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The Chinese mania for taming rivers goes way back, preceding today's controversial Three Gorges and proposed Tiger Leaping Gorge projects by well over two thousand years. Sichuan's Dujiangyan Irrigation Project (Dujiangyan Shuili Gongcheng), for example, dates back to the 3rd century BC, when official and engineer Li Bing devised a scheme to both control the flood-prone Min River (Min He) and to use its waters to irrigate surrounding farmland. The project has continued and expanded in the centuries since, with today's network of dams, pumping stations, canals and bridges covering some three million hectares.

Fulong Temple (Fulong Guan, or "Dragon-Taming Hall") was erected in 168 AD to honor Li Bing and commemorate the taming of the river. Fulong Temple sits in Lidui Park overlooking a manmade fork in the Min. Li Bing is further celebrated at the Two Kings Temple (Erwang Miao), standing near a major dyke in the western part of Yueli Park. The "two kings" being Li Bing and his son, Er Lang, a renowned river-wrangling engineer just like his dad. Handy cable cars connect Lidui Park and Two Kings Temple in Yulei Park. Though the scenery itself can tend toward the drably industrial, the site is a great place to visit for insight into China's historical struggle with its uppity rivers.