Leshan Lidui

Leshan Lidui

Leshan Lidui is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Lidui (Shizhong District)

Wuyou Lidui faces Lingyun Mountain across a distance of 500 meters, covering a total area of 265 mu. In summer, the waters of the Dadu River and the Qingyi River rush downstream and converge with the Min River at the foot of Lingyun Mountain. About a hundred meters away at Wuyou Lidui, the main current continues down the Min River’s primary channel, while the tributary flows into a flood diversion channel via Mahao, bypassing Wuyou Mountain and then rejoining the Min River at Ma’anshan. Wuyou Lidui is also known as “Wuyou Mountain.”

Legend has it that Leshan Lidui was excavated over 2,000 years ago by Li Bing, the Qin governor of Shu. Wu Zhihua’s *Ancient History of Sichuan* states: “Leshan Hunya (Wuyou Mountain) is the Lidui excavated by Li Bing.” Leading the local people of Leshan and Qin soldiers, Li Bing took advantage of the natural depression between Wuyou Mountain and Lingyun Mountain to carry out modifications: he cut off the connecting ridges between the two mountains in the low-tide area, widened the gully, corrected the waterway, removed jagged rocks, leveled the rugged and menacing Hunya, and thus created Leshan Wuyou Lidui. The engineering feat of Wuyou Lidui ingeniously utilized the saddle-shaped terrain between Lingyun and Wuyou Mountains, removing obstacles at the “First Pass of the Three Rivers” according to local conditions, ensuring the safety of passing ships. In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, the Dadu River shifted about 100 meters northward, and its waters destroyed areas such as Yuxian Street and the Confucius Temple within the ancient city of Jiazhou, forming today’s main river channel. As a result, the role of Wuyou Lidui has gradually diminished.

Wuyou Mountain was originally connected to Lingyun Mountain. Lingyun, Wuyou, and Ma’an Mountains stood side by side along the river and were collectively called Qingyi Mountain. Lingyun Mountain stood to the right, Ma’an Mountain to the left, and Wuyou Mountain in the middle, historically referred to as the Central Peak of Qingyi. Legend has it that in ancient times, the Green-Clothed Deity planted mulberry trees and raised silkworms on the mountain. To show gratitude for teaching the people sericulture, the deity was worshipped on the mountain. Ban Gu of the Han Dynasty believed there was a stone chamber called “Jade Maiden’s Room” under the mountain, which was the dwelling place of the Green-Clothed Deity. The couplet at the entrance of Wuyou Temple reads: “The cave connects to the tides of the Jade Maiden’s Room,” suggesting a link to Dongting Lake and Baoshan. Wuyou Mountain is also called “Lidui” and is one of the water management achievements of Li Bing, the governor of Shu over two thousand years ago. According to *Records of the Grand Historian · Treatise on Canals*, “Governor Li Bing of Shu excavated Lidui to avoid the disasters of the Moxi River.” Qingyi Mountain lies at the confluence of the Min River, Qingyi River, and Dadu River (Moxi River). The Moxi River comes from the west, with crashing waves and rapid currents. To divert floodwaters and calm the flow, Li Bing excavated the Mahao spillway at the junction of Lingyun and Wuyou Mountains, directing part of the river water to flow around Wuyou Mountain. This turned Wuyou Mountain into an isolated island in the water, hence the name “Lidui.” It is also referred to as the “Separate Island of Qingyi” and compared to Mount Putuo.

Protected Area: Bounded by the foothills of Wuyou Mountain.

Construction Control Zone: East to 10 meters beyond the eastern foothills of Wuyou Mountain; North to 30 meters beyond the northern side of Wuyou Mountain; West to the western bank of the Min River and the line connecting the western side of Fengzhou Island and the southern side of Dujiachang; South to the opposite bank of Wuyou Mountain, crossing the Min River and going around Mahao River to Wuyou Bridge.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units