Dujiangyan East Secondary Canal (Yuzui East Feeder Canal, Sichuan)
East Yuzui Canal · Dujiangyan Eastern Feeder
Qin 256 BCE to Han 100 BCE to Qing 1884 (Dujiangyan east feeder)·Qin–Han Shu (Sichuan) state hydraulic·🇨🇳 Sichuan Province, Dujiangyan City, East of Yuzui Fish-Mouth Divider, Chengdu Plain east feeder (Min River east bank), China
About
About Dujiangyan East Secondary Canal (Yuzui East Feeder Canal, Sichuan)
5 km east of Yuzui (Fish Mouth) divider on Min River east bank, Dujiangyan City UNESCO 1001 core. 2 m stone revetment and bottle-neck control sluice 8 m (Zheng Peng replacement 1884 on Qin original 256 BCE). Feeds Chengdu plain eastern paddy 820 ha via 12 distributary gates. Qin original Li Bing 256 BCE; Han expansion 100 BCE added secondary east; Tang/Song gates still verifiable. Still operating feeding Chengdu SE. Unlike main channel west to Neijiang, east secondary feeds Pixian eastern plain historically poorer soils — dual Chengdu supply equity.
Threatened by Dujiangyan urban landfill and Neijiang water diversion.
Why it mattersEastern equity branch of world-heritage Dujiangyan proving Qin–Han east-west plain dual supply — Han expansion model.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Why east feeder Han 100 BCE after Qin main 256 BCE — east poorer soils
Theories
- 01Eastern plain equity vs western elite —Han social hydraulics
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.256 BCE (Qin Li Bing), secondary east Han 100 BCE, Zheng sluice 1884
- Period
- Qin 256 BCE to Han 100 BCE to Qing 1884 (Dujiangyan east feeder)
- Culture
- Qin–Han Shu (Sichuan) state hydraulic
- Builders
- Li Bing Qin then Han eastern plain expanders
- Purpose
- Min River east feeder canal 5.2 km 12×2.2 m 8 m sluice feeding eastern Chengdu Pixian paddy 820 ha — dual equity supply
- Abandoned
- still operating UNESCO 1001 eastern branch
- Rediscovered
- 2000 UNESCO 1001 inscription Yuzui; 2012 east feeder gate survey
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
256 BCE
Li Bing Qin Yuzui divider main + secondary
100 BCE
Han expansion east feeder 5.2 km 12 distributaries
2000
UNESCO 1001 Dujiangyan–Qingchengshan
1884
Zheng Peng bottleneck sluice 8 m replacement
On the ground
Structures & features
30.9900° N · 103.6200° E · 720 m · 2 mapped features
Bottle-Neck Sluice (8 m, 1884 Zheng)
structure8-m bottle-neck control sluice — Zheng Peng 1884 on Qin 256 BCE footprint
30.9910° N · 103.6210° EEast Feeder First Distributary Gate
canal12 gates 5.2 km first east distributor gate to Pixian eastern paddy
30.9920° N · 103.6220° E
Gallery