Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan Irrigation System

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Mount Qingcheng And The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, 2000); National 5A Tourist Attraction · Dujiangyan, Sichuan

Two neighbouring wonders an hour west of Chengdu, inscribed together as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, built around 256 BCE by the Qin governor Li Bing and his son, tamed the flood-prone Min River without a single dam: a fish-mouth levee splits the river into inner and outer streams, a spillway returns floodwater and sand, and a channel cut through solid rock feeds water to the Chengdu Plain - a system still working after more than 2,200 years and the reason Sichuan became known as the Land of Abundance. Temples honour its builders above the river, and the swaying Anlan Suspension Bridge crosses the water. A short drive away, forested Mount Qingcheng is one of the birthplaces of Taoism, where the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling is said to have taught in the 2nd century; its front mountain climbs past temples, pavilions and a lake to the summit Laojun Pavilion, while the back mountain offers quieter gorges, waterfalls, plank walkways and an old village. Its saying, the most secluded under heaven, still rings true on misty weekday mornings. Every spring around Qingming, Dujiangyan re-enacts an ancient water-release ceremony.

Dujiangyan Irrigation System Scenic Area, Dujiangyan City, Chengdu, Dujiangyan, Sichuan, China

Daily, roughly 8:00-18:00 at Dujiangyan and Qingcheng (shorter in winter); cable cars run daytime hours. Water-Release Festival around Qingming in April.

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