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 meeting 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 farm land. One interesting thing about the
irrigation system is the that project is ongoing and has expanded
to more than three times its original irrigated area of 1
million hectares.
The Fulong Temple (Fulong Guan) was erected
in 168 AD 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
cable car's passengers to a reasonable number.
How to get Dujiangyan Irrigation System:Buses
to Dujiangyan run from Chengdu's Ximen bus station every morning
from 7am to 10am. Also buses are available from the Chengdu
north bus station leaving every hour until 5:30pm. Returning
to Chengdu, there are minibuses leaving from along Taiping
Jie near the Dujiangyan Bus Station until approximately 8pm.
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