Shanhe Weir in Shaanxi

Shanhe Weir got its name because the Bao River is also called Shanhe Water. It's the great hydraulic project of Hanzhong in Shaan'xi Province of ancient China that brought in water from the Bao River to irrigate the agricultural land. Hanzhong, as a well-known city in southern Shaanxi, had rich and characteristic tourism resources including stunning natural scenery, numerous scenic spots and historical relics and a fairly good ecological environment, thus it has many superior conditions suitable for tourism exploitation. Besides this, the tourism resources in Hanzhong are featured with "Han", "Green", and "Water".



Shanhe Weir was a well-known water conserving project, rated as high as such ancient hydraulic projects including the Zhenguo River and Baigong River in Guanzhong and the Dujiang Weir as the oldest dam in the world. Historical records show that the Shanhe Weir's construction was entrusted to Xiao He and Cao Can by the time Han Emperor Liu Bang was still a minister governing Nanzheng for his king.



Shanhe Weir was the earliest irrigation and water conservancy project in Hanzhong City, which laid a solid material foundation for the resuscitation and development of Hanzhong area. The new project of Shanhe Weir and wells extended the farmland irrigation area, and the water conservancy business was at the same time developed.



According to historical documents of Hanzhong Government Record, the famous Shanhe Weir really consisted of four weirs: the first one also known as the Iron Stake Weir is 1 km away from the city of Bao, they built a weir across to disconnect the water supply for the dividing the West and the East; the second weir, also known as the Liubian weir, is called Official Weir with the total length of 320 meters and is located outside the east gate of Bao City; and the third weir with the irrigation chief of 10 kilometers is the source, only 1 km away from the second weir; and the fourth weir with the overall length of 15 kilometers, is only 1.5 km away from the lower reach of second weir.



The famous weir has a proud and long history and contributes to the development of the agriculture in Hanzhong, thus in some measure it's indeed an important element to win military wars. It's no surprise to find out that there're so many rulers pay adequate attention to it.



According to historical records, Zhuge Liang who was a virtuous and talented person in the period of the three kingdoms and his army used to quarter his troops in Hanzhong in order to maintain the Shanhe Weir. However, it suffered severely during the Song Dynasty yet later renovated for several times.



As a matter of fact, archaeological remains of Han historic periods are still relatively rare, yet you cannot but admit that Shanhe Weir was the great ruins of Han Dynasty, which could sufficiently attest the former grandeur of Hanzhong area. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Shanhe Weir had undergone tremendous changes that had witnessed the historical changes.