A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a more resistant layer or layers of harder rock, e.g. shales overlain by sandstones. The resistant layer acts as a caprock that forms the flat summit of a mesa. The caprock can consist of either sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone; dissected lava flows; or a deeply eroded duricrust. Unlike plateau, whose usage does not imply horizontal layers of bedrock, e.g. Tibetan Plateau, the term mesa applies exclusively to the landforms built of flat-lying strata. Instead, flat-topped plateaus are specifically known as tablelands.
Meishan, a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province, is named after Mount Emei. It is located in the southwest of Chengdu Plain in Sichuan Basin, in the middle reaches of Minjiang River. Meishan is bordered by Neijiang, Zigong and Ziyang to the east, Leshan to the south, Yaan to the west and Chengdu to the north; the overall topography is high in the west and low in the east and low in the south and north. The city has a total area of 7134 square kilometers, with 2 districts and 4 counties under its jurisdiction, with a registered population of 3.4508 million in 2017. Meishan was selected as one of the seven culinary cities in China by the CCTV documentary "one City blindly". Meishan is a famous hometown of kimchi, longevity, high-quality rice, navel orange and bamboo weaving art in China. It has an international tourist resort, Qiliping, in the Mid-levels of Emei. Meishan City has a superior location and convenient transportation. Meishan is 60 kilometers away from Chengdu and 50 kilometers from Shuangliu International Airport.