structural:expansion
Name

The name Chengdu is attested in sources dating back to the Warring States period. It has been called the only major city in China to have remained at an unchanged location with an unchanged name throughout the imperial, republican, and communist eras. However, it also had other names; for example, it was briefly known as "Xijing" (Western Capital) in the 17th century. Etymology of the name is unclear. The earliest and most widely known explanation, although not generally accepted by modern scholars, is provided in the 10th-century geographical work Universal Geography of the Taiping Era, which states that the ninth king of Shu 's Kaiming dynasty named his new capital Chengdu after a statement by King Tai of Zhou that a settlement needed "one year to become a town, two to become a city, and three to become a metropolis." (The character for cheng 成 may mean "turned into" while du 都 can mean either a metropolis or a capital).

The present spelling is based on pinyin romanization; its Postal Map romanization was "Chengtu." Its former status as the seat of the Chengdu Prefecture prompted Marco Polo 's spellings "Sindafu," "Sin-din-fu," &c. and the Protestant missionaries ' romanization "Ching-too Foo."

Although the official name of the city has remained (almost) constant, the surrounding area has sometimes taken other names, including " Yizhou." Chinese nicknames for the city include the "Turtle City", variously derived from the old city walls ' shape on a map or a legend that Zhang Yi had planned their course by following a turtle's tracks; the "Brocade City" (see Sichuan brocade), a contraction of the earlier "City of the Brocade Official," after an imperial office established under the Western Han; the "Hibiscus City" (Rongcheng, 蓉 城), from the hibiscus which King Mengchang of the Later Shu ordered planted upon the city wall during the 10th century.

According to Étienne de la Vaissière, "Baghshūr" (lit. ' pond of salt water ') may be the Sogdian name for the region of Chengdu. This toponym is attested near Merv, butnot far from Chengdu are found the large salt water wells of the Yangtze basin.