The province of Sichuan is situated in China's southwest. It borders on Tibet to the west, Qinghai, Gansu, and Shaanxi to the north, Chongqing to the east, and Guizhou and Yunnan to the south. Geographically, culturally, and historically, Sichuan forms a unit with Chongqing, which was separated from it in 1997. The following descriptions refer to the greater Sichuan area, as it existed before 1997. Today's smaller province (excluding Chongqing) will be discussed subsequently.

Geographic…