Dujiangyan Irrigation System, Dujiangyan City, Sichuan Province, China, Li Bing, Minjiang River, Two Kings Temple, Dragon-Taming Temple, Qin Dynasty, King Zhao, Shu Governor, Six Sense Resort, QingCheng Mountain.

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.   

One of the original bridges no longer in use

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.   

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