Dujiangyan Dam, the Outstanding Irrigation System

Put into the list of world historical heritage conservation, Dujiangyan
Irrigation Works is like the dazzling pearl with silver ribbon in Chengdu
Plain. For more than 2,250 years of irrigation, it has not only benefited the
local people but also won the wonderful fame of the 'land of abundance' to
ancient Shu State. This system still plays an indispensable role in irrigation
and that's where the happiness and pleasure of Chengdu people come.
Li
Bing Building Dujiangyan
Ever since the Vernal Equinox every year, it turns warmer and gentle rain
will gracefully come down like a virgin with the change of season. The releasing
water festival has been held as a custom for more than a thousand years before
the stealthily rising water in the Minjian River rushes downwards between the
steep valleys.
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Li Bing and his
son |
Although it is a span of hundreds of years between the legends about Da Yu
controlling the floods and Li Bing building the dam, there was no stop in
harnessing the Minjiang River. Before Qin State overthrew Shu State, the
civilized kingdom of ancient Shu was founded on the basis of harnessing the
Minjiang water. According to the historical material, Bie Ling, the first head
governor of the Shu State, was an expert in harnessing waters. He observed the
geographical situations, measured the water flow and excavated the Mt. Yulei and
the Jintang County straits (the straits between Mt. Longquan in Jintang County
and Mt. Yunding) to release water and finally controlled the floods so that the
local people could live happily without troubles of floods.
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