https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%83%BD%E6%B1%9F%E5%A0%B0
What Dujiangyan represents—both practically and metaphorically—is an alternative model of Chinese governance. It represents the possibility of constructing institutions that channel building pressures (whether hydrological or social), rather than leading them to accumulate dangerously. It is authentically Chinese. And it is also more stable. Despite being at the epicenter of the massive 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Dujiangyan waterworks survived undamaged, with little flooding to nearby residents.3 In contrast, the Three Gorges Dam (and the weight of the water behind it) appears to actually itself be altering the seismic profile of the surrounding land, producing an upsurge in earthquakes and landslides.
All too often, China’s future is posed as a choice between “domestic” versus “foreign” models. It is not. Instead, the question for its leaders and citizens alike is, What version of “China” do they wish to pursue? The Three Gorges Dam or Dujiangyan?
Minzner, Carl. End of an Era: How China's Authoritarian Revival is Undermining Its Rise (pp. 194-195). Oxford University Press. Kindle edition.