Chinese Master Builders Design
& Build World’s Greatest Dujiangyan Irrigation & Flood Control System
in 256BC;
Staying at the Marvelous Six Senses Resort
Qingcheng Mountain
The Roman
Empire had great builders that engineered their roads, aqueducts, buildings and
so much more throughout their vast empire.
However, the Chinese were even more clever master builders long before
the Romans more than 3000 years ago. One
such incredible project built in 256BC was the Dujiangyan Irrigation System
which stands as a testament to the planning, design and the way this project
was built, which still irrigates more than 2000 sq. miles of farm land.
The Dujiangyan
Irrigation System is a one of a kind flood control method unlike the more
typical dams that continues to be used more than 2000 years after its
construction. Located on the Minjiang
River, the longest tributary of the great Chinese Yangtze River, is situated in
Dujiangyan City, Sichuan, China. The
winter snow melt run off would flood the river valley causing much
devastation. So King Zhao of the Qin
Dynasty directed the Governor of Shu, Li Bing, to solve the problem.
They designed a new method of channeling and
dividing the water by building a massive levee in the center of the river flood
area that took more than 8 years to build.
He designed a split river with a deep channel and a shallow channel with
a “fish-mouth” levee in the center to direct the water.
It is said
that Li Bing used many tens of thousands of workers on the project. According to Wiki, “the levee was constructed
from long sausage-shaped baskets of woven bamboo filled with stones known as
Zhulong held in place by wooden tripods known as Macha.” It is simply amazing that it stands today
even after earthquakes shattered the region several times.
Even the
Deep Channel was a monumental task to dig through the hard rock of the
mountain. They had to use fire and water
to crack the hard stone to dig the deep 66 feet wide channel.
We visited
this area because it is a popular tourist site commemorating this great
engineering achievement. After arriving at the front gate, we walked
across the narrow walking bridge, known as the Anlan Suspension Bridge.
At the center of the levee known as the Yuzui
or Fish Mouth Levee we stopped to take more pictures.
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| One of the original bridges no longer in use |
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| The beginning of the fish mouth levee |
There were many
places to take great pictures from the entrance to the bridge
and on to the levee itself.
At this
location there are also two very famous temples known as the Two Kings Temple
and the Dragon-Taming Temple, but we did not have time to visit them.
The park is so large, they provide very nice "green" shuttle buses to take you around this area.
Dujangyah information website:
http://www.sichuantravelguide.com/dujiangyan.html
After our short tour of Dujangyan, we drove to the famous Six Senses Resort at Qingcheng Mountain where we spent the night.
We arrived at 7PM and checked in to our
relaxing and serene rooms. Our rooms were plush, ultra clean and the
service for everything at the resort was first class.
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| The staff picks you up at your room and takes you where you want to go in this resort |
Our plan was to first explore this beautiful resort, then eat a nice meal and finally go
for a relaxing massage after our long day sightseeing.
We ate at
their superb “Farm 2 Fork” Restaurant and really enjoyed a fine dinner. Take a look at some of the courses that they
served us!
At the spa,
there were so many options to choose from facials, body wraps, and various types from the Six Senses Daoyin Tao massage to the Thai herbal full body
massage. We picked the full body massage
that used warm herb treatments applied to specific pressure points to condition
our muscles, skin and this in turn gave us a relaxed feeling and a sense of invigoration
and warmth.
We highly
recommend this fine resort. It is spread
out in small buildings with beautiful pathways, trees, and the architecture is
fabulous. For us this was not a typical China resort and truly enjoyed our
stay!
Six Senses Resort, Qingcheng
Mountain, China.
No.2 Dong Ruan Road, Qingcheng
Mountain Town
Dujiangyan, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611844
http://www.sixsenses.com/resorts/qing-cheng-mountain/destination
