---
title: "Two Days at Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng"
date: 2026-06-04
excerpt: "A northwest Chengdu trip through missed tickets, scenic buses, Anlan Bridge, Feishayan, Baopingkou, Guanxian Ancient City, and sleepless Mount Qingcheng."
tags:
- 成都
- Essay
lang: en
i18n:
cn: /dujiangyan_qingchengshan
translation: 2
updated: 2026-06-04 14:08:29
---
The destination for this trip was northwest of Chengdu: Dujiangyan and Mount Qingcheng.
The plan was simple: one day at Dujiangyan, one day at Mount Qingcheng.
## Never Had Such a Wonderful Start
The plan was to leave on the morning of May 29 and return to school on the evening of the 30th.
But I am too used to staying up late. Even after lying down early, I could not fall asleep, and in the end I only slept at 3:31 AM. Naturally, I slept past 10 the next morning.
I opened QQ and saw that W had messaged me at 8:50, asking whether I was up. I was still asleep then. By the time I saw it, it was already after 10.
I had originally planned to wait for him and have lunch together, so I first tinkered with the macOS menu bar for a while, using iStat Menus to record CPU, MEM, NET usage and current power draw. I had been made a little battery-anxious by the recent macOS Tahoe Thunderbolt power-consumption bug. See [High CPU Usage from peopled After Updating... - Apple Community](https://discussions.apple.com/thread/256271160?sortBy=rank).
After that, there was nothing to do, and W still had not woken up. ~~When you woke, I was not awake; when I woke, you were asleep~~😶🌫️. So I went out first and had a bowl of Neijiang beef noodles. Thin noodles, not much beef, but the taste was good.
At noon, W and I set out, taking the metro to Xipu and transferring there to an intercity train. On the way, I kept seeing clips from Tatsuki Fujimoto's _Just Listen to the Song_, paired with the Chinese BGM "I've Got You". Unexpectedly nice.
Only after arriving at the station did we buy tickets on 12306. The page said there were seats left on the 13:32 train, but when I tapped pay, the pop-up said, "Ticketing failed. Not enough tickets." It felt much like buying the ticket back to school during winter break: the tickets were there, and also not there.
Fortunately, trains from Xipu to Dujiangyan are frequent. We filled the gap with the next one, at 14:49.
Xipu Station is small. The hour-plus spent waiting was basically pure boredom.
## The Train, Visitor Center, and Qinyan Tower
The train arrived at Dujiangyan. Right outside the station was the official visitor center. A bus cost 12 yuan per person and went straight to the scenic area. You could choose one of the following routes:
- [x] Gate 4, Li Bing Memorial Hall, 3.5h, 4.5 km
- [ ] Gate 5, Erwang Temple, 2.5h, 3.6 km
- [ ] Gate 6, Qinyan Tower, 2.5h, 3.6 km
The bus had an onboard guide, surnamed Pei, from Hebei. Including me, there were 24 tourists in total. Ms. Pei introduced the history of Dujiangyan along the way. As we neared the scenic area, she asked whether anyone wanted to buy her guided walking service: 40 yuan per person.
At first, nobody in the bus responded. In the end, a middle-aged couple paid. They asked Ms. Pei how many people were needed to form a group. She said 4, but after repeated calls, she still could not find a third person. Ms. Pei seemed a little discouraged and asked the driver whether she had explained things badly. She then asked a young student whether he wanted a guide, and he answered, "I like freedom~". In the end, Auntie Pei probably did not want to go away empty-handed, so she took that couple into the scenic area, still using the payment channel of the related organization.
The bus dropped us at Qinyan Tower, where quite a few people were already lining up. The tower is built against the mountain and was repaired and reconstructed after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. From upstairs, you can overlook the whole Dujiangyan irrigation system. The view is not bad.
The name Qinyan Tower comes from "Qin Weir": Dujiangyan is generally believed to have been built under the direction of Li Bing, governor of Shu Commandery in the state of Qin. The site was originally a viewing platform, also called "Happiness Terrace", and was later rebuilt as an antique-style pavilion. Today it mainly serves as an overlook, from which you can see the relationship between Yuzui, Feishayan, Baopingkou, and Erwang Temple.
## Anlan Suspension Bridge and Yuzui
From Qinyan Tower, we went downstairs, passed through a row of shops, and reached Anlan Suspension Bridge. The scenic area calls it the "No. 1 Love Bridge Under Heaven." If you are not in a hurry to go down here and take another route instead, you can visit Erwang Temple, Yulei Pavilion, and other spots. I had not done enough homework this time, so I missed them.
The old Anlan Suspension Bridge seems to be closed to the public now. We crossed the new one this time. In the distance you can see the mountains; when the weather is clear, Xiling Snow Mountain is visible even farther away.
Anlan Bridge can be traced back to the era when Li Bing built Dujiangyan. During the Tang and Song dynasties, it was successively renamed Zhupu Bridge and Pingshi Bridge, then destroyed by war in the late Ming. In the Jiaqing reign of the Qing dynasty, a couple surnamed He initiated fundraising to rebuild it. The name "Anlan" means that travelers can cross the waves in safety. People remembered the couple's virtue and commonly called it Couple Bridge, or Lord He and Lady He Bridge. The scenic area's "No. 1 Love Bridge Under Heaven" title also comes from this history.
It is similar to the suspension bridge I previously crossed at [[zhushan_xiugu_travel_notes__en#Temple Gate|Zhushan Xiugu in Qingdao]], only Anlan Suspension Bridge is longer and sways more noticeably. After getting off the bridge, I felt a little dizzy, as if I had spun in place several times. To exaggerate a bit, it was comparable to [Captain Jack Sparrow's walking style](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1vgqhBqEkk/) in _Pirates of the Caribbean_.
After modern reinforcement and repair, crossing the bridge today is much steadier. In ancient times, this kind of bamboo-rope bridge was dangerous to travel on. The Tang poet [Dugu Ji](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E7%8B%AC%E5%AD%A4%E5%8F%8A/2491160) once described it in a poem:
> The bamboo bridge spans the void,
> travelers pull themselves along one rope.
> People hang upon it,
> bound like apes.
> A sudden tumble into the abyss,
> like a kite falling.
> They climb by feeling for the posts,
> like fish leaping.
> One careless moment,
> and they drop into a bottomless ravine.
> "Praise of the Bamboo-Rope Bridge"
After crossing the bridge, you can go toward Yuzui for a look. Nearby, paid photographers were soliciting customers. With phone cameras being so convenient now, I do not know how many more years this kind of service can survive on scenic-area foot traffic.
W was a little thirsty, so I treated us to two mung bean smoothies, 10 yuan per cup. On campus they are usually 3 yuan. The markup was obvious. By comparison, scenic spots such as Beijing's Summer Palace do a much better job controlling prices.
## Asynchronous Multiplayer on Jingang Embankment
After crossing the bridge, you can follow either the Min River or the metasequoia boardwalk along Jingang Embankment toward Feishayan. W and I first walked along the outer river. W treated me to a Zhengxin chicken cutlet, 20 yuan for one, and then bought two potato towers, 10 yuan each. After eating, we continued walking along the river and later turned into the boardwalk.
The Jingang Embankment boardwalk is a landscape walkway inside the Dujiangyan Irrigation System scenic area, opened in 2023. It is about 480 meters long and covers roughly 3,000 square meters. It separates the walking route from vehicle space, with viewing platforms along the way where you can see the Min River current and the Fulong Temple complex. The boardwalk is shaded by a metasequoia forest, and the shade really is comfortable.
There are many pebbles in the woods, as well as little stone towers stacked by visitors. Seeing those towers made me think of the "asynchronous multiplayer" in _Death Stranding_: bridges, generators, or shelters you build with a PCC may appear in other players' worlds; others can like them, contribute materials, upgrade them, repair them, and you will also encounter structures left by other players on your own map. Even the mushrooms that grow after Sam urinates outdoors follow a similar mechanism. Other players can see and like them; if enough people pee in the same place, the mushrooms grow larger and larger, and eventually even attract cryptobiotes.
The stone towers at Dujiangyan work in a similar way. Visitors stack stones here, leaving a trace that later visitors can continue to participate in. The difference is that in the game, dumping materials into a structure can actually finish a bridge; in reality, I added one stone to the top of a tower, and the whole thing collapsed.
## Feishayan, Fulong Temple, and Baopingkou
When we reached Feishayan, we could hear the sound of river water from far away. The drop here is not large. In my memory, the water only falls by a shallow step, turning over the weir mouth like a mini waterfall. My guess is that it helps with flood discharge. After the water elbow-drops onto the riverbed, some of its kinetic energy is lost, making it easier to divert the flow into Baopingkou afterward.
Across from Feishayan, you can see the Fulong Temple area. On the mountain face are the words "**Cold Pool Subdues the Dragon**". After seeing Feishayan, we crossed a small suspension bridge, walked a short stretch along the path, climbed the steps, and entered Fulong Temple.
In ancient times, a wicked dragon in the Min River stirred up storms and caused floods across western Sichuan. During the Qin dynasty, Li Bing, governor of Shu, led flood-control work and discovered that Yulei Mountain blocking the river was the root of the flooding. The wicked dragon occupied a cave and obstructed the mountain-cutting effort. Li Bing's son, Li Erlang, led the people in capturing the evil dragon and locking it beneath Lidui in Fulong Pool to suppress future floods. Craftsmen cut through the mountain wall to form Baopingkou. The part of the mountain once attached to Yulei was surrounded by river water and became an isolated mound: Lidui. From then on, the Min River flowed through Baopingkou to irrigate farmland, turning water disaster into irrigation. Fulong Temple was built on top of Lidui, and the pool still remains inside the temple.
The front hall displays the Eastern Han stone statue of Li Bing unearthed in 1974. The inscription on it is still fairly clear today.
By the terrace, crape myrtles are planted. From upstairs, looking east, you can see Baopingkou. Here the flow is narrowed into a tight opening. Through it, the river water is guided into the Chengdu Plain, so that "flood and drought obeyed human will; people knew no famine; no year went barren; all under Heaven called it the 'Land of Abundance'."
Walking farther west to Guanlan Pavilion, the Feishayan we had seen earlier appeared right in front of us.
After going downstairs, we continued along Yangong Road, passing several garden buildings and stone sculptures of historical water-control figures. Along the way were sights such as Shengui Pond and a thousand-year-old ginkgo. This time, at Shengui Pond, I saw an egret; the divine turtle, naturally, did not appear. The whole garden was neatly maintained and orderly, and the overall experience was good.
## South Bridge and Guanxian Ancient City
After leaving the scenic area, South Bridge was nearby. Some kind of beer-related event was happening in front of the bridge. I did not look closely at what exactly it was; in any case, it had something to do with beer.
We took a detour onto the bridge. Inside, many tourists were resting in the shade. A few livestreamers also randomly spawned, streaming into their phones. Like sausage vendors, they are a stable part of the scenic-area ecosystem.
Farther out was the Guanxian Ancient City area, where our hotel was also located. Dujiangyan City used to be called Guanxian; after the county was upgraded to a city in 1988, it adopted its current name. Like "ancient cities" all over the country, this place is highly commercialized. Both sides of the street are lined with specialty shops soliciting customers. With that level of psychological resilience, they could teach easy-credit courses at a university. I bought two beef pies from Bing Zhizun: roughly 65% pastry, 30% scallion, and 5% beef. Then I went to Luckin for a coconut matcha and an orange C iced Americano.
## Insomnia
After showering, I originally wanted to go straight to sleep. BTW, the shower spray was dense, and the shower felt properly great 🤗. I lay down for a while, felt no sleepiness at all, and finally opened my Mac and started vibe coding.
Unsurprisingly, insomnia arrived again. For the past six months, the sleep latency recorded by my watch has usually not been below one hour. How nice it would be if I could fall asleep the moment I touched the bed 😅
I barely slept that night. Half asleep and half awake, I held on until six. First I heard the sound of street cleaning downstairs, then the loudspeaker from a clothing shop outside announcing a "50% clearance sale."
Later, I caught up on sleep until 12:40. The original plan was to go to Panda Valley that morning, but by that hour, the pandas were probably too lazy to come out. So we changed course at the last minute and went to Mount Qingcheng.
Several famous sights in Shu are commonly paired in folk sayings: Jianmen is the steepest under Heaven, Qingcheng the most secluded, Emei the most elegant, and Kuimen the most magnificent. Qingcheng claims the word "secluded."
## Lunch and a Taxi
Before going to Mount Qingcheng, we had lunch first. It was 62 yuan per person, including a 2 yuan tableware fee. The boiled beef tasted like synthetic meat, and the stir-fried pork was dry and fishy. It reminded me of the Sichuan meal I casually had with my family when I first arrived in Chengdu as a freshman: restaurants by scenic spots are often at this level, and it is hard to expect too much from them.
On the taxi ride to Mount Qingcheng, the driver chatted politics the whole way, from unfinished apartment buildings to AI replacing ordinary people's jobs. He also complained that "the government does nothing and does not care about ordinary people." In the middle, W chimed in, mentioning that business had not been good for the guide on the Dujiangyan bus we took the day before, then asked whether that bus was officially operated. Hearing that, the driver shifted to complaining about scenic-area buses, saying they often make U-turns on the spot and block the road, but the traffic police do not ticket them, since this is a tourism city after all.
The complaints were not necessarily comprehensive or objective, but the real problems behind them do exist.
As we neared the entrance, he suddenly pulled the topic back and reminded us seriously: check the prices carefully and watch out for markups.
We rested for a while near the entrance because W felt a little carsick. He then suggested turning back to buy a bamboo pole. At first I misheard it as "sugarcane" and was mildly startled.
The seller was an elderly grandmother. Both the bamboo pole and the old-style popsicles were reasonably priced. That said, the bamboo pole did not end up being very useful. Near the Mount Qingcheng cableway, we "released it back into the wild."
Near the entrance, there is a river and a security booth. From here, you can either take a shuttle bus to the Front Mountain ticket office or walk two kilometers. As university students in the prime of youth and strength, we naturally chose to walk.
The road was lined with metasequoias, much denser than in the north. There were still some houses visible on both sides, but after the Wenchuan earthquake, the residents had all moved out. A new Taoist school had also been built along the route.
At 1,200 meters from the Mount Qingcheng entrance is [Chicheng Pavilion](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E8%B5%A4%E5%9F%8E%E9%98%81/60964286). Historical records say that "Mount Qingcheng has cliffs with red walls," hence the name Chicheng Mountain; according to legend, Chicheng Pavilion also takes its name from this.
## Sitting for a While at the Foot of Mount Qingcheng
Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan were listed together as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 2000. It is a famous Taoist mountain. According to tradition, Zhang Daoling of the Eastern Han once built a thatched hut here and taught the Way; names such as Tianshi Cave and Shangqing Palace on the mountain still carry that Taoist air. Mount Qingcheng has long been known as "the most secluded under Heaven."
Unfortunately, we did not visit any of the sights higher up. To quote a line from _Genshin Impact_, "How about we explore the area ahead of us later?"
The trouble began with buying tickets. The student ticket on Amap failed to issue. Switching to Trip.com required Xuexin verification first. Finally, ordering through the official WeChat account worked smoothly. At the ticket gate, however, identity verification failed again. The same happened to W, but the staff were already used to it and manually let us through after a while. The process was still fairly smooth.
After entering, the path climbed all the way. Chengdu weather in late May this year was not too hot, but once I started moving, it was truly "[hot enough to make you restless](https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%B8%AB%E5%A4%9F%E7%87%A5%E7%9A%84/67863218)".
At the lake, we bought shared-boat tickets to the opposite shore. Seeing the cableway ticket office there, I thought: that's the whole climb? I felt a little unsatisfied, so I ordered a ChaPanda drink and sat there resting until after 5.
Only after asking did I learn that this cableway is basically a conveyor belt connecting this spot to the attractions near the mountaintop.
It was already getting late, so we simply gave up and prepared to head back.
## On the Way Back
We walked straight down the mountain to the high-speed rail station, roughly three or four kilometers.
On the way to the station, dozens of pigeons were scattered across the lawn, densely packed. Just as I thought the scene was rare, I glanced to the right and saw a breeding farm next to it. So they were not wild pigeons; they were raised there.
We stood on the high-speed train for half an hour, then transferred to the metro back to school and came out of Exit A2. Went back, showered, and rested a bit.
At nine that night, I ordered Suleiman Barbecue again. The taste was very solid. Xinyuan just has too many mosquitoes 🤗