(Dujiang Weirs)
The application of bamboo in science and technology is really thrilling. As far back as the Shang Dynasty (1600-1100 BC), the Chinese invented a bamboo drill. In 251 BC Li Bing, Sichuan prefect, led the local people in building the Dujiang Weirs, the first irrigation network in the world, in which bamboo played an important role. The world's oldest water pipe was also made from bamboo. During the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) the Sichuan people successfully sank a 1,600-meter-deep well with thick bamboo ropes. This technology did not spread to Europe until the 19th century, and in 1859 the Americans drilled the first oil well in Pennsylvania by using the technology.
