Baidi
Willow-lined lakeside walkway built from dredged silt to store water against drought, still crossed on foot today.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Baidi in Hangzhou asks why the poet-governor Bai Juyi spent two years of his term hauling mud instead of writing verse, arriving in 822 to find the fields around West Lake cracked by drought while local officials wanted the water kept purely scenic. You'll hear how he sided with the farmers, ordering crews to dig floodgates and pack silt into a walkable embankment, and about the wells he is said to have sunk for the city's drinking water. He left Hangzhou in 824, and residents are said to have turned out to see him off.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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