Dujiangyan Irrigation System - a world cultural - DOST Sci

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Journal of Hydro-environment Research 4 (2010) 3e13
www.elsevier.com/locate/jher
Dujiangyan Irrigation System e a world cultural heritage corresponding to
concepts of modern hydraulic science
Shuyou Cao, Xingnian Liu, Huang Er*
State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China
Received 28 June 2009; accepted 28 September 2009
Abstract
The ancient Dujiangyan Irrigation System (DIS) was listed as a World Culture Heritage Site by the World Heritage Center, UNESCO in
2000. DIS still plays a crucial role in flood control, irrigation and water supply for Chengdu Plain in Sichuan Province. The immense advances in
science and technology achieved in ancient China are graphically illustrated by the DIS. The system is appropriately arranged in accordance with
the terrain and topography of the river and Chengdu plain, thus successfully solving the problem of sand discharge, flood control, and water
distribution. Consequently the task of gravity diversion could be fulfilled over a long period and across the whole irrigation district. Since 1940s,
series of prototype observations, hydraulic physical model experiments, and numerical modeling, have been conducted to explore the design
philosophy, new planning scheme and key techniques for modern reconstruction. At the same time, science mechanism and river dynamics of the
wonder being based upon are discovered. A selective literature review of the DIS is offered in this paper to introduce record history of the
original construction and sustainable development, engineering and science values, and regularly restoration experiences. Based on analysis of
accurate literatures, a new understanding to the original headwork structure of Dujiangyan is provided.
Ó 2010 International Association for Hydro-environment Engineering and Research, Asia Pacific Division. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights
reserved.
Keywords: Dujiangyan; Hydraulic history; Fluid mechanics; Hydraulic model experiment; Literature review
1. Introduction
The ancient Dujiangyan irrigation system (DIS) was listed
as a World Culture Heritage Site by the World Heritage
Center, UNESCO in 2000. This system still controls the waters
of the Minjiang River and distributes it to the fertile farmland
of the Chengdu plain. The system is a major landmark in the
development of water management and technology. The
immense advances in science and technology achieved in
ancient China are graphically illustrated by the DIS (World
Heritage Center, UNESCO, 2009). As shown in Fig. 1, DIS is
located in central Sichuan Province, which covers two main
components. One is the headwork the key control project for
water division and intake at Dujiangyan City (Fig. 2), and
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (S. Cao), [email protected] (X.
Liu), [email protected] (H. Er).
another is water distribution system in 7 cities and 37 counties
(Fig. 3). For over two thousand years the whole system has
functioned perfectly, serving in flood control, irrigation,
navigation and wood drifting. It has contributed greatly to the
richness of Chengdu Plain and helped it earn its reputation as
‘‘The Land of Abundance’’ (Ministry of Culture, 2003).
The system is appropriately arranged in accordance with
the terrain and topography of the river and Chengdu plain, thus
successfully solving the problem of sand discharge, flood
control, and water distribution. Consequently the task of
gravity diversion could be fulfilled over a long period and
whole irrigation district. The irrigation district covers 3
watersheds with a total area of 23.2 103 km2 today, namely
Mingjiang River, Tuojiang River, and Fujiang River. DIS is
planned to a total irrigation area of 1.01 million ha based on
actual irrigation area of 0.68 million ha at present (Sun, 2004).
According to the traditional understanding, the ancient
headwork of Dujiangyan was a non-dam intake project. It is
1570-6443/$ - see front matter Ó 2010 International Association for Hydro-environment Engineering and Research, Asia Pacific Division. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jher.2009.09.003