While Chengdu is located in the southwestern province of Sichuan and is often described as the "gateway to Tibet," it is not technically situated within the foothills of the Himalayas. Geographically, the city sits in the fertile, low-lying Sichuan Basin on the Chengdu Plain. The mountains that rise immediately to the west of the city are part of the Longmen and Hengduan ranges, which mark the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Although the Himalayas lie further to the west and share the same tectonic origins as these nearby ranges, they are considered a distinct mountain system separated from Chengdu by the vast expanse of the Tibetan Plateau.