Sichuan, also Szechwan, province in southern China, crossed by the upper Yangtze River. The most populous and one of the largest Chinese provinces. it is bordered by the Tibetan Autonomous Region to the west, Tsinghai province to the northwest, the provinces of Kansu and Shensi to the north, Hupeh and Honan to the east, and Kweichow and Yunnan to the south. The provincial capital is Ch'eng-tu.

Szechwan was the first area of China to be settled by the Chinese. From as early as the Chou dynasty (1122-221 BC) up until the Sung and Southern Sung dynasties (AD 960-1279), it was administered through various political subdivisions. Szechwan was established as a province during the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911).

Rice and wheat are the chief crops, while sugarcane, silk, and tung oil are also important. Large and only partly developed reserves of coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, and salt brine support a variety of manufacturing industries. Major cities of the province are Chengdu, the capital; Nanchong; Neijiang; and Zigong. Principal cash crops include sugarcane, cotton, tobacco, silk, hemp, and tea.

Major industrial towns are Chengdu, Ya'an, Zigong, Yibin, Luzhou, Xichang, Panzhihua, Suining, Quxian, Mianyang, Daxian, Guangyuan.

Area 569,000 sq km (220,000 sq mi) and a population 83,290,000.

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