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Encyclopedia > Du Jiang Yan Irrigation System
Du Jiang Yana
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party China
Type Cultural
Criteria ii, iv, vi
Identification #881
Regionb Asia-Pacific

Inscription History UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... As of 2006, there are a total of 830 World Heritage Sites located in 138 State Parties. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State... This is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Asia, Australia and the Pacific (Australasia). ...

Formal Inscription: 2000
Session

a Name as officially inscribed on the WH List
b As classified officially by UNESCO
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a specific site (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that has been nominated and confirmed for inclusion on the list maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 State...

Du Jiang Yan (Simplified Chinese: 都江堰; Traditional Chinese: 都江堰; pinyin: Dū jiāng yàn) is an irrigation infastucture built in 256 BC during the Warring States Period of China by the Kingdom of Qin. It is located in the Min River (岷江, Mǐn jiāng) in Sichuan Province, China near the capital Chengdu (成都, Chéngdu). It is still in use today and still irrigates over 5,300 square kilometers of land in the region. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Traditional Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 正體字/繁體字, Simplified Chinese: 正体字/繁体字) refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC - 250s BC - 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC Years: 261 BC 260 BC 259 BC 258 BC 257 BC - 256 BC - 255 BC 254 BC... Alternative meaning: Warring States Period (Japan) The Warring States Period (Traditional Chinese: 戰國時代; Simplified Chinese: 战国时代; Pinyin: Zhànguó Shídài) covers the period from sometime in the 5th century BC to the unification of China by the Qin in 221 BC. It is nominally considered to be the second part... Qin, Qín or Chin (Wade-Giles) can refer to. ... Minjiang, when written without tone marks, is the name of either of two rivers in China, each with its own Chinese character and pinyin pronounciation: Minjiang River (Sichuan), written 岷江 and pronounced Mínjiāng; Minjiang River (Fujian), written 闽江 and pronounced Mǐnjiāng. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of the Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. ...

Contents

Before Construction

Du Jiang Yan

Devastating annual floods plagued the people living by the the Min River. Qin official Li Bing (李冰,lǐ bīng), who was the sent to Chengdu as an official, decided to do something about it. He investigated the river with some locals. He familiarized himself with the land forms and water flows, and found the source of the water. The waters melted from Mount Min at the beginnings of every summer, went into the Min River and flooded the farms. Download high resolution version (1400x900, 211 KB)I took this photo myself in June 2004. ... Download high resolution version (1400x900, 211 KB)I took this photo myself in June 2004. ... Minjiang, when written without tone marks, is the name of either of two rivers in China, each with its own Chinese character and pinyin pronounciation: Minjiang River (Sichuan), written 岷江 and pronounced Mínjiāng; Minjiang River (Fujian), written 闽江 and pronounced Mǐnjiāng. ... Qin, Qín or Chin (Wade-Giles) can refer to. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of the Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. ... Minjiang, when written without tone marks, is the name of either of two rivers in China, each with its own Chinese character and pinyin pronounciation: Minjiang River (Sichuan), written 岷江 and pronounced Mínjiāng; Minjiang River (Fujian), written 闽江 and pronounced Mǐnjiāng. ...


Plan for a Dam

Li Bing decided to divide the river into two streams, allowing one stream to continue on its normal course, while the other stream would flow into the farmer's fields. But there was one big problem. The Yulei Mountains blocked the way to the Chengdu Plain. He had to break a path through a mountain. The rock was too hard to break. So he had men throw wood and grass on the rocks and set it on fire, then poured cold water over it. This made the hard rock crack so the men could remove it. This labor took 7 years and they finally made an opening through the mountains to the plains that is 20 meters (65 feet) wide. The peasants called it 宝瓶口, bǎo píng kǒu (Bottleneck). Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... The Chengdu Plain is in China. ...


Problems Encountered

The man-made levee constructed to divide the Min River.

Li Bing split the river into two parts, but the part that was suppose to flow into the fields was higher than the other side, so very little water went there. He changed his plan a bit. He decided to build a man-made island levee to separate to two parts to force more water to go into the Bottleneck. Using the some concepts of physics, he made the man-made island curved so the water would travel faster. Building a man-made island in the middle proved hard also. Li Bing tried to construct the base using pebbles and clay, but the water washed it away. He tried using huge boulders, but when the floods came, even the huge boulders were scattered. Li Bing was stuck with this problem. One day, as he was walking by a small stream, he saw women had put some bamboo cages with clothes in the steam, waiting to be washed. Even fast waters didn't move it. This gave him a brilliant idea. He had men construct huge bamboo cages, each several dozen meters long, and placed boulders inside them. He made hundreds of these, and dropped them in the middle of the river. In this way, nothing could move it. With a solid foundation, he constructed a large island and connected it with a bridge from the Yulei Mountain. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 93 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The man-made levee constructed to divide the Min River I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 960 pixel, file size: 93 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The man-made levee constructed to divide the Min River I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Dike (construction). ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Dike (construction). ... Physics (Greek: (phúsis), nature and (phusiké), knowledge of nature) is the branch of science concerned with the fundamental laws of the universe. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ...

Place where the two streams divide. Simplified Chinese:鱼嘴 (Fish Mouth).

Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ...

Results of Construction

With the dam finished, no more floods ever came. The irrigation made Sichuan the most productive agricultural place in China. Li Bing was loved so much that he became a god to the people there. On the east side of Du Jiang Yan, people built a shrine in rememberance of Li Bing. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ...


Du Jiang Yan Today

Today, Du Jiang Yan has become a major tourist attraction. It is also the admiration of scientists around the world, because it has one ingenious feature. Unlike contemporary dams where the water is blocked with a huge wall, Du Jiang Yan still lets water go thorugh naturally. Modern dams do not let fish go through very well, since it is a wall and and the water levels are different. In 2000, Du Jiang Yan became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. DAMS is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. ... DAMS is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ...


See Also

  (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Cheng-tu), located in southwest China, is the capital of the Sichuan province and a sub-provincial city. ... Li Bing (李冰) was a Qin civil/military official who became a cultural and mythological icon. ... Map of the Mekong River watershed. ... Alternative meaning: Warring States Period (Japan) The Warring States Period (Traditional Chinese: 戰國時代; Simplified Chinese: 战国时代; Pinyin: Zhànguó Shídài) covers the period from sometime in the 5th century BC to the unification of China by the Qin in 221 BC. It is nominally considered to be the second part...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: SzÅ­4-chuan1; Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in the central-western China with its capital at Chengdu. ... State of Qin (small seal script, 220 BC) Qin or Chin (Wade-Giles) (秦) (778 BC-207 BC) was a state during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of China. ... Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ...

External Links

  • Du Jiang Yan and Chengdu in the LA Times
  • Photographs of Du Jiang Yan




 
 

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