Located on the northwest edge of Chengdu Plain, Dujiangyan was built in the 3rd century BC and is a world famous irrigation system, controlling the waters of the Minjiang River and distributing it to the fertile farmland of the Chengdu Plain.

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System fully utilizes nature to benefit people. It is so far the only existing ancient ecological hydraulic engineering project that uses gravity for a water diversion system without a dam.

The Dujiangyan Irrigation System, together with nearby Qingcheng Mountain, was listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2000. In 2006, Dujiangyan was listed as a World Natural Heritage site as a corridor region of the giant panda habitat.

In 2018, the irrigation system was recognized as World Heritage Irrigation Structure by the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage.