[Chengdu Day 2] Paying Homage to the Water, Seeking the Way: A One-Day Tour of Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng

From the legendary flood control by Li Bing and his son, to the tranquil mountain forest where Zhang Daoling founded Taoism, we visited two of Sichuan's most spiritually charged sites in a single day — Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng. 🗓 Today's Itinerary Chengdu → Dujiangyan → Mount Qingcheng → Chunxi Road Dujiangyan: Fish Mouth Levee・Fulong Temple・Yulei Pavilion｜Mount Qingcheng: Yuecheng Lake・Shangqing Palace Departure Before Dawn The alarm went off at 5:30 in the morning. We'd mostly packed our bags the night before, so after a quick wash-up we headed out the door. The vehicle that picked us up was a 9-seater van, and I couldn't help thinking, "Oh no, if we have to ride in this all day, how exhausting would that be!" — thankfully it was just a shuttle to the main pickup point. We used the spare time to grab a quick breakfast to tide us over.

The first stop was a shopping stop, which the travel agency had explained in advance, but the originally scheduled 30 to 40 minutes ended up being nearly 50 minutes. On site, they mainly introduced Tibetan medicine, health supplements, and souvenirs. Although the sales pitch was obvious, there was no forced purchasing.

Dujiangyan: An Ancient Feat of Water-Control Wisdom We went back to the bus to keep catching up on sleep, and arrived at the Dujiangyan scenic area at around 9 a.m. The most famous line about this place comes from Yu Qiuyu: "Pay homage to the waters at Dujiangyan, seek the Way at Mount Qingcheng.

There is a fountain at the entrance designed in the shape of a "traditional wooden weir" (washa), symbolizing the wisdom of the ancients in dredging silt and diverting water flow.

In addition to the history of Li Bing and his son taming the floodwaters, Dujiangyan also blends in the legend of Erlang Shen subduing the river dragon, which is why the scenic area has the "Fulong Temple" (Dragon-Taming Temple).

We started our visit at Baopingkou, and the tour guide explained along the way: Baopingkou is the water intake of the Inner River, controlling the amount of water flowing into the Chengdu Plain;

The Flying Sand Weir is located between the inner and outer rivers, responsible for sediment discharge and flood overflow, ensuring irrigation water quality.

The Fish Mouth marks the starting point of the entire system, dividing the Min River into the inner and outer channels.

Although it's the low-water season in winter, the current is still turbulent. The guide explained that in summer, the water flow is reversed instead, using the design to control the amount of inflow — demonstrating the engineering wisdom of two thousand years ago. Next, we took the escalator up the mountain to Yulei Pavilion. Yulei Pavilion has six floors in total, and on clear days you can overlook the entire Dujiangyan. But today the fog was thick, so we could only faintly make out the outer river and the hydroelectric power facilities.

I thought to myself: "Just seeing the Inner River already gave me such a sense of its magnificent momentum—if it were the Outer River, it would surely be even more breathtaking!" From the entrance to Yuulei Pavilion, the entire route took about 2.5 hours. Midway Break: "Encounter Dujiangyan" Performance Since our itinerary ran smoothly, we arrived at the lunch spot early, so the guide arranged for us to watch the "Encounter Dujiangyan" performance (we only later discovered this was actually part of an additional charge 😅). The performance was divided into three parts: a fire lamp dance, a shadow puppet show about Li Bing controlling the waters, and the grand finale face-changing act. The performance was absolutely spectacular, though the shadow puppet show part was a bit too quiet and I almost fell asleep. However, I later found out that this performance costs 50 RMB, so independent travelers probably wouldn't make a special trip just to see it.

Lunch was unexpectedly generous — while there weren't many meat dishes, there was still a good variety, and vegetarians had plenty of options too.

Qingcheng Mountain: The Place of Seeking the Way In the afternoon, we headed to Qingcheng Mountain. This is one of the birthplaces of Taoism, known as the "Ancestral Mountain of Taoism," and the place where the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling cultivated and ascended to immortality. The Qingcheng Mountain scenic area is enormous, so several transfers of transportation are needed: First, take the electric shuttle to the trailhead (about 40 minutes if walking);

On the way, we passed by a Taoist college, where students must practice for 3 to 5 years before becoming official disciples; The first attraction was Yuecheng Lake, where you could take a boat to the other side (one-way trip 5 RMB), but we chose to walk along the lake instead.

After that, walk for about 30 to 40 minutes to reach the cable car station, then take a 5-minute cable car ride up the mountain.

After leaving the cable car, you first arrive at Ciyun Pavilion, which enshrines a male-form Avalokitesvara; further up is Shangqing Palace. The three characters on the hall's plaque, "Shangqing Palace," were personally written by Chiang Kai-shek, and it was only thanks to the abbot's quick wit that the hall escaped destruction during the Cultural Revolution.

The couplets outside the hall are all written by renowned calligraphers, while the courtyard features the Azure Dragon and White Tiger as guardian deities and the "Mandarin Duck Well" symbolizing yin and yang, along with a stone stele inscribed by Zhang Daqian.

Inside the temple, a Taoist blessing ceremony was taking place, and the atmosphere was solemn and dignified.

Finally ascend to the Laojun Pavilion, which enshrines a giant statue of Taishang Laojun.

The whole tour lasted about 3 hours — the itinerary was packed but wonderful. Back to Chengdu and night snacks We were originally scheduled to head back at 16:30, but departure was delayed by 10 minutes, and we returned to the city about an hour and a half later. The travel agency's designated drop-off point was still half an hour's drive from Chunxi Road, and since it was rush hour, traffic was terrible — though that's understandable. For dinner we chose to have "chuan chuan" (skewer hot pot). Since it was our first time, we didn't dare take too much, and everyone at our table held back; it wasn't until we saw diners at other tables grabbing skewers by the handful, standing them up like a bonfire, that we realized we'd been far too conservative. In the end, it only cost 50 RMB per person, even lower than the online average of 80 RMB — that's when we realized just how conservatively we'd eaten.

After having our fill, we headed back to the hotel to collect our luggage and prepare to head to the accommodation near the airport. We initially thought the "airport hotel" would be right next door, so we chose to take a 15 RMB shuttle bus. However, we ended up having to transfer and spent an additional 100 RMB before we finally arrived. Although the hotel was a business-type property, the space was comfortable and pleasant. After a brief rest, we were ready to depart—heading to Lhasa to begin our Tibet adventure. 🌄 Summary: Dujiangyan/Qingcheng Mountain Tour Experience Tour Fees: Basic Tour Fee: 200 RMB per person (includes transportation, entrance ticket, and tour guide) Additional charge 260 RMB: Dujiangyan audio guide headset + sightseeing shuttle ticket 50 RMB (required) Yulei Pavilion escalator 40 RMB (required to reach the summit) Mount Qingcheng audio guide headset + sightseeing shuttle ticket 60 RMB (required) "Encounter · Dujiangyan" show 50 RMB (optional) Mount Qingcheng cable car 60 RMB (required if going to the summit) Advantages of joining a group tour: You don't have to worry about transportation and transfers, saving time; For travelers who want to visit both attractions in one day, the overall cost is more economical; The tour guide's explanations were rich in content and helped with understanding the historical background. Drawbacks of joining a group tour: The itinerary schedule is tightly controlled, so you can only visit the main highlights; A shopping stop is arranged, wasting about 1 hour; There are many extra charges, and the actual spending ends up higher than the registration fee. If you only want to explore one place in depth (such as visiting Qingcheng Mountain alone), chartering a car for a self-guided tour costs about 300 RMB, and offers more flexibility and freedom.