Chengdu, formerly romanized as Chengtu, is the provincial capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China, as well as a major city in Western China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status. The administrative area houses 14,047,625 inhabitants: 7,123,697 within the municipality's nine urban districts and 6,730,749 in the surrounding suburbs and rural area. According to the 2010 census, Chengdu is the fourth most populous city in mainland China, and most populous among prefecture-level cities as well.
Nearby Wuhou Shrine, Jinli is a popular commercial and dining area resembling the style of ancient architecture of western Sichuan. "Jinli" (錦里) is the name of an old street in Chengdu dating from the Han dynasty and means "making perfection more perfect".
The ancient Jinli Street was one of the oldest and the most commercialized streets in the history of the Shu state and was well known throughout the country during the Qin, Han and Three Kingdoms periods.
Many aspects of the urban life of Chengdu are present in the current-day Jinli area: teahouses, restaurants, bars, theatres, handicraft stores, local snack vendors, and specialty shops.