China Travel Reference

Dujiangyan
	Dujinagyan Irrigation Project, the long established water conservation works, is located at Dujingayan City lying in the upper reaches of Minjiang River, which is the longest tributary of Yangtze River. During the Warring States Period (475BC –221BC), Li Bing, a governor of Shu in the Qin State, directed the construction of Dujiangyan Weir. From then on, for more than two thousand years the whole system has been functioning perfectly, serving not only as a flood prevention project but also as an immense source for irrigation of the land around it, as well as a means to facilitate shipping and wood drifting.
Qingcheng Mountain, located on the southwest of Dujiangyan City, is one of the birthplaces of Taoism. It boasts 36 peaks, 8 big caves, 72 lesser caves and 108 scenic spots, as well as 11 taoist monasteries and temples. In 2000, he UNESCO inscribed both Dujiangyan Irrigation System and Qingcheng Mount on the List World Heritage.


Mount Emei and the Giant Leshan Buddha
	Mount Emei locates in Emeishan City of Sichuan Province (The city's name came from Mount Emei). There are many kinds of geologic physiognomy, plants and animals. Mount Emei is the "Nature Geological Museum", "the Nature Arboretum" and "the Kingdom of Animals". Hundreds of nature scenic and many temples are dispersed over the mount. More than 5,000 kinds of plants and more than 2,300 kinds of animals are existed up to now. The living fossil of wood plant-Davidia involucrata and cyathea spinulosa, a rare plant on the verge of distinction, are under Grade-A protection. The existing temples include Baoguosi Monastery, Wanniansi Monastery, fuhusi Monastery, Xianfengsi Monastery, Qianfo Monastery, the Elephant-washing Pool and Huazang (Avatamsaka) Monastery on the Golden Sumit, etc. Leshan Giant Buddha sits on the eastern bank of the Minjiang River and on the western slope of Lingyun Hill. With the height of 70.7 meters, it is one of the largest stone sculptures of Buddha in the world. The construction of the statue began in 713, during the first year of the Emperor Xuanzong’s reign in the Tang Dynasty (618 –907),
and completed in the 19th year of emperor Dezong(803), a total of 90 years. Taking the shape of a Maitreya, the gigantic stone sculpture faces Mount Emei, with the rivers flowing below his feet. In 1996, it was put on the list of world heritage of the UNESCO.

Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area
	Situated more than 400 km south of Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou (Gully of Nine Villages) is a gully in Naboubg County in Ngawa Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which derived its name from the 9 Tibetan villages in the gully. Its 80-km-long ravine covers an area of 60,000 hectares and is strewn with lakes, waterfalls, snowy mountains and forests teeming with such precious animals as giant and lesser pandas and golden-haired monkeys. For its fairyland and dreamlike fascinations it is a UNESCO world natural heritage site and part of the UN’ Man and Biosphere Program


Huanglong Scenic Area
	Huanglong is in Songpan County of the Tibean and Qiang Nationalities Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, adjacent to Jiuzhaigou. The Scenic Area consists of two parts: Huanglong and Mouni Gully. The area possesses various huge and picturesque landscapes, such as the magnificent mountains, precipitous valleys, splendid grassland scenery, vast sea of forest, plenty of lakes, rich animal and plant resources, and unique folk customs, and all these marvelous scenes are unique and quite spectaculars. In 1992, the Huanglong Scenic Area became one of world natural heritage sites of the UNESCO.

Bamboo Sea
	The Bamboo Sea sprawls on the border of Changning and Jiang An counties in Yibin in the south of Sichuan. It is the only major scenic area in the county proclaimed by the State Council stressed on bamboo scenery. 28 peaks scatter over the 120-square-kilometer area. The entire area is, as its name suggests, a vast stretch of bamboo groves. There are above 30 kinds of bamboos, such as Nan Bamboo, Flower Bamboo, Cotton Bamboo, Xiang Fei Bamboo and so on. With fresh air, boundless bamboo forest, flying waterfalls and dotted with some historical and cultural sites, such as Heavenly Emperor Temple, Arhat Cave, Heaven Palace and so on, the Bamboo Sea is an ideal bio-tourist destination.