Xindu (a market town) is about 18km north of Chengdu. The main attraction is the Bao-guang Si (Monastery of Divine Light). A large and still influential complex from the Tang dynasty, it was reconstructed in the 17c in an odd mix of grandeur and austerity, comprising 5 halls around 16 courtyards. Treasures in-   clude a stone tablet from AD540 cut with the figures of 1000 Buddhas, an un-   usually wide range of paintings and calligraphy from the Qing and Ming dynasties and some tiny jewel-like gardens that hide away in secluded corners. Look for the 13 storey leaning stupa and in the Arhat Hall, a set of comical statues sculpted in 1851. These all represent Buddhist saints with the exception of two who depict the emperors Kangxi and Qianlong, clearly noticeable by their beards and royal boots and capes. Close by is Gui Hu (Osmanthus Lake). The memorial hall to the Ming scholar Yang Shengan is on an island in the centre.                          Further west is Guanxian with its principal attraction, the 3c BC Dujiangyan IRRIGATION SCHEME. A park encloses the original heart of the irrigation scheme and first to be seen is the Fulong Guan, subduing Dragon Taoist Temple, a faded wooden building with a rickety upper storey and magical animal carvings on the curved tile roof, erected during the Jin dynasty to commemorate the building of the dam. In short, this was a remarkable achievement for its time. Begun in 256 BC by Li Bing, then governor of Shu, to control the capricious flow of the mighty Min river, it was engineered in three parts. A central dam - Fish Mouth Divide- created an inner flow for irrigation and an outer channel for flood control. The Feisha Spillway directed the flood water, regulated the outflow and allowed the silt to be dredged while an opening carved through the hillside called the Bottleneck Sluiceway controlled the flow of oncoming water. Work was continued by Li Bing's son and the scheme has been maintained and developed ever since so that the present system of dams, reservoirs and pumping stations irrigates some 3.2 million hectares of the Sichuan plain. There is a stone statue of the innovative Li Bing in the temple (dated AD 168). A memorial tablet preserves his immortal line, "Dig the channel deep, keep the spillway low' - wise words indeed. Climb up to the upper floor for a breathtaking view of the river, frothing angrily past and bouncing great logs in its wake.                                                                For the finest vista of the dam, make your way to the Two Kings Temple, across a gaudily coloured galleried footbridge and along a slender street banked with pre-cariously overhanging houses. Left up a series of crumbling steps and along the river takes you to the temple, commandingly positioned in steep tiers near a hanging bridge. Posthumously dedicated to Li Bing and his son who are remem-  bered by statues in the two main halls, this is beautifully unspoilt and holds a wedge of tree-trunk said to be 4000 years old. Down by the gates are a number of interesting market stalls.  The old Billow Taming Bridge, once a key route into Tibet has been replaced by a modern suspension bridge but remains a perilous crossing, alarmingly unsteady above the rushing water and bobbing tree trunks. If you are able, cross and walk back to Guanxian on the far side - though be warned that most of the rest of the walk is rather dull.                                             Qingcheng SHAN or the Azure City Mountain is the third of Chengdu's surrounding places of interest. This makes a good alternative if one does not have the time or energy for Emei Shan (to come). The summit, topped with the Shang Qing Gong Temple is about a 6km climb up tree-covered slopes scattered with pavilions, bridges and temples, best of which is the Taoist Monastery of Tianshi Dong - Grotto of the Heavenly Teacher - which has a main hall decorated with Ming dynasty panels.