History of Truong Tien Bridge in Hue

Truong Tien Bridge was designed and built from 1897 to 1899 by a French engineering company owned by Gustave Eiffel, a famous French civil engineer who lived from 1832 to 1923. It became the first bridge ever to cross the Perfume River in Hue, and was one of the first major metal bridges in Indochina.

Previously, French people constructed small metal bridges at Hue, such as Dong Ba Bridge in September 1892 and An Cuu Bridge in July 1895. In April 1897, the Governor-General of French Indochina Paul Doumer visited Hue and had the first meeting with Vietnamese emperor Thanh Thai to discuss building a bridge over the Perfume River. Hue gave 190,000 dong to the French protectorate, and the rest of the construction cost would be contributed by themselves. After that, a bidding was organized, and the Société Schneider et Cie et Letellier (represented by Dessoliers engineer) was selected amongst 5 contractors. The budget for this project was 723.826,50 francs. In October 1897, the groundbreaking ceremony took place, and Thanh Thai king put the first piece of stone.

On 18th December 1900, Truong Tien Bridge was inaugurated, and it’s named after the reigning king Thanh Thai.

In 1904, Thanh Thai Bridge was heavily damaged due to a super typhoon that was known as the ‘Year of Dragon typhoon’ (one of the most destructive typhoons in Vietnam’s history). Four of its arches collapsed and fell into the river. In 1905, the bridge was restored and its wooden deck surface was replaced by concrete.

On 14th July 1919, Thanh Thai Bridge was renamed to ‘Clemenceau Bridge’ (Georges Clemenceau who served as the prime minister of France from 1906 to 1909). Before that, in September 1907, Thanh Thai king was forced to abdicate and then exiled to Reunion Island, a French colony in the Indian ocean.  

In 1937, in the reign of the last Vietnamese king ever Bao Dai, Truong Tien Bridge was restored again. He requested to add a balcony pathway on each side of the bridge, to allow pedestrians and bicycles to go through. At 10 spots, the surface was wider, and by that, people can stand to enjoy the scenic landscape of the Perfume River.

In 1945, prime minister Tran Trong Kim of the short-lived Empire of Vietnam (supported by Japan) renamed the bridge ‘Nguyen Hoang Bridge’. Nguyen Hoang was the first Nguyen lord of Hue who ruled southern Vietnam from 1558 to 1613.

Unfortunately, because of scorched-earth policy, at around 2:00 am on 19th December 1946, Truong Tien Bridge was again ‘broken’ by explosives to prevent French military activities. In 1953, the collapsed part was restored by the government.

In the midnight on 7th February 1968 (within the Vietnam War), Truong Tien Bridge again was purposely bombed to collapse. This action was to stop traffic and military activities from the US army on it and between banks of the Perfume River.

After 1975, at the end of the Vietnam War, the bridge was officially named ‘Truong Tien Bridge’ and it’s kept until today.

From 1991 to 1995, Truong Tien Bridge was significantly renovated by the Thang Long Bridge Company N01. Since then, the bridge has been unchanged. However, due to some reasons, the company made a sign showing the wrong name of the bridge. Trang Tien was on the sign, instead of Truong Tien.

Currently, Truong Tien Bridge is still one of major bridges across the Perfume River in Hue city. Cars are banned going through it in high traffic hours. Its north bridgehead is on Tran Hung Dao Street and its south bridgehead is at the crossroad of Le Loi Street and Hung Vuong Street.

During the Hue Festival, the largest festival of the city, exhibitions and even shows/performances take place at Truong Tien Bridge. This bridge has inspired generations of local writers, poets, song writers, photographers, and more. Its image is popular across the city.