Thanh Toan Bridge Hue – A Unique Structure In Vietnam

Introduction

If you come to Hue City and want to find a peaceful place to get away from the hustle and bustle of life, Thanh Toan tile-roofed bridge is an ideal place for you.

Awarded the national relic site in 1990, this bridge not only offers shade on sunny days but also shows a unique architectural style. According to Louis Bazacier, a famous researcher, Thanh Toan Bridge is Vietnam’s most aesthetically cultural one. Let’s learn more about this bridge with Culture Pham Travel today.

During your stay in Hue and after you finish your holiday in Hue, you may need our Hue tours and car rentals to transfer as follows:

• Hue City Private Tour – from 48 USD/pax.
• Perfume River Sunset Cruise With Dinner – 50 USD/pax.
• Hue To Bach Ma National Park By Car – 73 USD/Sedan.
• Hue To Hoi An Stop At City Of Ghosts – 91 USD/Sedan.
• Private Car Hue To Nha Trang – 369 USD/Sedan.
• Hue To Lao Bao Border Private Car – 90 USD/Sedan.

Thanh Toan Bridge Location & Way To Get There

The Thanh Toan Bridge is over an irrigation channel running from the beginning to the end of the Thanh Thuy Chanh village, Thuy Thanh commune. It is about 8 km Eastward of Hue City. Therefore, tourists can rent a motorbike or biking to Thanh Toan bridge to enjoy the fresh air and template the beauty of this peaceful site.

On the route to this place, travelers can travel along the green paddy fields and enjoy the scene where the farmers plow with the buffalo. These images allow tourists to temporarily forget all the pressure in life and immerse themselves in rural life’s peacefulness.

Thanh Toan Bridge 360 View Google Map

Traveling to Thanh Toan village, you should join our Hue Cycling Tour to Thanh Toan Bridge or Hue Cooking Class Tour at Thanh Toan Village. These tours are the best way to admire the real rural Vietnam and learn more about the culture and daily life of the locals.

Furthermore, the Thanh Toan Bridge is not far from Hue city center. Thus, you can combine visiting the Imperial Citadel with the Hue Imperial City Walking Tour. Otherwise, you can combine with Hue City Tour Half Day to explore other highlight attractions in Hue.

Thanh Toan Tile-Roof Bridge’s History

The Thanh Toan village was established in 1471. Among the mandarins from Thanh Hoa who followed King Le Thanh Tong during his trip to pacify the South. After victory, they returned to Hue; some of them stopped to establish hamlets to form the main 13 lineages here.

Previously, the name of the village was Thanh Toan. Then, the villagers changed the name to Thanh Thuy village since it coincided with the Thieu Tri emperor’s name, “Tuyền” (1841 – 1847). Later, the village also had another name, Thanh Thuy Chanh.

 

In 1776, a granddaughter of the sixth generation of the Tran family, Mrs. Trần Thị Đạo, donated money to the village to build the bridge. Thus, villagers could travel back and forth conveniently and as a place for travelers to temporarily stop.

Mrs. Tran Thi Dao was the wife of a high-ranking Mandarin under the reign of Le Hien Tong emperor, but she had no children. To pray, she used her money to do good for the villagers. This wooden bridge is classified as rare and has the highest artistic value among ancient bridges in Vietnam.

In 1776, King Le Hien Tong issued a decree to honor Mrs. Tran Thi Dao and exempt the village from many types of taxes. Thanks to that, the villagers could revere her contributions and follow her good example.

In 1925, Khai Dinh King ordained her as Duc Bao Trung Hung Linh Phu. Also, the king ordered people to set up an altar on the bridge to worship her, commemorate her merits, and hope that she would bless the villagers.

Things To Do In Thanh Toan Tile Bridge

The Thanh Toan bridge in Thanh Thuy Chanh village is full of the beauty of a typical rural village in Vietnam, with green rice fields surrounding it. Plus, the bridge is also near many communal houses, pagodas, temples, family chapels, markets, garden houses, etc.

Therefore, when you come to Thanh Toan tile bridge in the village, in addition to taking photos and admiring the architecture, you can join in exciting activities with local people. For example, visitors can experience rowing boats to catch fish on the Nhu Y River, growing and harvesting clean vegetables, etc. Keep reading to learn more details.

Admire The Architecture And Take Photo

Thanh Toan tiled bridge was built in the “upper house, lower bridge” style (above is the house, below is the bridge) on a ditch – a small branch of the Nhu Y River. The original bridge was 18.5m long, 5.82m wide, built on 6 rows of ironwood columns, divided into 7 compartments. The middle space is high to allow small boats to pass through. Plus, the middle space is flat and places the altar of Mrs. Tran Thi Dao.

On both sides of the bridge, there are two rows of wooden platforms and numerous parapets for people to sit and relax. The bridge is supported by 18 ironwood pillars. Besides, the bridge has a roof and is covered with yin and yang tiles.

Further, the two gables and entrance doors of the bridge are built with bricks and cement, the theme of four holy animals: Dragon – Unicorn – Turtle – Phoenix. The tiled roof’s edges and two gables of the bridge are decorated with many unique patterns by porcelain pieces and inlaid with brightly colored parallel sentences.

The Thanh Toan Bridge was restored in 1844, 1904, 1956, 1971, 1991, 2016, and 2020. Through restoration times, especially in 1904, the size narrowed to 16.85m in length, and the width is 4.63m. The ancient peity Do Thanh magazine translated it as “Le Pont couvert en tuilles” or “Le Pont couvert de Thanh Thuy”.

Although it has undergone many restorations, Thanh Toan covered bridge still retains its old architecture and inherent ancient beauty. Hence, many tourists have come here to check in and explore.

Visit Thanh Toan Museum

Thanh Toan Museum, also known as the agricultural tools display house, was built at the end of 2014. This museum introduces the history and culture, farming, fishing, and daily life of the Thanh Thuy Chanh villagers. According to these themes, there are 200 artifacts and nearly 100 photos.

The scenery of Thanh Toan village and the daily life of the people here are recreated through objects. For example, rice mills, harrows, sickles, plows, scoops, porcelain plates, clay pots, etc.

In addition, there are also agricultural tools serving agricultural production. For instance, water ladders, baskets, rice fans, and fishing tools, such as nets, traps, etc. In each space where artifacts are introduced, they are clearly annotated so that visitors can better understand those tools.

Furthermore, there is also an area displaying artifacts reflecting local culture inside the Thanh Toan Museum. For instance, weddings and festivals such as Bài Chòi (folk game of bingo-in-huts) and boat racing. Plus, thanks to the pictures, many scenes of mothers lulling their children and fishermen going fishing appear vividly.

In addition, there is also a fishing experience area, where visitors can experience interesting activities with local people. For example, pedal the water ladder, also known locally as “water bicycle”, fishing, baking, making hats, etc.

Finally, there is the area where local people recreate local folk songs, such as rice milling songs, rice pounding songs, and lullaby songs.

Enjoy Delicious Rustic Dishes

Traveling to Thanh Toan Bridge, you will enjoy delicious village-style dishes based on clean and abundant food sources. For example, chicken, duck, fish, shrimp, vegetables, and so on.

Under the skillful hands of the chefs here, visitors will enjoy many delicious dishes such as braised Kiến chicken with pepper, stir-fried squash blossoms, sour shrimp, etc. All with a very unique flavor unlike anywhere else.

Explore The Unique Night Market

Time and location of the Thanh Toan night market

• Time: 6:00 pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
• Location: in the Cầu Ngói Market area, Thanh Toan museum, along walking streets.

When traveling to Thanh Toan bridge, visitors cannot miss exploring the Thanh Toan tiled bridge night market. The night market here displays, introduces, and sells local products (household chicken, Thuy Thanh fragrant rice, perch, snakehead fish, frogs, etc.) and many souvenirs.

In addition, you can also witness the following performances:

• Demonstration of rice milling, pounding, sifting, and so on.
• Demonstrate how to make all kinds of cakes, cook soup with perch, snakehead fish, etc.
• Performing tricks…
• The hat-making process by Ms. Nguyen Thi Kiem, owner of the conical hat facility.

Moreover, there are also culinary activities selling traditional Hue dishes, such as Hue beef noodle soup, snakehead fish noodle soup, and perch noodle soup. Besides, rustic country drinking dishes: snails, snakehead fish, catfish, frogs, eel, balut, etc.

Types of tea: ginger tea, green tea, tofu; Cakes such as banh it, banh nam, banh loc, crispy pancakes, banh chung, banh tet, banh u, etc. Baked potatoes, grilled corn, grilled chicken feet, pressed cakes, and so forth.

In addition, the night market also organizes folk games such as blindfold and braise (clay pot), throwing balls, the folk game of bingo-in-huts, walking on monkey bridge to throw balls, etc.

The night market at Thanh Toan tiled bridge – a simple countryside soul, a cultural and culinary place imbued with the traditional daily lifestyle of locals. Therefore, it promises to bring many visitors exciting and memorable experiences.

Join The Thanh Toan Bridge Festivals

At every Hue Festival, in Thuy Thanh commune, there is a procession of the spirit of Mrs. Tran Thi Dao. This procession is the opening ceremony for the opening day of “Countryside Market Festival Day”, one of the special cultural – tourism programs within the framework of the Hue Festival. The program “Countryside Market Festival” takes place on June 8 – 11, 2024 (Solar calendar).

The “Countryside Market Festival” next to the Thanh Toan tiled bridge vividly describes the atmosphere of the old market. The market will sell, display, and introduce agricultural products, handicrafts, blacksmithing, fine wooden furniture, porcelain, and various souvenirs to visitors.

Coming to this rustic rural market, visitors will experience many unique and traditional dishes such as banh beo (Bloating Fern-Shaped Cake), banh loc, banh nam, banh u, banh phu the (husband and wife cake), etc.

Besides, there are dishes that can only be found in Hue, such as Vy Da mussel rice, Thuy Duong snakehead fish soup, tofu, etc. These dishes are sold in a rustic space with thatched huts and bamboo cots. Hence, travelers can enjoy the real taste of the peaceful countryside.

Every year, two big festivals will take place at the Thanh Toan bridge. On January 3rd, the lunar month is the Bai Choi festival, and on August 15th, the lunar month is the death anniversary of Mrs. Tran Thi Dao. To remember her efforts in building the bridge, on the anniversary of Ms. Tran Thi Dao’s death, people will hold a solemn ceremony. They will bring her spirit from the communal house to the bridge, and then bring her back.

After completing the rituals, many exciting activities and folk games take place, such as boat racing on the river, tug of war, rice pounding, etc. Therefore, visiting the bridge during the festival season and joining in interesting activities here will help visitors better understand the cultural beauty of the people of the Ancient Capital.

Attractions Near The Thanh Toan Bridge

On the journey to Thanh Toan, the sunflower field (Van The Trung village, Thuy Thanh commune, Huong Thuy town) called “Lac Duong Garden” is a beautiful place you should not miss.

Only 1.5km from Thanh Toan Bridge, Mr. Che Quang Tam’s Lac Duong sunflower garden is about 5,000 square meters. He planted the sunflowers alternately, and each crop is two months apart to prolong the time travelers have to save beautiful moments with the flowers.

In addition, he also arranged many swings, bamboo bridges, water bicycles, etc. Thus, visitors have many options when taking photos.

After visiting Lac Duong garden, visitors can visit nearby attractions such as the Che family chapel, Thanh Hoang’s mausoleum, Thanh temple, etc.

Conclusion

All in all, travel to Hue, explore the beauty of the ancient capital, don’t forget to visit the ancient Thanh Toan tiled bridge, discover the ancient beauty of the countryside. Plus, admire the poetic and charming scenery, and listen to the bustling sounds of the market. The bustling countryside brings you back to the most peaceful things after all the chaos of life.

Hopefully, our Thanh Toan Bridge article is helpful for your travel itinerary in Hue. Culture Pham Travel & Transport wishes you the best Hue tours. Thanks for reading.