A festival in China celebrates an engineering genius of the ancient world who changed the course of a river—and history.
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On the edge of Chengdu, in China's Sichuan province, a ceremony at a historic site honors a genius whose engineering legacy remains after more than two thousand years. The place’s name, Dujiangyan, meaning "dam on the capital city’s river" is a modest title for an undertaking of incredible scope. The great rivers of China helped the civilization flourish, but also brought devastation during years of severe flooding. In the third century B.C., Li Bing, serving the ruling Qin state, devised this system of weir works—levees, partial dams, and waterways—to regulate the flow of the Min River, the largest tributary of the Yangtze. Upriver from the Chengdu Plain rise the high Longmenshan—Dragon’s Gate Mountains. In springtime, meltwater pours down. By diverting part of the Min at Dujiangyan, Li Bing's system prevented floods and provided consistent irrigation for farming. On the eve of China's Qingming Festival, a day to celebrate ancestors, Dujiangyan hosts the Water Releasing Festival with traditional costumes and events honoring Li Bing, whose historical impact is as clear as the azure water of the Min River.
Read more about the tradition in "For Thousands of Years, This Chinese Town Has Been Opening Its Floodgates"
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See an Ancient Wonder of China that Transforms a River | National Geographic
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