Experience the best of Dujiangyan

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, designed by the engineer Li Bing, divides the Min River without a dam and sends its water across the Chengdu Plain through channels. A dyke shaped like a fish's mouth splits the flow, and the system is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Two Kings Temple on the hillside honours Li Bing and his son.

Mount Qingcheng, a forested mountain with Taoist temples on its slopes, rises behind the city and shares the same UNESCO listing. A giant panda base lies in the hills nearby. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake caused heavy damage here, and the town has since been largely rebuilt.

Sichuan cooking is famous for its heat and numbing peppercorns, so mapo tofu, dan dan noodles and hotpot are everyday food. The basin is humid and often hazy, with mild winters and hot, damp summers. The hills are easiest to walk in spring and autumn, when the air is cooler.