Dujiangyan

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System is an ecological and engineering feat that was built over 2200 years ago and is still in use today.  The area was originally plagued by annual flooding so in the 3rd century BC governor Li Bing decided to attempt a remedy.

One possible solution was to build a dam, but he had been charged to keep the waterway open for military vessels.  Instead he oversaw the construction of an artificial levee to divide the river's flow into inner and outer courses.  The levee was built from long baskets of woven bamboo filled with stones.  Thanks to tens of thousands of workers, the massive construction project was  completed in only four years!

The next step was to cut a channel through the surrounding rock to discharge the excess water to the dry Chengdu Plain beyond.  This proved to be a far greater problem.  Because gunpowder had not been  invented yet, the tools available were not able to penetrate the hard mountain rock.  A system was devised using fire and water to heat and cool the rocks until they cracked and could be removed.  After 8 years a 20 meter wide channel was gouged through the mountain.

The project was thus a two-fold blessing; it eliminated flooding and provided irrigation.  Sichuan became the most productive area in China.  Even today, the Chengdu Plain is known as a land of abundance.

              In this photo you can see where the river divides.

 

The Minjiang River has a strong current.  It is a tributary of the Yangtze River.

                                                           Brian and Pam at the mouth of the gorge.  

The mountain at Dujiangyan is Mount Quingcheng, where Taoism was founded.  As such, the area hosts many ancient temples and we walked through some as we descended from the top of the mountain down to the river.  The images are interesting, but if you really want to know more about Taoism, check Wikipedia.

Dujiangyan was near the epicentre of the 2008 earthquake that registered 8.0 on the Richter scale.  Over 70,000 people were killed, many more injured and 20,000 missing.  Over 4.8 million people were left homeless.  We didn't see any visible signs of this destruction in the town however.  

Our lunch menu provided some interesting choices....

Later in the afternoon it started to rain so we took shelter in a beautifully painted covered bridge.  The locals and Chinese tourists were enjoying a fair-like atmosphere, but I think we were one of the main attractions as we  were the only Caucasians in sight.  

That rain has not let up and has been a steady downpour for the past 4 days.  The area of Dujiangyan is now the site of heavy flooding and landslides.  The news just reported 40 deaths in the area.