Tianbao Weir

Tianbao Weir

(Photo: China National Commission on Irrigation and Drainage)

Tianbao Weir is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Fujian Province.

Tianbao Weir is located in Guanyinpu Village, Honglu Town, Fuqing City. The water diversion dam is built with river pebbles, featuring a main dam that is 219 meters long and 3.5 meters high, with a catchment area of 85 square kilometers. The auxiliary dam is 69 meters long and creates a backwater stretch of 1,000 meters. There is a main canal stretching 17 kilometers and branch canals totaling 6 kilometers, irrigating an area of 19,000 mu.

Tianbao Weir was first built during the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty (742–756 AD), from which it gets its name.

During the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Song Dynasty (1008–1016 AD), the then-county magistrate Lang Jian oversaw its reconstruction, hence it was also called Xiangfu Weir. Xiangfu Weir was later destroyed by floods. In the fifth year of the Xining era (1072 AD), county magistrate Cui Zongchen carried out another round of repairs. It was destroyed again later. In the second year of the Yuanyou era (1099 AD), county magistrate Zhuang Rouzheng led the reconstruction efforts.

In the 24th year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1391 AD), Chen Hao, an official of the Provincial Surveillance Commission, raised funds from the public to renovate the weir, and a canal stele from that time still remains. During the Wanli era (1573–1619 AD), magistrates Ouyang Jin and Wang Mingqing successively oversaw its restoration, and Grand Secretary Ye Xianggao authored the inscription for the restoration stele.

In the autumn of the 10th year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty (1860 AD), a major flood breached Tianbao Weir, which was repaired the following year. It was temporarily renamed “Xianfeng Dam.”

In the 34th year of the Republic of China (1945 AD), someone dug a gap in the Tianbao Weir dam to drain water for fishing. The next year, the gap expanded under flood impact. The government allocated 6 billion yuan in gold yuan certificates for reconstruction, but only 5 billion were actually disbursed, most of which ended up in the pockets of local elites, and the weir remained unrepaired. The following spring, the Thirteen Yang Water Conservancy Association raised funds to throw blocks of stone into the breach to maintain irrigation.

In July of the 36th year of the Republic of China (1947 AD), Wang Chongjie of the Fuqing County All-Sectors Liquidation Committee reported the Tianbao Weir water conservancy project case to the county government. The head of the Fuqing County Police Bureau’s Inspection Division, Wang Dingxing, had the whistleblower detained for a full day and night. Once this incident became known, public opinion across the county erupted. Six journalists and students from local newspapers—Minjiang Daily, Fuqing Youth Daily, Fuqing People's Daily, Rui Bao, Xue Bao, and Chen Bao—as well as from the Minhai News Agency went to investigate, but they too were arrested by the police bureau. In response, the seven media outlets jointly published an extra issue to expose the incident.

In 1950, the government provided a loan of 3.825 billion old yuan to reinforce and renovate Tianbao Weir. In 1951, the Tianbao Weir Water Conservancy Management Committee was established.

In January 2001, Tianbao Weir was designated as part of the fifth batch of Fujian Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites.

Honglu Subdistrict: Honglu was established as an administrative unit in the second year of the Shengli era of the Tang Dynasty (699 AD). Located at a key transportation hub, it once served as an ancient post station. In 1949, it became a township, and after 1958, it was successively part of the Dongzhang and Yinxi People’s Communes. In 1970, the seat of the Yinxi Commune was moved to Honglu and the commune was renamed the Honglu People’s Commune. In September 1984, it was restructured as a town, and in December 2006, it was converted from a town to a subdistrict. The administrative area covers 36.6 square kilometers and governs 11 administrative villages (communities). It has a resident population of nearly 60,000 (including 36,000 registered residents), with over 3,000 people from ethnic minorities such as She and Hui... More detailed information about Honglu Subdistrict++

Further Reading:

· World Heritage Irrigation Structures