Chengdu, Sichuan, China
都江堰 · Dūjiāngyàn
Around 256 BC a governor named Li Bing split the Min River where it leaves the mountains, with no dam at all: a stone-and-bamboo spit to divide the water, a low spillway to throw off floods and sand, and a channel cut through a hill to carry water to the plain. Twenty-two centuries later it still waters the Chengdu plain, the oldest working irrigation system of its kind in the world.
Photo: xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Min River comes out of the Tibetan mountains fast and full of stones, and before Li Bing it flooded the Chengdu plain in summer and left it dry in winter. Li Bing, sent by the state of Qin (221–206 BC) to govern Shu, built a spit in midstream, the Fish Mouth, to split the river: the inner channel to the fields, the outer one carrying floods away. A low weir let the surplus spill back to the outer river, carrying sand and stones with it.
At the end of the inner channel his workers cut a gap through the hill of Yulei, heating the rock with fire and cracking it with water: the Bottle-Neck, which lets in only as much water as the plain can take. The system made Sichuan "the land of abundance" and fed the armies with which Qin united China. It was listed as a World Heritage Site in 2000, with Mount Qingcheng.
One ticket of 80 yuan covers the irrigation works, Lidui Park, the Erwang Temple and the bridges; buses and the escalator are extra.
| Part | Ticket |
|---|---|
| Dujiangyan scenic area | 80 yuan |
| Bus, stele pavilion to the Fish Mouth | 10 yuan one way, 15 return |
| Escalator to the Erwang Temple | 40 up, 20 down, 60 return |
| Night tour "Dujiang Yeyan" | Separate ticket |
Stand at the tip of the spit, where the river splits in two. The inner channel is narrower but deeper, so in the dry season it takes about six-tenths of the water; in floods the wide outer river takes six-tenths. The same shape does both jobs, with no gates to open or close.
The rule Li Bing left for those who came after is carved in the Erwang Temple: "Dig the bed deep, keep the weir low." For two thousand years the channel was cleared each winter and the weir rebuilt with bamboo baskets of stones.
"It is a dam." There is no dam across the river: the water is divided and guided, not stopped. That is why it does not silt up like a reservoir.
"The structures are all ancient." The idea and the layout are; the materials have been replaced again and again, and today the Fish Mouth is concrete and modern gates help control the flow.
We searched Chinese sources first for this list, then German and English ones.
A loop of three to four hours; the bus from the stele pavilion to the Fish Mouth saves the first walk, and an escalator climbs to the Erwang Temple.
Enter through the park to the Lidui, the rock left standing when the Bottle-Neck was cut. The Fulong Temple on it shows a stone statue of Li Bing carved in 168 AD and found in the riverbed in 1974.
The cut through the hill, about twenty metres wide, through which the whole inner river rushes to the plain.
The low spillway between the two channels. In flood, water pours over it and the current flings sand and stones into the outer river.
The tip of the dividing spit, the heart of the system.
A swaying suspension bridge across both channels, rebuilt many times since the bamboo bridge of old; it was rebuilt again after the earthquake of 2008.
The temple of the "Two Kings", Li Bing and his son, on the slope above the river, with Li Bing's rules for the weir carved on its walls. It was badly damaged in 2008 and has been restored.
In 256 BC, while Li Bing's men worked on the Min River, a Roman army under Regulus landed in Africa to fight Carthage.
| Year | Here | Elsewhere |
|---|---|---|
| 256 BC | Li Bing begins the works on the Min River | A Roman army lands in Africa to fight Carthage |
| 168 | A stone statue of Li Bing is carved and set in the river | Marcus Aurelius is fighting the Marcomanni on the Danube |
| 1872 | Ferdinand von Richthofen visits the weir | Yellowstone becomes the world's first national park |
| 2000 | Listed as a World Heritage Site with Mount Qingcheng | The first crew moves into the International Space Station |
| 2008 | The Wenchuan earthquake damages the temples; the weir holds | The collapse of Lehman Brothers sets off a world financial crisis |
One line to remember: a river divided, not dammed, and still working after 2,200 years.
These are stories people tell about this place. They are legends, not history, and each one says where it comes from.
The river god demanded two girls as brides each year. Li Bing offered his own daughters, then turned into a bull and fought the god in the water until he killed him.
Source: From the "Customs" of Ying Shao, 2nd century
Li Bing's son Erlang is said to have chained an evil dragon under the Lidui, which is why the temple there is called "Subduing the Dragon".
Source: A local story of the Song dynasty and later
Later, people who live here will be able to add the stories they grew up with, and say which of these they have heard.
Last checked 2026-11-12. Ticket, buses, escalator and booking from 2026 Sina guides and the scenic area's notice of February 2026 (The Paper).
Checked 2026-11-12
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