Dūjiāngyàn Irrigation Project

Introducing Dūjiāngyàn Irrigation Project

Some 60km northwest of Chéngdū, the Dūjiāngyàn Irrigation Project (Dūjiāngyàn Shuǐlì Gōngchéng; admission Y60; 6am-8pm) was undertaken in the 3rd century BC by prefect and engineer Li Bing to divert the fast-flowing Min River via weirs into irrigation canals (Chéngdū’s riverside parks are an extension of the project). The Min River was subject to flooding at this point, yet when it subsided, droughts could ensue.

Li Bing’s most brilliant idea was to devise an annual maintenance plan to remove silt build-up. Thus the mighty Mín was tamed and nary a flood has hit the Chéngdū plain since. Difficult enough today, positively Herculean then; the guy deserves every accolade.

The project is ongoing (and, naturally, modernising); it originally irrigated over a million hectares of land and since 1949 this has expanded to three million hectares. A good overall view of the outlay can be gained from Èrwáng Miào (Two Kings Temple), which commemorates Li Bing and his son, Er Lang.

While the whole idea of visiting a mocha-coloured, massive irrigation project may not be everyone’s cup of tea, remember that were it not for Li Bing and his mountain-moving spirit, there would be no Sìchuān as we know it today.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009