Dujiangyan Irrigation System

Dujiangyan is an irrigation scheme that has been in continuous use for more than two thousand years and works without a dam. A stone-nosed levee shaped like a fish mouth splits the Min River into an inner and an outer channel; a spillway lets flood water and silt spill back out; and a cut through the rock, the Bottle Neck, meters how much water reaches the Chengdu plain. Together they irrigate a very large area of farmland and are much of the reason the plain became so productive. The site is now a park, with paths along the levee, a cable footbridge over the river and a terraced temple on the slope above dedicated to the engineer and his son.

What you actually see

• The Fish Mouth levee - the stone spur that splits the river into two channels.
• The Bottle Neck channel - the cut through the rock that meters water onto the plain.
• The Anlan cable bridge - a swaying footbridge across both channels.
• Erwang Temple - terraced halls on the hillside above, with a view down over the whole works.

When to go

April to June and September to November. Summer brings high water, which makes the levee more impressive but also heavy rain and mist. The park is large and mostly outdoors, so avoid the midday heat. It works as a half day from Chengdu, either on its own or paired with Mount Qingcheng on the same rail line.

Honest expectations

Much of what you walk on is modern reconstruction, and unless you follow the hydraulics the site reads as a pleasant riverside park with a temple attached. The cable bridge is crowded and swaying, with queues at both ends. Signage explains the engineering thinly. Summer floods can close sections of path, and mist often hides the layout entirely.

Nearby

Mount Qingcheng is a short ride away and the Chengdu panda bases are about an hour east.