Baiheliang
Encyclopedia
Baiheliang is a rock outcropping in Fuling District
, Chongqing
, People's Republic of China
, that parallels the flow of the Yangtze. In the past it served as an ancient device for measuring water levels of the Yangtze in China
, the equivalent of a hydrometric station
. The horizontal rock ledge, 1.6 km long and ten to fifteen metres wide, lay submerged under water most of the year, showing its upper face above water only during the low-water season of winter and early spring. The eyes of fish carved on the stone indicate the lowest water levels of the Yangtze River, which made the site a precious hydrographic marker. Baiheliang is being submerged to a depth of 30 m behind the Three Gorges Dam.
Engraved in the rock are 163 inscriptions and pictures, which include 114 hydrologic annotations, which give detailed records of water levels in the river over 1200 years, since the first year of the Tang dynasty
Guangde era, 763; the assembled inscriptions and fish carvings, taken together, formed the longest such sequence in the world. One fish carving originally carved in the Tang dynasty was re-carved at a moment of lowest water in 1685: modern measurements recorded the elevation of their eyes, 137.91 metres, almost the same as that of the zero point of the modern water level gauge.
The fish carvings and hydrological inscriptions were virtually unknown in the West until the 1970s, when Chinese experts presented photos of these two fish and hydrological data of Fuling for the past 1,200 years at an international hydrological symposium held in the UK.
The best-known of the fish carvings was a 2.8-metre carp
, carved from a section of freestone. Hundreds of poetical homages to the place were inscribed in rock faces, which have disappeared beneath the rising waters as the dam has been completed. In 2003, Xinhua News Agency
, the People's Republic's official press agency, headlined the on-line story, June 10, "Accident-maker reef no longer threatens Yangtze navigation".
The inscriptions on the "White Crane Ridge" are on display in an underwater museum, which opened to the public on May 18, 2009.
Fuling District
Fuling District is a district in the middle of Chongqing Municipality, People's Republic of China. Its name means "Fu Cemetery" because some rulers of the State of Ba were originally buried there....
, Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
, People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, that parallels the flow of the Yangtze. In the past it served as an ancient device for measuring water levels of the Yangtze in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the equivalent of a hydrometric station
Hydrometry
Hydrometry is the monitoring of the components of the hydrological cycle including rainfall, groundwater characteristics, as well as water quality and flow characteristics of surface waters...
. The horizontal rock ledge, 1.6 km long and ten to fifteen metres wide, lay submerged under water most of the year, showing its upper face above water only during the low-water season of winter and early spring. The eyes of fish carved on the stone indicate the lowest water levels of the Yangtze River, which made the site a precious hydrographic marker. Baiheliang is being submerged to a depth of 30 m behind the Three Gorges Dam.
Engraved in the rock are 163 inscriptions and pictures, which include 114 hydrologic annotations, which give detailed records of water levels in the river over 1200 years, since the first year of the Tang dynasty
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
Guangde era, 763; the assembled inscriptions and fish carvings, taken together, formed the longest such sequence in the world. One fish carving originally carved in the Tang dynasty was re-carved at a moment of lowest water in 1685: modern measurements recorded the elevation of their eyes, 137.91 metres, almost the same as that of the zero point of the modern water level gauge.
The fish carvings and hydrological inscriptions were virtually unknown in the West until the 1970s, when Chinese experts presented photos of these two fish and hydrological data of Fuling for the past 1,200 years at an international hydrological symposium held in the UK.
The best-known of the fish carvings was a 2.8-metre carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
, carved from a section of freestone. Hundreds of poetical homages to the place were inscribed in rock faces, which have disappeared beneath the rising waters as the dam has been completed. In 2003, Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency
The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
, the People's Republic's official press agency, headlined the on-line story, June 10, "Accident-maker reef no longer threatens Yangtze navigation".
The inscriptions on the "White Crane Ridge" are on display in an underwater museum, which opened to the public on May 18, 2009.