For Brian Kaye, Dujiangyan, the world's oldest irrigation project was only part of Sichuan Province's allure.

The beer turned out to be just as important.

An English teacher working in Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong Province, Kaye had long planned to visit Dujiangyan in Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

"As an irrigation science major in college, I learned from books about Dujiangyan, the world's oldest irrigation project.

"As a self-proclaimed gourmet, I like Sichuan cuisine, one of China's four schools of cuisine," said the 53-year-old from London, England.

Kaye's dream did not come true until mid-June when he visited Chengdu, capital of Sichuan.

"I felt fully satisfied as a student of irrigation and a gourmet during my one-day stay in Dujiangyan," he said.

Fifty-five kilometers northwest of Chengdu, Dujiangyan is best known as the home of the world's oldest functioning hydropower project.

The project, which works without a dam, is hailed as one of the world's most impressive hydraulic engineering projects.

It was included on the World Cultural Heritage List in 2002 and is a must for tourists heading to Chengdu.

"For gourmets like me, or for most ordinary tourists who don't quite understand the ancient Chinese wisdom even after they are shown around the project by a competent guide, drinking beer at night on both sides of the Nanqiao Bridge near the Lidui Park, where the project is located, is an exciting event at this time of the year," Kaye said.

At dusk, Kaye could not resist the throngs of people enjoying the pleasant summer evening.

"I had planned to leave Dujiangyan for Chengdu. But I was quite impressed with the scene of so many people drinking beer in the open air on both sides of the river near the Lidui Park. I changed my mind and decided to join them," he said.

Evening beer drinking, which made its debut in Dujiangyan in 1997, has become a way of life for locals.

(China Daily June 29, 2004)