Leshan Dìqū, an administrative area that supervisee Leshan, as well as other county-level cities and counties. Xinchang town, Jiading city, was known for late Qing uprising against the government.
Culture
Tourist attractions
In 1996, the Mount Emei Scenic Area, including the Leshan Giant Buddha, the largest stone-carved buddha in the world, which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Next door to the Leshan Giant Buddha is the Oriental Buddha Park, a privately run cultural theme park, featuring thousands of reproductions of Buddha statues and Buddhist themed carvings. Mount Emei is located within the county-level city of Emeishan, which is under the administrative jurisdiction of Leshan. The ancestral home of Chinese writer, academic and politician Guo Moruo is preserved in the Shawan District of Leshan.
Dialect
The Leshan dialect, part of the Southern linguistic system, is very different from the dialects of other cities in the province of Sichuan, which belong to the Northern system. Some researchers say the pronunciation of Leshan dialect represents an archaic form of Chinese pronunciation.
Food
Falling into the Sichuan cuisine family, Leshan is noted for its food culture in that it has all the street food from its surrounding areas, which has made it the one-stop street food city. Typical specialties include:
and Leshan Vocational & Technical College are two government-fund colleges in the city.
Administrative divisions
Geography and climate
Leshan has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate and is largely mild and humid. Winter is short, mild and dry, with a January average of, and while frost may occur, snow is rare. Summers are long, hot and humid, with highs often exceeding, yet extended heat waves are rare. The daily average in July and August is around. Rainfall is light in winter and can be heavy in summer, and more than 70% of the annual total occurs from June to September.
