Hanzhong (simplified Chinese: 汉中; traditional Chinese: 漢中; pinyin: Hànzhōng; Wade–Giles: Hanchung) is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shaanxi, People's Republic of China, occupying a historically significant valley in the mountains between the Xi'an area, home to many Chinese capitals, and the fertile but isolated Sichuan Basin. The total population in 2006 was approximately 3.74 million, residing in a municipal territory of 27,246 square kilometres (10,520 sq mi).