The
Dujiangyan Irrigation system is a miracle of ancient Chinese ingenuity.
Before the completion of Dujiangyan, the plains around the Min River were
prone to floods due to the fast moving Min River flowing down from its
mountain source and converging at flat ground. It was in the Warring States
period about 2200 years ago that the engineer Li Bing and his son led
the construction of the Dujiangyan irrigation system that tamed the Min
River and irrigated the surrounding plains.
The central brilliant idea of the project is the annual silt removal and
maintenance plan devised by Li Bing that ensures the projects long-term
usefulness. The actual structure of the project includes a dyke that divides
the Min River into inner and outer flows. The inner flow is then redirected
to irrigate local farmland. One interesting thing about the irrigation
system is the project that is ongoing and has expanded to more than three
times as its original irrigated area of 1 million hectares.
The Fulong Temple (Fulong Guan) was erected in 168 to commemorate the
taming of the river. Fulong Temple sits in Lidui Park overlooking the
split between the inner and outer flows of the Min River. Also, Li Bing's
genius is again celebrated at the Two Kings Temple (Erwang Miao) near
the dyke. The "two kings", of course, are Li Bing and his son,
Er Lang. Two Kings Temple can be found in the western section of Yulei
Park overlooking the dyke. There are cable cars that run between Lidui
Park and Two Kings Temple in Yulei Park. The relatively high fares of
RMB25 per ride keep the passengers of cable car to a reasonable number.
On the 29th of November 2000, Dujiangyan Irrigation system and Mt.Qingcheng
were placed on the world cultural Heritage list.
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