In 2024, e barrages (Huizhou/Wuyuan) were selected into the World Irrigation Structures Heritage List (the 11th batch). Huangshan City’s Huizhou District and Shangrao City’s Wuyuan County, historically encompassed ancient Huizhou region, have jointly cultivated the resplendent and distinctive Huizhou culture.
The Chinese character "堨" specifically refers to water-retaining barrages in Huizhou dialect. As ancient water facilities, these barrages are remarkable creations born out of the arduous struggle of the Huizhou people against nature disasters during their production activities. In the ancient Huizhou region, most of the rivers wind through mountains, resulting in relatively large elevation differences. Back in the old days, manually drawing water was an extremely time-consuming and laborious task for the locals. In response to this challenge, the ingenious ancestors came up with a solution. They built barrages at the upper reaches of the rivers to raise the water level and store water sources effectively. Subsequently, they dug ditches, making full use of the natural elevation difference to direct the river water into the fields via these ditches, thus greatly promoting agricultural production.
Chang Barrage
Numerous e barrages are dotted in the Huizhou District and Wuyuan County. In Huizhou District, there are 5 major e barrages along the Fengle River, namely Baonan, Lü, Chang, Lei, and Tiaolong. Wuyuan County features 2,052 e barrages, each extending over 5 meters in length with a water level difference exceeding 0.5 meters. These e barrages boast a long history. The Baonan Barrage in Huizhou District can be traced all the way back to 327 AD. The Tiaolong Barrage, despite having the shortest history, still was built nearly 500 years ago. Zhengjia Barrage, the earliest one in Wuyuan County, dates back to the 5th century AD. In the early days, e barrages were mainly constructed with earth and wood and filled with sand and stones. However, starting from the 12th century, stone-structure became the norm.
Lei Barrage
As an outstanding historical engineering achievement, e barrages have laid the economic foundation for ancient Huizhou and Wuyuan County area. Currently, e barrages still play a significant role in local agricultural production, with the irrigated areas reaching 4,500 ha and over 7,580 ha in Huizhou District (Huangshan City) and Wuyuan County (Shangrao City) respectively.
Source: INTCE