Dujiangyan Irrigation System & Mount Qingcheng Day Tour Chengdu

Dujiangyan Irrigation System

Dujiangyan was built around 256 BC, when the local governor of the ancient state of Shu set out to tame the Min River as it bursts out of the mountains onto the Chengdu plain. Rather than a dam, the engineers created a system that splits and guides the river, sending water to the fields in the dry season and floodwater away in the rainy season. It has worked ever since and still irrigates a vast area of farmland around Chengdu.

Is Dujiangyan worth visiting? It is the oldest working no-dam irrigation system in the world, and UNESCO listed it with Mount Qingcheng in 2000. About an hour's drive from Chengdu, it opens a Dujiangyan and Qingcheng day with a fascinating mix of engineering, riverside parks and mountain views.

Fish Mouth Levee, the suspension bridge and Erwang Temple

Over about two and a half hours the guide takes you to the three key works. The Fish Mouth Levee, a long pointed island, divides the Min into an inner channel for irrigation and an outer channel for floods. The Flying Sand Weir lets surplus water and gravel spill back into the outer river, and the Bottle-Neck Channel, cut through rock without explosives, controls the flow on to the plain.

You also cross the Anlan Suspension Bridge, which sways gently above the rushing water, and climb to Erwang Temple on the wooded hillside, built to honour the builders of the system. Its carved halls and terraces offer the best view over the whole waterworks. Shuttle buses inside the site are optional and paid on the spot.

Mount Qingcheng, a sacred Taoist mountain

Mount Qingcheng rises just south-west of Dujiangyan, its peaks arranged in a ring that looks like the walls of a city, which is how it got its name, the Green City Mountain. Covered in evergreen forest and often wrapped in mist, it has long been praised as the most tranquil mountain under heaven. In the second century it became one of the birthplaces of organised Taoism, and temples have stood on its slopes for nearly two thousand years.

Is Mount Qingcheng worth visiting? For lovers of nature and quiet places it is one of the most rewarding sights near Chengdu: cool shaded paths, birdsong, old trees and Taoist priests in traditional robes still tending the halls.

Temples, the mountain lake and the cable car

The afternoon visit to the front mountain lasts about three and a half hours. Paths of stone steps climb through the forest past wooden pavilions and Taoist halls such as the temple at the foot of the mountain and the cave temple higher up, where carved images and incense smoke fill quiet courtyards. Halfway up, the small Yuecheng Lake is crossed by a short boat ride.

From the lake a one-way cable car carries you higher up the mountain, saving the steepest climb; its fee is paid on site. From the upper temples you can walk on towards the summit pavilion, at about 1,260 metres, for wide views over the forested ridges when the weather is clear, then descend on foot at your own pace with the guide.

How to get there and the best time to visit

How to get to Mount Qingcheng from Chengdu: it lies about seventy kilometres west of the city, roughly an hour and a quarter by road, or by intercity train to Qingchengshan station and a short taxi ride. On this Mount Qingcheng day trip from Chengdu our vehicle collects you at your hotel and links both sites, so you avoid stations and taxi queues.

The best time to visit Mount Qingcheng is spring and autumn, when the forest is fresh or golden and the air is mild. Summer is green and cooler on the mountain than in the city, while winter brings mist and quiet paths. Weekends and Chinese holidays are busier, so weekdays are best.