CHINA 5A TRAVEL
Two sights, one UNESCO inscription: the 2,280-year-old Dujiangyan dam-free irrigation system that made Sichuan the 'Land of Abundance', and quiet Mount Qingcheng, birthplace of Taoism wrapped in evergreen shade.
In 256 BC the engineer Li Bing cut a channel through Yulei Mountain to divide the Min River without a single dam - an irrigation system that still waters 670,000 hectares of the Chengdu plain today. Dujiangyan is the world's oldest and only surviving great water project of its kind: the Fish Mouth levee that splits the river, the Flying Sand weir that flushes silt, and the Bottle-Neck gorge that meters the flow.
The engineering is wrapped in a handsome riverside park: Fulong Temple perched on Lidui rock, the Two Kings Temple climbing the hillside to engineer-god Li Bing, the swaying Anlan rope bridge across the water, and the night-lit South Bridge at the entrance where locals eat river-fish hotpot.
Fifteen minutes west, Mount Qingcheng - 'the most secluded mountain under heaven' - rises in a permanent green hush. It is one of Taoism's birthplaces, where Zhang Daoling founded the Way of the Celestial Masters in 142 AD; front-mountain shrines (Tianshi Cave, the Shangqing Palace) thread mossy stone steps under canopy, while the back mountain serves waterfalls and forest boardwalks to a younger crowd. Both share one UNESCO World Heritage inscription from 2000.
Highlights
The Fish Mouth (Yuzui)
The whip-shaped levee that divides the Min River into inner and outer channels - stand on the observation deck and watch 2,280 years of hydraulics still working.
Bottle-Neck Gorge (Baopingkou)
The 20-meter-wide channel Li Bing cut through solid rock - the system's throttle, pouring green water toward the Chengdu plain.
Anlan rope bridge
The swinging bamboo-cable bridge across the river between Lidui and Erwang Temple - rebuilt in steel, still a thrilling crossing.
Erwang Temple (Two Kings)
The hillside temple complex honoring Li Bing and his son, with the best downstream panorama of the whole works.
Qingcheng front mountain
Taoism's founding ground: Tianshi Cave, Shangqing Palace and a summit temple loop under near-total canopy - the 'secluded' in the slogan.
Qingcheng back mountain
The wilder half: gorge boardwalks, chains of small waterfalls and the Five Dragon pools - a half-day forest bath.
Photo Gallery
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