Since 2014, in order to better protect and utilize ancient irrigation projects, excavate and publicize the history and influence of irrigation projects, the International Irrigation and Drainage Commission (ICID) began to select The World Irrigation Engineering Heritage. Since 2016, Jingyang Zhengguoqu, Hanzhong Sanyan and Longshouqu Yinluogu Irrigation Districts in Shaanxi Province have been listed in the World Irrigation Engineering Heritage List.
Shen Weilong: "Shaanxi Wenbo Brother" after the 90s
At present, the total number of world irrigation engineering heritage sites in China has reached 23, and two to four projects are listed in the World Irrigation Engineering Heritage List every year, distributed in Sichuan, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan, Anhui, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Guangxi, Hubei, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong and other provinces and autonomous regions. Among them, Zhejiang Province has the largest number, with six World Heritage Sites in Irrigation Engineering. Shaanxi and Fujian are tied for second in number, both boasting three World Heritage Sites in Irrigation Engineering.
On November 8, 2016, at the 67th Executive Council meeting of the International Irrigation and Drainage Commission held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, The Zhengguo canal in Jingyang, Shaanxi Province, was inscribed on the World Heritage List of Irrigation Engineering; on October 10, 2017, at the 68th Executive Council Meeting of the International Irrigation and Drainage Commission held in Mexico City, Shaanxi Hanzhong Sanyan was inscribed on the World Heritage List; on December 8, 2020, at the 71st Executive Council Meeting of the International Irrigation and Drainage Commission, held in Morocco, Shaanxi Longshouqu Yinluogu Irrigation District was included in the World Irrigation Engineering Heritage List.
1. Jingyang Zhengguoqu
Zheng Guoqu was built in 246 BC by the Korean hydraulic worker Zheng Guo, and after ten years, it was finally completed. Zheng Guoqu made the Guanzhong Plain a country of heaven for drought and flood protection, laid a solid agricultural economic foundation for the Unification of the Six Kingdoms by the Qin people, and had a profound impact on China's politics, economy, society and culture. On November 20, 1996, the zhengguoqushou site was announced as the fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
Zhengguo Canal head is located in Jingyang County, Xianyang City, the western foothills of Beizhongshan, flowing through Jingyang, Sanyuan, Gaoling, Lintong, Fuping, Weinan, Pucheng into the Luo River, the total length of the channel is about 150 kilometers, irrigating more than 180,000 hectares of land. In the section from the diversion of the Zhengguo Canal in Jingyang to the main canal, a 6-kilometer-long diversion canal embankment was built, with a width of about 20 meters and a height of about 5 meters.
After the Qin Dynasty, successive dynasties continued to build water conservancy facilities here, including the Baigong Canal of the Han Dynasty, the Sanbai Canal of the Tang Dynasty, the Fengli Canal of the Song Dynasty, the Wang Yushi Canal of the Yuan Dynasty, the Guanghui Canal and the Tongji Canal of the Ming Dynasty, and the Longdong Canal of the Qing Dynasty. From December 1930 to June 1932, Mr. Li Yizhi, a well-known water conservancy expert in modern China, presided over the repair of the Jinghui Canal at the site of Zhengguoqu canal, which continued to benefit the people.
2. Hanzhong Sanyan
Hanzhong Sanyan refers to the Shanhe Weir, Wumen Weir and Yang Fill Weir within the jurisdiction of Hanzhong City. According to legend, Sanyan was built in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty as an important water conservancy project in southern Shaanxi. Shanhe Weir is located at the mouth of the Baohe River in Hedongdian Town, Hantai District, Wumen Weir is located at the mouth of Xiangshui Valley in Orange Garden Town, Chenggu County, and Yang Fill weir is located on the left bank of the middle reaches of the Xiangshui River, about 10 kilometers north of Chenggu County. On May 25, 2006, Wumenyan was announced as the sixth batch of national key cultural relics protection units.
Wumen Weir was built in the second year of Wang Mangju (7), located on the west bank of the Xiangshui River, a tributary of the Han River, the head of the weir and the body of the dam are made of a stone pile, and five cave openings are built side by side, so it is called "Wumen Weir". The five holes are shaped like five doors, two in the east and three in the west, and can be opened and closed. 500 meters below, there are 2 holes in the water intake dragon gate and 4 holes in the water receding dragon gate, which can control the amount of water and the design is scientific and reasonable.
The Xiangshui River, which comes from the northeast, makes a big bend here and then flows in a southeasterly direction. Wumen Weir was built at the bend and ran roughly northeast to southwest. This is a low dam diversion irrigation facility with a length of 374 meters and a height of 1.2 meters.
Next to Wumenyan there is an ancient Longmen Temple, which was once a place of worship for the water god and the residence of the staff of Wumenyan, and there are ancient buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties such as the Great Buddha Hall, the Yuji Hall, the Taibai Building, the Guanyin Pavilion, the Wangjiang Tower, the Stele Pavilion, and the Official House.
3. Longshou Canal Leads to Luogu Irrigation District
The Longshou Canal was built during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, diverting water from Zhuangtou Village, Chengcheng County, Weinan City, to irrigate the land around pucheng County and Dali County in present-day Weinan City. According to legend, during the construction process, the keel was excavated, so this canal was called "Dragon Head Canal". On September 24, 2003, the site of Longshouqu Jingqu was announced by the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government as the fourth batch of provincial-level cultural relics protection units. On July 3, 2018, the Dali section of the Longshouqu site was included in the fourth batch of provincial-level cultural relics protection units by the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government.
The Longshou Canal is the earliest and most difficult artesian irrigation project in the Beiluo River Basin. When the channel passes through Shangyan Mountain, the surrounding soil is loose, and the canal bank is easy to collapse, and it is impossible to use the general construction method. Therefore, the construction of underground passages in the form of a combination of wells and canals to form a 3.5-kilometer diversion tunnel through The iron kamakura Mountain is known as the "well and canal method".
In 1930, General Yang Hucheng, who was in charge of Shaanxi, invited Li Yizhi to return to Shaanxi and began to build the Luohui Canal project on the site of the Longshou Canal in the Han Dynasty, which lasted 14 years and was finally completed. The Luohui Canal has reintegrated the different ways of irrigation in the past, and built large-scale projects such as the Longshou Dam, the Dacun Aqueduct, the Quli Aqueduct, and the No. 1 to No. 5 Tunnels.
After the founding of New China, the Luohui Canal has undergone many transformations and has developed into a large-scale irrigation area with a complete irrigation and drainage system. Luohui Canal is composed of dams, irrigation and drainage canal systems and supporting facilities, respectively, there are two major systems of Luodong and Luoxi, there are 18 trunk and branch canals, with a total length of 248 kilometers, irrigating 740,000 mu of farmland, benefiting more than 690,000 people.
Zhengguo Canal, Hanzhong Sanyan and Longshou Canal Yinluogu Irrigation District were all built during the Qin and Han dynasties. After more than 2,000 years, ancient irrigation projects still play a role, nourishing the generations that live here. Today, these irrigation project sites are not only a magnificent epic that has been passed down from generation to generation, but also embody the spirit of the Chinese nation to overcome difficulties and blaze new trails, and continue to radiate brilliance on the land of Sanqin.