Dujiangyan
Construction of the Dujiangyan
irrigation project was begun by Li Bing,
king of west Sichuan, in 256 B.C. and completed
by his son, Er Lang. When Han settlers first
arrived 2,200 years ago, the area was a
flat plain plagued by frequent summer floods
(and winter droughts) caused by the Minjiang,
a Changjiang tributary that flows through
the Chengdu/Chuan Xi plains. Workers using
only hand tools cut a trunk canal, called
the "Mouth of the Precious Jar,"
through a towering mountain in order to
feed an extensive system of canals on the
plains, thereby turning the Chengdu plains
into one of the most fertile in China and
giving rise to the description of Chengdu
as Heaven on Earth.
The project has been maintained
and expanded ever since, and it is perhaps
one of the world's oldest irrigation schemes
in continuous use today. The Sichuanese
are very grateful to Li Bing and his son.
Both men have been deified (with temples
built for them at Dujiangyan and elsewhere),
and ceremonies are held every year to commemorate
their achievements.
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