Journey to the West - V
Trip Start
Jul 20, 2004
1
150
197
Trip End
Jul 20, 2014
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Monday, October 26, 2009
On another grey day in Chengdu, I met up with CS host Dhane and his guest. We headed out to the famous Dujiangyan Irrigation Project.
It was built about the year 256 BC to provide irrigation water and to control the Minjiang R iver. Water surging in the river from annual runoff from the Minshan m ountain range destroyed property and killed people. So an official in the Kingdom of Qin named Li Bing decided to build an artificial levee in the river to control the flooding. It is said that he received money for the crucial project from King Zhao of Qin and utilized tens of thousands of laborers. King Zhao sought to strengthen his kingdom and conquer the kingdoms around him.
After its completion, the Dujiangyan system eliminated the flooding and gave the Sichuan area in the Kingdom of Qin abundant harvests. The area around Chengdu became one of the breadbaskets of China. This project greatly strengthened the Qin Kingdom because the expanded agricultural output helped to sustain the kingdom’s large army. Within a few decades, a Qin king named Qin Shi Huang used their large army to become the Emperor of China. It was Qin Shi Huang who built the famous Terracotta Army in Xian that has wowed travelers from around the world and who directed the building of the original Great Wall of China.
There are three major parts to this irrigation system. The first is a well designed levee named Yuzui (Fish Mouth) erected in the middle of the river that was shaped to control the amount of water that entered the two channels. The levee is shown in the picture. The second part is
the channel of the irrigation project that was cut through a mountain by means of heating the rock and then pouring water on it. The narrow opening to the irrigation system regulated the amount of water entering the system. It is called Baopingkou ( Cherished Vase Mouth ) . It is
said that the 20 meter wide channel required 8 years to finish. The third part is a spillway called Feishayan that was dug to discharge water and silt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dujiangyan_Irrigation_System
My last trip from Chengdu was to Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve and Songpan.
Located in the north of Sichuan Province, Jiuzhaigou County (previously known as Nanping County until being renamed in 1998) is part of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. Since the opening of the Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area in 1984, visitors have flocked to the region year by year, and the prosperous tourist industry now accounts for a large proportion of local revenue.
Lying on the highest tableland in the world between the Sichuan Basin and the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Jiuzhaigou Valley covers altitudes ranging from 2,000 meters to about 4,300 meters. With its large number of lake groups, waterfalls and rich variety of endangered plants and fauna, Jiuzhaigou was awarded the status of UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve in 1997 and was also recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. The reserve has received a string of other titles including that of a National Geological Park, a AAAA Class Scenic Spot in China and a Green Globe 21.
With some of the most beautiful and inspiring scenery on earth and some of the reserves scenic spots considered holy by the local Tibetan and Qiang people, it is no wonder a number of mysterious legends surround the wonderful landscape of Jiuzhaigou. Many people are drawn to the area for these reasons, and with the park open all year round the authorities have ensured that the fragile environment is sufficiently protected with a range of comprehensive tourist facilities.
http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_21364.htm
Information on getting there and fees:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Jiuzhaigou_Nature_Reserve
Though beautiful it may be during sunny days, on a cloudy and rainy day one can't enjoy the green, blue or turquoise colors of the lake. Nevertheless, I took the bus to the end of the Y fork and hiked down to the central meeting point to take another bus to the other end of the Y fork. For the most part, I had the trail for my self as the Chinese visitors tended to congregate around the lakes or pools or waterfalls, hoping on and off the bus along the way. The 3 legs have a distance of 17km, 18km and 14km one way so it is impossible to walk everything in one day. Since overnighting in the park is prohibited, I opted for the bus ticket; later I discovered that is it possible to stay in the park albeit for 120 RMB including breakfast which pumps up the ticket price even more. One can easily make a 500 RMB stay there, just buying the entrance ticket and then staying 2 nights to hike all the trails. However, some of the trails were closed for maintenance so even if staying overnight, one would be reduced to walking o the road which is no fun with buses constantly going up and down the road.
Hotels abound but hostels are very few and one has to book way in advance. I had to pay 100 RMB for a mediocre hotel room with an albeit super friendly staff as all hostels were booked. After 2 nights there, I left for Songpan were I intended to do some hiking or horseback riding. Along the way, I met Amy and Xiaomei from Taiwan and we travelled together for 3 days.
Songpan
Located in the northern part of Sichuan, Songpan is a small minority town and a stopover place to/from Huanglong, Jiuzhaigou or Zoige butworth exploring. With the ethnic minorities people of Hui, Tibetan and Qiang inhabiting there, Songpan itself is so very lively. The style and atmosphere senses quite special there. More importantly, Songpan is a historic town, featured by a peace-craving political marriage of Princess Wencheng in the 6th century BC of Tang dynasty and the Songpan Battle in the famous 25,000km Long March(1934~1936) of Chinese Red Army. A sculpture and a monument was built in Songpan to memorize the 2 historical events respectively.
In Songpan, we stayed at the guesthouse of the horse trekking company (30 RMB for a dorm bed). Amy and Xiaomei went on a horse trek tour (160 RMB/day) but I opted not to go for several reasons. First, I found the price expensive as it didn't really come down to 2 full days. They left at 2pm and were back the next day around 3pm. They also had to pay 70RMB entrance to the lake area. True, food was included and prepared by the guide but after just paying about 500RMB for Jiuzhaiguo, I wasn't willing to shell out another 300 or so for a cold, rainy and short horse trek. Instead, I explored the town and otherwise hang out at Emma's kitchen drinking tea and reading up on Vietnam.
Back in Chengdu, I stayed one night with Shirley (she works at the Xinnanmen Bus station) and then moved in with CS host Dhane for 3 nights. We wandered around the Chengdu riverfront and on Sunday, I went to Sanxingdui.
http://www.chinahighlights.com/chengdu/attraction/sanxingdui-museum-in-guanghan.htm
What got my attention when reading up on Sanxingdui were two things; that the discovery of the relic site equal to or even more important than the Terracotta Warriors in Xian and that the site revealed hundreds of bronze masks of the Shu people who mysteriously disappeared.
Sanxingdui, also called Guanghan Sanxingdui, which is situated in Southwest China’s Sichuan Basin, is the ruins of the Bronze Age in the middle and late Shang Dynasty. The name was entailed for that its appearance resembles three earth pits. The excavation began in 1980. Two large sacrificial pits of the Sanxingdui were unearthed in 1986, becoming instant stirring news in the whole world. More than a thousand pieces of priceless treasures were dug out, including bronze wares, jade wares, ivories, shells, earthen wares, gold wares, etc. The bronze wares include vessels, weapons, large standing human figures, head portraits, animal figures, and masks etc. The bronze head portraits feature exaggerated styling and rich local flavor; the standing human figures depict characters with big eyes, straight nose, square face, and huge ears. The human figures, with hats, long robes and anklets on, are believed to be prototypes of local people in ancient times. The highest figure measures 2.62m and is the world’s biggest and best preserved bronze upright human figure. In addition, 4m-plus-high divine trees are more amazing.
The discovery of the bronze articles demonstrates the existence of large-sized sculptures in the Shang Dynasty, which were created by ancient Shu people. And for the first time, people get a chance to peek into the highly developed bronze civilization of the Kingdom of Shu in the middle and later period of Shang Dynasty and its unique charms. The articles are precious for their value in studies. Also excavated from the Sanxingdui ruins are the world’s two earliest gold wands, which are 1.42m in length and 700g in weight, with human heads, fishes, and birds carved on them.The sacrificial pits are believed to be sites for the ancient Shu people to offer sacrifice to Heaven, Earth, mountains, rivers, and other natural gods. The upright figures and seated figures are respectively prayers and emcees, bronze animal-faced masks with protruding eyes and flat bronze animal-faced masks may be natural gods worshiped by the Shu people; bronze divine trees modeled upon real plants reflect the Shu people’s religious consciousness of plant worshipping. The discovery of Sanxingdui shocked the world, but the history of the ruins remains a mystery.
