Visit the 247-year-old Thanh Toan tile bridge on the Nhu Y river

Thanh Toan tiled bridge was built in the "upper family, lower family" style, 16.85m long and 4.63m wide; Made of wood, the roof is covered with glazed tube tiles, decorated with dragon and phoenix patterns.

Thanh Toan tiled bridge was built in the style of "upper family, lower country," 16.85m long and 4.63m wide; made of wood, topped with a glazed tube tile roof, decorated with dragon and phoenix patterns.

Thanh Toan tiled bridge has unique ancient architecture. (Photo: Tuong Vi/TTXVN)

If you have the opportunity to come to Hue, tourists want to admire and explore the old, moss-covered beauty not only in the inner city buildings but also in folk architectural works, imbued with rustic rural features. and idyllic.

Scenes like that will purify the soul, bring us back to the most peaceful things, and relieve all the fatigue of life. Considering this criterion, Thanh Toan tile bridge is an address not to be missed.

About 8km southeast of Hue city center, Thanh Toan tiled bridge (in Thanh Thuy Chanh village, Thuy Thanh commune, Huong Thuy town, Hue city) is one of the 5 most beautiful ancient tiled bridges in Vietnam.

The bridge was built in 1776 by Mrs. Tran Thi Dao - the wife of a high-ranking mandarin during the reign of King Le Hien Tong, who donated money to the village to build, so that villagers could travel back and forth conveniently and as a place for travelers and outsiders. Pause temporarily when you miss a step.

In 1776, she was granted a decree by King Le Hien Tong praising her virtues, and at the same time exempting the village from many types of taxes so that they could remember her merits and follow her good example. In 1925, King Khai Dinh also granted her the title Duc Bao Trung Hung Linh Pho and ordered the people to set up an altar right on the bridge to worship her.

Wooden structure with lapis lazuli tile roof following the "upper family, lower family" architectural style (on the house, under the bridge) of Thanh Toan tiled bridge. (Photo: Tuong Vi/TTXVN)

Thanh Toan tiled bridge was built in the "upper house, lower bridge" style (above the house, below the bridge), divided into compartments, each compartment is like a small house in a big house. The bridge body is made of wood, with a glazed tile roof on top. Unlike tile bridges in the North that use fish-scale or slipper-shaped tiles, Thanh Toan bridge uses lapis lazuli tiles.

Regarding the structure of the "upper house" (the houses), the tiled bridge uses a wooden truss system with 7 rooms. The middle space of the bridge is also the largest space and is the place to worship Mrs. Tran Thi Dao. The remaining 6 spaces have a symmetrical structure, each with two rows of wooden platforms and railings, divided into a "walking lane" in the middle and a "resting lane". "legs" on both sides, creating charm and harmony for the tile bridge.

Thanh Toan tiled bridge has original dimensions of 43 meters long (18.75m), 14 meters wide (5.82m). After many restorations, the bridge is now 16.85m long and 4.63m wide.

In Vietnam today, in addition to Thanh Toan tiled bridge, there are also a few bridges with similar architecture, namely Chua Cau (Hoi An), tiled bridge in Hai Anh commune (Hai Hau, Nam Dinh), Phat Diem tiled bridge ( Kim Son, Ninh Binh), two tile bridges at Thay Pagoda (Hanoi).

Although there are many similarities in architecture, if Covered Bridge (Hoi An) uses Dog and Monkey mascots for decoration, Thanh Toan tiled bridge uses Dragon and Phoenix to decorate the roof edges. tile; The gable is decorated with blue dharma, the patterns also have the same theme of "dragon transformation."

In the "lower" structure (abutment, bridge piers), Thanh Toan tile bridge has 6 ironwood piers, circular cross section with many spans; abutments built of rubble.

After nearly 250 years of existence, in early April 2020, the bridge was demolished by the local government for conservation, repair and restoration. The project to preserve, restore and embellish the Thanh Toan Tile Bridge relic was approved by the People's Committee of Thua Thien-Hue province with a total investment of more than 13 billion VND. The repair and embellishment of the bridge is based on the principle of making the most of the original and original materials.

Stopping at Thanh Toan tiled bridge, visitors can take in the peaceful picture typical of Vietnamese countryside with immense rice fields, a peaceful Nhu Y river flowing through, with green bamboo and Farmers are enthusiastically working like raising hooves, herding buffaloes, catching snails... That airy, peaceful space along with the special architecture as well as the good meaning of Thanh Toan Tile Bridge has made this place unique. It's just a resting place for people in the area, but a place that everyone must visit when coming to Hue:

“Who comes to Thanh Toan tile bridge? Let me go home with a group for fun."

Cầu ngói Thanh Toàn. (Ảnh: Quốc Việt/TTXVN)

With many cultural and historical values, Thanh Toan Tile Bridge was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Cultural Monument in 1990.

In 2019, the Department of Tourism of Thua Thien-Hue province organized a night market at Thanh Toan Tile Bridge. The night market is arranged around Thanh Toan Tile Bridge with many attractive activities such as food market and hut festival; Folk games; display for visitors.

This market is maintained on the 16th day of the lunar month, including the rainy season, creating more diversity for local eco-tourism and community tourism.

Next to Thanh Toan tiled bridge, there is also Thanh Toan Agricultural Tools Display House. Coming here, visitors will be introduced to the history of farming equipment, visit artifacts reflecting the daily life of rural Thanh Toan such as: water bicycles, buckets, sieves, jars, rice mortars, sieves. , nong, nia... and experience or see very interesting rural activities such as treading water, grinding rice, making conical hats.

Along with Thanh Toan tiled bridge, this is also a place that contributes to preserving the beauty of ancient people's lives./.

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Update day : 28/11/2023