or I-pin conventional Suchow
City (pop., 1999 est.: 288,039), southern Sichuan province, south-central China.
It is located at the junction of the Yangtze (Chang) rivers. A county administration was set up there in the 2nd century BC. It first received the name Yibin in AD 742. The Chinese hold expanded there during the {{link=Song dynasty">Song dynasty (960–1279). By the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) it was Hsü-chou superior prefecture, known to Europeans as Suifu. In 1912 it reverted to Yibin. In 1913 steamship communication with Chongqing was opened, and Yibin grew into a major collection and distribution centre. It has long been known for its salt deposits, which now supply a large chemical plant.