Ninh Binh Vietnam is not only famous for places of interest like Trang An tourist site, Bai Dinh pagoda, Phat Diem Cathedral, Hoa Lu ancient town, etc., but it is also well known as a local with most tile-roof bridge in Vietnam.
Phat Diem Tile-roof bridge
Buuilt in 1902, Phat Diem tile-roof bridge crosses An river. The rainbow shaped bridge has 3 spans, each span contains 4 compartments. Together with many ancient tiles bridge in Vietnam such as Thanh Toan tile-roof bridge in Hue, Pagoda Bridge in Hoi An…, this 100-year-old bridge has become the unique feature of ancient architecture in Vietnam. The roof of the bridge covered with tiles turns the bridge into a long tiled house linking two banks of the river.
The compartments of the bridge are spacious. All the pillars, chords, rafters, trusses, vertical and horizontal beams,… are made of iron wood. Phat Diem tile-roof bridge still remains its original appearance throughout the time, although the iron wood columns had been replaced with cement ones and steel chords are now supporting the bridge instead of wood chords. Besides the purposes of transporting across the river, Phat Diem tile-roof bridge is the symbol of Kim Son which reflect the local culture. Two ends of the bridge are compared with the village temples. To protect this cultural symbol, local government has built the steps to prevent the movement of vehicles on the bridge. The bridge is for the pedestrians only. Even though, some tourists have only 1 day tour in Ninh Binh, they still spend time visiting this unique bridge.
Luu Quang Tile-roof bridge
This is another tile-roof bridge crosses An river. Luu Quang tile-roof bridge opened for public use in August, 2015 in Quang Thien commune. The bridge holds the modern look. It was built with ferro concrete. However, the roof with red tiles preserves the rustic beauty of a village bridge. Luu Quang bridge was designed nearly the same as Phat Diem tile-roof bridge.
The bridge is 20m long, 4.5m wide with 9 compartments for pedestrians, cement hand rails painted faux wood grain and red tiled floors. The bridge is airy and spacious. Luu Quang tile-roof bridge is an ideal space for people to contemplate the beautiful views on An river’s banks. Luu Quang bridge not only helps to favourable the convenience of transportation and socio-economic development, but also plays an important role in reserving the typical traditional value of Kim Son.
Hoa Binh Tile-roof bridge
As the third bridge over An river in Hung Tien Commune, Hoa Binh tile-roof bridge is the newest bridge in Kim Son. The bridge consists of 3 spans, 9 compartments. The total length of the bridge is 20m. Hoa Binh tile-roof bridge is larger than Luu Quang bridge with the width of 8m. The bridge looks like a temple with the curved up roof. Unlike Phat Diem and Luu Quang Bridge, Hoa Binh bridge has 4 roofs. The roofs of two compartments at two ends of the bridge was designed as the roof of almost all the temples in Vietnam. This makes the bridge distinctive from the other tile-roof bridge in Ninh Binh. This bridge is decorated quite sophisticatedly with dragon and phoenix on the top of the roof.
Hoa Binh bridge is a concrete bridge with the roof of curved tiles which look like the toe cap of women’s toe cap in the past. Bridge’s hand rails are the carved green stone. This is the only bridge over An river that allows motorcycle and bicycle to go through.
If you are having a cycling tour in Ninh Binh, you can ride your bike over An river through this bridge to admire the unique of it.
For more information/details: ninh binh tour, hoa lu tam coc 1 day tour, ninh binh 2 days 1 night, cuc phuong national park.
Comments