Dujiangyan
The Irrigation System
The Dujiangyan is an ancient irrigation system in Dujiangyan City, Sichuan, China. Originally constructed around 256 BC by the State of Qin as an irrigation and flood control project, it is still in use today. The system's infrastructure is on the Min River (Minjiang), the longest tributary of the Yangtze. The area is in the west part of the Chengdu Plain, at the confluence between the Sichuan basin and the Tibetan plateau. Originally the Min rushed down from the Min Mountains, but slowed abruptly after reaching the Chengdu Plain, filling the watercourse with silt, which made the nearby areas extremely prone to floods. Li Bing, then governor of Shu for the state of Qin, and his son headed the construction of the Dujiangyan, which harnessed the river using a new method of channeling and dividing the water rather than simply following the old way of dam building. It is still in use today to irrigate over 5,300 square kilometres (2,000 sq mi) of land in the region. The Dujiangyan, the Zhengguo Canal in Shaanxi and the Lingqu Canal in Guangxi are collectively known as the "three great hydraulic engineering projects of the Qin."
The Annual Maintenance Show
he great ceremony consists of three major performances, which display the annual maintenance of the irrigation system, a ceremony to worship the builders of the system, and water releasing, respectively. Other performances, like Haoyang Song (Haoyang in Chinese means pulling out weeds in rice paddy fields), Qingcheng Taichi, and kung fu show by costumed “pandas”,
Erwang Temple
Located at the foot of Yulei Mountain, the Erwang Temple was built in memory of Li Bing and his son, who together constructed the Dujiangyan Irrigation Project. It was initially named the Wang Di (watching emperor) Temple to commemorate Duyu, the emperor of Shu. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when the Wang Di Temple was moved to Pi County, it was renamed Chongde Temple to show respect to Li Bing and his son. During the Song Dynasty when Li Bing and his son were granted the noble title, it was again renamed as the Wang (marquis) Temple. The present title of Erwang was not affixed until the Qing Dynasty. Generally speaking, the buildings of the Erwang Temple have many unique features: they occupy as little land as possible, covering only 10,072 square meters; the buildings are incredibly dense allowing for maximum strength and resistance; the structures themselves use up around 60% of the temple ground it deviates architecturally from middle axial symmetry, which is against the basic character of most ancient buildings in China; there is a great difference in height amongst the buildings as the highest is over 63 meters taller than the shortest; and its grand scale is in high contrast to its compact arrangement.
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Welcome to Herman and Carolann’s Travels to Asia
China 2017