MIEN-YANG

Pinyin Mianyang, city in north-central Szechwan sheng (province), China. It is located on the Fou River, about 70 miles (110 km) northeast of Ch'eng-tu, at a point where the ancient route to Pao-chi and to Sian (Hsi-an) in Shensi province emerges into the northeast of the Ch'eng-tu Plain in Szechwan. This route is now followed by a railway line and highways connecting Mien-yang with Ch'eng-tu, Nan-ch'ung, and Chungking to the south. The surrounding area, for which Mien-yang acts as the central market, is fertile, densely populated, and known for its silk production. Mien-yang has a large modern factory producing raw silk and shops for production of silk and cotton textiles on a minor scale. The area to the north was also a traditional centre of local ironworking. After the building of the now electrified Ch'eng-tuPao-chi railway, Mien-yang's steel industry was developed, using coal from Kuang-yan in the northeast. Mien-yang is the chief supplier of food and other goods for the new industrial centre of Chiang-yu to the north, which also produces steel and cement. Pop. (1990 est.) 262,947.