Dujiangyan (4-25)

Last Friday I decided to check off another destination I’ve wanted to visit but hadn’t: Dujiangyan Irrigation System. I’d seen photos of the river and heard that it’s a good place to visit. So, off I went. Since it was not the weekend, the ticket line at the bus station had only three people, and I was on a bus within twenty minutes. A little more than an hour later I arrived in Dujiangyan city and took a taxi to the site.

I was surprised at how big the park is. Since it wasn’t the weekend, the park wasn’t crowded, which I especially enjoy on my Friday trips. First I went to the beautiful, classical Chinese gardens near the entrance. 

Special features are two 200-year-old trees outside the gate and a 300-year-old banaba tree that’s trunk has been shaped like a vase. 

Many of the gardens have water features—ponds or waterfalls, which is very typical. 

The gate through which I left the gardens has a special screen that frames a waterfall. One of the men on a “senior” tour decided that I needed to have my photo taken beside the outer gate. His friends also photographed me.

The park has two temples. The walk to the 3^rd century Fulong Temple is lined with statues of famous men. 

There is also a 1700-year-old tree. 

The decorations at the temples are different from those of many temples and include bats and squirrels among other animals.

The irrigation system was constructed in the 3^rd century to reduce flooding but still allow the river to be open to ships. 

Instead of a dam, there is a levee in the middle of the river that divides the water into two channels. Water in one channel is used for irrigation and provides drinking water for Chengdu. The other channel is used for flood prevention. The site is quite lovely and the water is clean. 

There are two suspension bridges across the river so you can go to the water-dividing-dike. (Note the pavilion at the top of the mountain.)

Next I walked up to Qinyan Tower from which there are good views of the river and dike. 

Also of Erwang Temple below and Yulei Pavilion at the top of the mountain.

At the back entrance of Erwang Temple, there is a 3400-year-old tree trunk in a special pavilion. 

The temple is a Taoist temple. I enjoyed the embroidered cloths around the statues. 

I was also fascinated by the use of vases in the decorations, which is unusual.

Yulei Pavilion is at the top of Mount Yulei. To get there, there are many steps, of course. But then there is an escalator  that is so long that it’s divided into two parts, each lasting about four minutes. I was glad I had chosen this way to do the park rather than going to the pavilion first because I got to take the escalator up instead of walking all the way up and taking the escalator down. 

From the top there is a good view of the city. The surrounding mountains, including Qingchen, which I have been to a few times, can be seen but through what seems to be ever-present haze. The view of the river wasn’t much different from the view from Qinyan Tower.

On the way down there is the Town Temple. This is where criminals were tried and received their sentences. 

One of the buildings is for the God of Fortune. A man there wanted me to buy incense to burn “for money.” I felt no need to do that.

After six hours of walking around and up and down, I was tired and ready to return home. But first I had to take a taxi to the bus station where I had to wait an hour for the bus back to Wenjiang. I was happy to be on the bus and arrived home twelve hours after leaving. I was glad to have the rest of the weekend free to relax.

Not much is happening on campus. Last week we foreign teachers were required to participate in a video for promoting the 60^th anniversary. We were told to sit in two circles on the lawn with several students. Then we were to be entertaining. My group ended out playing Duck, Duck, Goose after someone jokingly mentioned it.  Sam described a card game in great detail. Then Paul was told to stand in the center and sing, making lots of gestures. These are not things we ever do. It was so phony it was ridiculous. They could have had us do a mock English Corner, actually talking with the students. But I do wonder which sections made it into the video.

Wednesday I joined a few of the other foreign teachers to attend a musical talent show. This was the final show of winners of previous rounds. It was fun to see a show again, and this one was especially interesting because it had a wide range of talents—singing, dancing, and playing several instruments.

I had my teeth cleaned at the small hospital nearby again. This time there was a female hygienist. No photo was taken, but my teeth are clean, which is the important part. Cost: 120 yuan/$20.