Dujiangyan Irrigation System
Dujiangyan Irrigation System
4.5
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
About
The historical irrigation system dates back to the 3rd century B.C and still functions.
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yipjcs88
Hong Kong, China9,964 contributions
Jan 2020
This was the second time I visited the place. It was a marvelous engineering feat, using the momentum of the rapid river water in the flooding season to divert (bend) the excess water via a dyke (embankment) into a second channel in order not to flood the city downstream. Just as clever as diverting the opponent's thrust force in Judo to bring himself down. It was a quiet and scenic area, but not much of an excitement for a re-visit.
Written 30 March 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stephen C
Singapore, Singapore1,141 contributions
Apr 2021 • Couples
This engineering feat is about 60 km from downtown Chengdu and takes about 90 minutes to get to.
It’s amazing how they were able to plan this system that serves primarily two purposes – avoid flooding of the cities, and irrigate so that the farmlands can receive water for their crops.
Come with walking shoes as there will be quite a bit of walking if you want to cover this area comprehensively.
This attraction is only about 10 km from Mount Qingcheng so you should plan on covering both places within the same day.
It’s amazing how they were able to plan this system that serves primarily two purposes – avoid flooding of the cities, and irrigate so that the farmlands can receive water for their crops.
Come with walking shoes as there will be quite a bit of walking if you want to cover this area comprehensively.
This attraction is only about 10 km from Mount Qingcheng so you should plan on covering both places within the same day.
Written 24 April 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
bcheong
Shanghai, China48,793 contributions
Apr 2023 • Solo
Nice UNESCO site that was built since 256 BC and still operational today. Apparently provides some of the irrigation, flood control and water consumption for some parts of sichuan province
Fairly crowded on a working thursday , i can imagine the surge on public holidays
Nice walk during a cloudy spring and probably need many hours to complete. You may want to avoid the hot summer
Besides the water structure itself, many other historical sights and artefacts on display
Fairly crowded on a working thursday , i can imagine the surge on public holidays
Nice walk during a cloudy spring and probably need many hours to complete. You may want to avoid the hot summer
Besides the water structure itself, many other historical sights and artefacts on display
Written 13 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Allan & Amy T
Edmonton, Canada390 contributions
Jun 2024 • Family
It is an amazing irrigation project designed to divert water from flooding since 300BC
It is based on law of physics with the flow dynamics diverting water away to prevent flood
One can see the river separating into a fast and a slow channel,and one needs to be on spot to appreciate this.
This area was designed into a park so there are lots of people visiting. At one point in crossing the husband/wife bridge there are so many people one can feel the vibration and swaying of the bridge from side to side.
Other than this, there is nothing spectacular about this place.
It is based on law of physics with the flow dynamics diverting water away to prevent flood
One can see the river separating into a fast and a slow channel,and one needs to be on spot to appreciate this.
This area was designed into a park so there are lots of people visiting. At one point in crossing the husband/wife bridge there are so many people one can feel the vibration and swaying of the bridge from side to side.
Other than this, there is nothing spectacular about this place.
Written 14 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,616 contributions
Mar 2019 • Friends
It is amazing how well thought out this water management system was when it first planned about 2,000 years ago. The water and surrounding area views are great. We walked on the two suspension bridges, visited the temple on the hillside, and more. This is a World Heritage scenic spot.
Written 9 May 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KodoDrummer
Buenos Aires, Argentina70,616 contributions
May 2019
On this visit, I concentrated more on the the ancient town and area served by the dam and irrigation. I would classify it as a semi-ancient town, with many buildings upgraded to fairly modern.
Written 15 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pierre Picaud
Xi'an, China36 contributions
Oct 2019 • Friends
If this review helped you, please click on the 'helpful' button. It lets me know if I should continue to write these reviews or not.
From Chengdu I took the metro to Xipu (line 2). I bought the ticket at a metro station ticket machine. The machines have english instructions.
At the Xipu metro station, you walk outside. Turn to the left and follow the signs to the Train Station. There is a ticket counter where you can buy the ticket to Dujiangyan or qingchengshan (same train). Use google translate or show a photo of Dujiangyan irrigation system. Cost: 10 rmb. No need to buy it on Ctrip app, they dont sell out (oct 2019). Traintrip takes 40 minutes.
I went out the train at Qingchengshan. I took bus 102 to the Panda Base which is 20 minutes away. Cost 4 rmb. For my review on the Pandabase ,look at my profile.
From the pandabase I took the bus 102 back to Qingchengshan bus/train station. There I switched to bus 101 to Dujiangyan Irrigation system. Cost 4 rmb. It took 45-60 minutes. If you have the money, taxi is faster or take the train to Dujiangyan train station and continue from there.
The park was fun. Read about that on other people reviews. On the way back, I made the mistake of thinking that the train station was 10 minutes away from the park. I was wrong, it was a different place. Luckily a few chinese people helped me and a man went with me to the big Dujiangyan train station. Taxi cost: 14 rmb. From there back to Xipu, 10 rmb. Trainride 20 minutes.
From Chengdu I took the metro to Xipu (line 2). I bought the ticket at a metro station ticket machine. The machines have english instructions.
At the Xipu metro station, you walk outside. Turn to the left and follow the signs to the Train Station. There is a ticket counter where you can buy the ticket to Dujiangyan or qingchengshan (same train). Use google translate or show a photo of Dujiangyan irrigation system. Cost: 10 rmb. No need to buy it on Ctrip app, they dont sell out (oct 2019). Traintrip takes 40 minutes.
I went out the train at Qingchengshan. I took bus 102 to the Panda Base which is 20 minutes away. Cost 4 rmb. For my review on the Pandabase ,look at my profile.
From the pandabase I took the bus 102 back to Qingchengshan bus/train station. There I switched to bus 101 to Dujiangyan Irrigation system. Cost 4 rmb. It took 45-60 minutes. If you have the money, taxi is faster or take the train to Dujiangyan train station and continue from there.
The park was fun. Read about that on other people reviews. On the way back, I made the mistake of thinking that the train station was 10 minutes away from the park. I was wrong, it was a different place. Luckily a few chinese people helped me and a man went with me to the big Dujiangyan train station. Taxi cost: 14 rmb. From there back to Xipu, 10 rmb. Trainride 20 minutes.
Written 16 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
superx308
New York City, NY9 contributions
Basically if you're in Chengdu or nearby, you have got to go to Dujiangyan. I know you're asking yourself "how great can an IRRIGATION centered attraction be?". But trust me, it's well worth it. First off, it's a UNESCO World Heritage site and those rarely disappoint. Second, the surrounding area is done up extremely nicely.
I had apportioned only a few hours to this place and I was sorry I did. The site is huge. There are beautiful gardens and buildings all around the place before you even get to the irrigation canals. I didn't even have time to visit Mount Qingcheng. I wish someone had told me how nice the area was. Well here I am telling you -- visit this place.
As for getting there, go to the main Chengdu bus terminal and take the bus going to Dujiangyan City. It's a 50 minute ride. Then hail a cab a few miles to the irrigation site. Everybody in China knows where it is anyway. Heck a giant mural of it is in the bus terminal.
Enjoy!
I had apportioned only a few hours to this place and I was sorry I did. The site is huge. There are beautiful gardens and buildings all around the place before you even get to the irrigation canals. I didn't even have time to visit Mount Qingcheng. I wish someone had told me how nice the area was. Well here I am telling you -- visit this place.
As for getting there, go to the main Chengdu bus terminal and take the bus going to Dujiangyan City. It's a 50 minute ride. Then hail a cab a few miles to the irrigation site. Everybody in China knows where it is anyway. Heck a giant mural of it is in the bus terminal.
Enjoy!
Written 3 March 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Yesujin
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia46 contributions
A must see if you go to Chengdu ,only 57 kilometers away lies Dujiangyan City. The irrigation project is situated on the upper reaches of Min Jiang. The dam is built in the middle of Min Jiang dividing it into 2 streams. One for control of flood relief, sand discharge and regulation of water. The other for irrigation and control influx of water.
The 2,200 years old was built by the then governor Li Bing and his son. Both were granted the title Prince by the Qin Dynasty Emperor. On a hill overlooking the ingenious project was the "Er-Huang" Temple to commemorate them and viewing station. These lies in ruins after the 05/12 earthquake and thank goodness the irrigation canal was only slightly effected by the quake.
My heart goes out to the resilient people of Sichuan. Tourists will go there in throng when it recovers and I for one hope to revisit it in future. So put that in your dairy !
The 2,200 years old was built by the then governor Li Bing and his son. Both were granted the title Prince by the Qin Dynasty Emperor. On a hill overlooking the ingenious project was the "Er-Huang" Temple to commemorate them and viewing station. These lies in ruins after the 05/12 earthquake and thank goodness the irrigation canal was only slightly effected by the quake.
My heart goes out to the resilient people of Sichuan. Tourists will go there in throng when it recovers and I for one hope to revisit it in future. So put that in your dairy !
Written 12 June 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheAir B
Chengdu, China23 contributions
Feb 2016 • Family
We started our journey from Mount. Qingcheng followed by Dujiangyan Irrigation system and related historical sites. Our group consisted of few families (about 20 members including children) with kids from 4-15 years of age. Major part of our planning was to find a good hotel, reserve the train tickets, marking to-be-visited sites on the map and transport arrangements To/ From these places. Software that we utilized during the planning ware Tencent maps, Google maps, Ctrip, Trip Advisor, and Synotrip. We also took guidance from a local guide (Caroline) for the planning and coordination with different agencies for our “中文” (Chinese language) was not good enough and was limited to “Nihao” type stuff only.
Train ticket cost was 15 rmb to Mount Qingcheng and from Dujiangyan to Xipu (Chengdu Metro
line-2 most western stop) it was of 10 rmb (being quite light on our pockets). It was a high speed train with a speed of about 200 kph and took about 45 minutes to reach our destination. We left CTU by 06:48 in the morning and reached 07:35 at Qingcheng Shan station (Last station). It wasn’t even first light till yet. We found few gentlemen who were quite anxious to take us for sightseeing but we were more interested in price negotiation, our week part bcz of “中文”, nevertheless, with the help of translator apps we were able to negotiate “liange Che”s (two vehicles) in 200 rmb. Considering a group of about 20人 (people) it was quite a low price that, otherwise, would have been much higher considering 20-25 rmb /person rate. We had planned to visit rear side of青城山 (Qingcheng shan). The reason was the rear side was more scenic, natural, less crowded and less costly (20 rmb/人) as compared to front one (90rmb/人). On the way we saw sun rise, no words could explain over whelming feeling of being so close to nature. After getting the tickets we thought mountain climb would start immediately, wrong, we had to walk for about 10-15 minutes to reach the place where actual hiking started....lots and lots of stairs.....a water streams runs along in a zig zag way. There were various make-shift shops after every about 100 m selling water, fried potatoes and fried pork meat at nominal price. Rest rooms were also available though very few. Places where the walking track was crossing the water stream, there were stair bridges that were not very friendly, especially for young kids who could easily slip and make further progress impossible so kids must be held while crossing through these bridges. After a hike of about two and half hours we came across a small but very beautiful lake, there was a boat that carried hikers across to the other end that was not more than 100 m away. We could not continue beyond this point because of the children, cold and occasional snow fall. So we decided to have some rest, take pictures and back. Descend was not that difficult but was scarier than ascend because stair way was slippery due to snow at the higher side and wet at lower elevations. We had few incidents of people getting slipped but, Thanks God, damage was not enough. After one and a half hour we were reached the base from where we had lunch and then went back to the train station. From there we were planning to get Bus No 101 to reach Dujiangyan (都江堰) but it did not arrive for good about 20 minutes. The time was 1630 and the weather was getting colder. In such a situation where we started thinking about having rest in cozy warm beds of our luxurious hotel and a hot bath, we couldn’t wait much longer and decided to hire 12 seater vehicles already waiting for their passengers. Lucky enough we were contacted by vehicle drivers before we could contact them, after little negotiation they agreed at 80 rmb to carry us in two vehicles all the way to our hotel (Holliday Inn express in downtown Dujiangyan, an ultimate choice though not very costly, one night cost us 200 rmb).
We rested whole evening and stepped out at night to explore the surroundings. There was an ancient street (like Jinli street Chengdu but wider) which caught our interest. It was a wide street having nicely paved pathways. There were shops on both the sides and few restaurants as well. We enjoyed our dinner in a Halal (清真) shop. A very beautiful old styled Masjid (清真寺) was also there near our dinning place. Later we came across an old bridge which was immaculately lighted up. It must be an old one, as was imminent from its design and construction, made over the Ming River. The river was lighted up on both the sides with mesmerizing greenish-blue lights. A big shrine was also visible at a nearby mountain towards the western side. Being hypnotised by all these scenic spots we went back to the hotel to spent night. The next day we went to Dujiangyan scenic area, which was full of ancient shrines and forts of old times. We took bus no 4 to go to the entrance of Dujiangyan famous irrigation system. Entry ticket was 90rmb/and for children below 1.3 m it was 45 rmb. Upon entry we went through a very attractive garden, a pond with crystal clear water and fish of different colours, and paved path having fountains and sculptures on both the sides. We further walked for about 45 minutes and came to Dujiangyan irrigation system headworks. There the Ming river was divided in to two streams, one natural and other one was artificially made by a Chinese engineer in 248 AD (I don’t remember the exact date, this is my best guess) to avoid flooding of Chengdu area and at the same time use the accumulated water for the irrigation. Definitely state-of-the-art idea by that Chinese engineer. The Dam was further ahead where we couldn’t go because of sand-bags (our sweet kidos). We celebrated selfie-time there, tried to get maximum vitamin-D from brilliant sun shine for our knocked out bones since after the previous day mountain hike it was becoming very hard to convince body muscles to keep going. We exited the scenic area by 1400 Hrs, took our lunch in nearby food corner, loitered around for some window shopping and finally at 1530 set course (through Bus No-4) to Dujiangyan high speed train station. We reached station by 1615 Hrs and by 1645 boarded the train for Chengdu. The train galloped at 198 kph nd took 35 minutes to reach Chengdu (Xipu, Chengdu metro line 2 western most stations). There ended our adventurous, sightseeing trip.
Train ticket cost was 15 rmb to Mount Qingcheng and from Dujiangyan to Xipu (Chengdu Metro
line-2 most western stop) it was of 10 rmb (being quite light on our pockets). It was a high speed train with a speed of about 200 kph and took about 45 minutes to reach our destination. We left CTU by 06:48 in the morning and reached 07:35 at Qingcheng Shan station (Last station). It wasn’t even first light till yet. We found few gentlemen who were quite anxious to take us for sightseeing but we were more interested in price negotiation, our week part bcz of “中文”, nevertheless, with the help of translator apps we were able to negotiate “liange Che”s (two vehicles) in 200 rmb. Considering a group of about 20人 (people) it was quite a low price that, otherwise, would have been much higher considering 20-25 rmb /person rate. We had planned to visit rear side of青城山 (Qingcheng shan). The reason was the rear side was more scenic, natural, less crowded and less costly (20 rmb/人) as compared to front one (90rmb/人). On the way we saw sun rise, no words could explain over whelming feeling of being so close to nature. After getting the tickets we thought mountain climb would start immediately, wrong, we had to walk for about 10-15 minutes to reach the place where actual hiking started....lots and lots of stairs.....a water streams runs along in a zig zag way. There were various make-shift shops after every about 100 m selling water, fried potatoes and fried pork meat at nominal price. Rest rooms were also available though very few. Places where the walking track was crossing the water stream, there were stair bridges that were not very friendly, especially for young kids who could easily slip and make further progress impossible so kids must be held while crossing through these bridges. After a hike of about two and half hours we came across a small but very beautiful lake, there was a boat that carried hikers across to the other end that was not more than 100 m away. We could not continue beyond this point because of the children, cold and occasional snow fall. So we decided to have some rest, take pictures and back. Descend was not that difficult but was scarier than ascend because stair way was slippery due to snow at the higher side and wet at lower elevations. We had few incidents of people getting slipped but, Thanks God, damage was not enough. After one and a half hour we were reached the base from where we had lunch and then went back to the train station. From there we were planning to get Bus No 101 to reach Dujiangyan (都江堰) but it did not arrive for good about 20 minutes. The time was 1630 and the weather was getting colder. In such a situation where we started thinking about having rest in cozy warm beds of our luxurious hotel and a hot bath, we couldn’t wait much longer and decided to hire 12 seater vehicles already waiting for their passengers. Lucky enough we were contacted by vehicle drivers before we could contact them, after little negotiation they agreed at 80 rmb to carry us in two vehicles all the way to our hotel (Holliday Inn express in downtown Dujiangyan, an ultimate choice though not very costly, one night cost us 200 rmb).
We rested whole evening and stepped out at night to explore the surroundings. There was an ancient street (like Jinli street Chengdu but wider) which caught our interest. It was a wide street having nicely paved pathways. There were shops on both the sides and few restaurants as well. We enjoyed our dinner in a Halal (清真) shop. A very beautiful old styled Masjid (清真寺) was also there near our dinning place. Later we came across an old bridge which was immaculately lighted up. It must be an old one, as was imminent from its design and construction, made over the Ming River. The river was lighted up on both the sides with mesmerizing greenish-blue lights. A big shrine was also visible at a nearby mountain towards the western side. Being hypnotised by all these scenic spots we went back to the hotel to spent night. The next day we went to Dujiangyan scenic area, which was full of ancient shrines and forts of old times. We took bus no 4 to go to the entrance of Dujiangyan famous irrigation system. Entry ticket was 90rmb/and for children below 1.3 m it was 45 rmb. Upon entry we went through a very attractive garden, a pond with crystal clear water and fish of different colours, and paved path having fountains and sculptures on both the sides. We further walked for about 45 minutes and came to Dujiangyan irrigation system headworks. There the Ming river was divided in to two streams, one natural and other one was artificially made by a Chinese engineer in 248 AD (I don’t remember the exact date, this is my best guess) to avoid flooding of Chengdu area and at the same time use the accumulated water for the irrigation. Definitely state-of-the-art idea by that Chinese engineer. The Dam was further ahead where we couldn’t go because of sand-bags (our sweet kidos). We celebrated selfie-time there, tried to get maximum vitamin-D from brilliant sun shine for our knocked out bones since after the previous day mountain hike it was becoming very hard to convince body muscles to keep going. We exited the scenic area by 1400 Hrs, took our lunch in nearby food corner, loitered around for some window shopping and finally at 1530 set course (through Bus No-4) to Dujiangyan high speed train station. We reached station by 1615 Hrs and by 1645 boarded the train for Chengdu. The train galloped at 198 kph nd took 35 minutes to reach Chengdu (Xipu, Chengdu metro line 2 western most stations). There ended our adventurous, sightseeing trip.
Written 17 February 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
To take the most scenic pictures of the irrigation system in the best light, is it better to go in early morning light or before sunset for evening golden light? Thanks?
Written 29 January 2017
I thought sunset was the perfect time then at night the place comes alive.
Written 29 January 2017
Hi Caroline B, i am going to chengdu and would like to visit Dujiangyan canal. Where did you get the express coach tour from ? thanks.
Written 11 August 2016
Hi! We arranged all with local tour guide Mark from Chengdu. Will PM you his contact details.
Written 11 August 2016
Hi terrence, may i know where do you get the tour guide for dujiangyan ? thanks
Written 10 August 2016
Go to westchinago tours. It is on Trip Advisor. Lily, our guide, was amazing!!
Written 16 August 2016
Ali S
Gold Coast, Australia
Hello, as I am doing a travel brochure of Chengdu. I would like to know more about Dujianyang Irrigation System itself and the historical or cultural significance behind it.
Written 17 April 2015
At the tram start point, is a museum, full of literature and the staff there will tell you more, if you are interested. Talk to the supervisors there.
Written 25 May 2016
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