Atlas
Sichuan Basin
A purple-soil basin ringed by mountains on all sides — the cradle of the Land of Abundance, a natural sanctuary and rear granary for dynasties in chaos.
Prefecture: Deyang
Province: SichuanGolden rape blossom and green fields alternate beside flooded plots that mirror the trees, with a farmhouse among bamboo and trees, and a river and misty hills beyond.
Infrastructure2
- Dujiangyan Irrigation System
The world's oldest functional eco-hydraulic project without dams, turning Chengdu plain into the Land of Abundance.
- Jianmen Pass
The formidable mountain gateway on the Shu Road where 'one man at the pass can hold off ten thousand'.
Sculpture1
- Leshan Giant Buddha
A 71-meter giant stone Buddha carved directly into the river cliff at the confluence of three rivers.
Temple1
- San Su Shrine in Meishan
The ancestral estate of literary titans Su Xun, Su Shi, and Su Zhe, premier shrine of Sichuan literature.
On its attractions1
- The Hard Road to ShuPoetryJianmen PassLi Bai
Ah, alas, how perilous and towering! The road to Shu is harder than climbing to the cerulean blue sky!
Authors1
- Li Bai701–762 CE
Wrote of Jianmen Pass in “The Hard Road to Shu”. High Tang poet who served briefly in the Hanlin Academy, was banished to Yelang for joining Prince Yong, and was hailed by He Zhizhang as a banished immortal
In its history1
- Yang Guang569–618 CE
Part of Sichuan Basin's history: Imperial Examination Founded. Second Sui emperor, Yangdi, who built the eastern capital at Luoyang and the Grand Canal, failed in three wars against Goguryeo, and was strangled in a mutiny at Jiangdu
Zhou1
- Li Bing Directs Construction of DujiangyanWarring States Qin (c. 256 BCE)
Around 256 BCE, Shu governor Li Bing directed construction of Dujiangyan to divert the Min River, irrigate the Chengdu Plain, and regulate floods and sediment.
Three Kingdoms1
- Jiang Wei Defends Jiange263 CE
In 263 CE, Shu-Han commander Jiang Wei withdrew to Jiange and blocked Zhong Hui's army from advancing directly into Shu.
Sui1
- Imperial Examination Founded
Sui and Tang courts institutionalized subject examinations for office, broadening recruitment through writing and classical learning beyond inherited rank.
Tang1
- Haitong Initiates the Leshan Giant BuddhaTang Dynasty (713-803 CE)
In 713, monk Haitong initiated carving a Maitreya Buddha above the confluence of three rivers; the project continued for ninety years and was completed in 803.
Song1
- Su Shi and Su Zhe Pass1057 CE
In 1057, Su Shi and Su Zhe passed the Jinshi examination together, making Ouyang Xiu's Jiayou 2 examination an important literary-history milestone.