The Natural and Cultural World Heritage Mt. Qingcheng-Dujiangyan is located at the Dujiangyan City. It lies to the northwest of the Chengdu Plain, 36 km from Chengdu.
Apart from beautiful natural scenery , the place is notable for its irrigation system constructed by the mythical engineer Li Pi. The system remained unscathed despite being close to the epicentre of the disatrous May 12 (2008) earthquake. The video explains the system’s resilience in the context of the Tao Philosophy it is supposedly based on. It does not divert water by blocking the river, but by diverting only a part of its waters and creating eddies that reduce the sediment load in the irrigation canals.
The system works in harmony with nature, working with the natural course of the Minjiang River river while diverting its waters towards farmlands.It is composed of three major carcass projects: the ‘Fish-mouth Levee,’ the ‘Flying Sand Weir Floodway’ and the ‘Bottle Neck Canal.’
More info:http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1001
Produced by: Mt. Qingcheng-Dujiangyan Tourism Authority
Year: 2000
Language English