South Bridge at Dujiangyan

The Duijiangyan Irrigation System was surprisingly interesting. I may be no engineer but knowing how ancient Chinese managed to perform such incredible feats of engineering thousands of years ago truly deserves some recognition. We made our way back to the entrance to catch our bus back to the Dujiangyan Bus Station.

People Going About Their Business By the River

Just outside the entrance to the Dujiangyan park, is a very ornate old-style Chinese bridge. This is the South Bridge 南桥, it crosses the inner stream of diverted Min River. As far as bridges go this one is really impressive. The “entrance” of the bridge is very fancy with the name of the bridge prominently displayed on it. The bridge is not just for decoration, it is actively used by the people.

Powerful Current Of The Inner Stream Of The Min River

Despite being only diverted, the inner stream of the Min River is still as powerful as ever. Even here the river has a greenish blue hue indicating that it is quite deep. The banks of the river have been fortified with cement so as to prevent erosion. There are portions of the shore which have restaurants and I guess it would also be nice to have dinner here as the bridge is surely lit up at night.

Bridge Used By the People

On the opposite shore, there are a lot of Chinese shops selling souvenirs and also food. It is actually quite busy and there doesn’t seem to be too many tourists here. It seems people just go about doing their own business here. If a tourist drops by, then so be it. It is said the that completion of the Dujiangyan Irrigation Project left the people with lots of time to do their own thing now that it doesn’t flood that often now. So to this day, the people of Sichuan are known for their laid back and easy going attitude to life.

View From The Inside

We didn’t venture too far in the opposite shore since we need to catch the bus very soon. The visit to Dujiangyan Irrigation Project was an eye opener for me. UNESCO World Heritage Site are not just about beautiful scenery, it is also about culture and their contributions to human civilization as a whole.

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Tags: bridge, China, Dujiangyan, river, Sichuan, 中国, 南桥, 四川, 都江堰