Dujiangyan Irrigation System

Known as “The three great hydraulic engineering projects of the Qin Dynasty” with the Zhengguo Canal in Shaanxi province and the Lingqu Canal in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), Dujiangyan is an irrigation infrastructure built in 256 BC during the Warring States period (406 –221 BC) of China by the Kingdom of Qin (770 – 207 BC). It is located in the Min River in Sichuan province, near the capital city Chengdu (58 km away from Chengdu proper) and is still in use today to irrigate over 5,300 square kilometers of land in the region.

During the Warring States period, people who lived along the banks of the Min River were plagued by annual flooding. Qin governor Li Bing investigated the problem and designed one solution that was supported by the King of Qin and appointed Li Bin presided over the construction of Dujiangyan. After several years of efforts, the large-scale water conservancy construction of Dujiangyan was completed.

After the system was finished, no more floods occurred. The irrigation made Sichuan the most productive agricultural place in China. On the east side of Dujiangyan, people built a shrine in remembrance of Li Bing.

Today, Dujiangyan has become a major tourist attraction. It is also admired by scientists from around the world, because of one feature. Unlike contemporary dams where the water is blocked with a huge wall, Dujiangyan is the oldest and the only retention so far in the world which characterized by on-diversion dam. In 2000, Dujiangyan became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.