Truong Tien Bridge — Six Steel Arches and a Misunderstanding About Eiffel
Everyone says Eiffel built Truong Tien Bridge. The records name a different contractor — Eiffel came later, to repair it.
This page is translated from Vietnamese. Prices and opening hours are checked against Vietnamese sources — see the Vietnamese version for the most recent update.
Truong Tien Bridge crosses the Perfume River in the centre of Hue, linking the citadel on the north bank with the south. Begun in 1897 and completed in 1899, under Emperor Thành Thái.
Six steel arches
The bridge has six spans, each a semicircular steel arch about 67m long — people in Hue describe it as six arches and twelve spans.
The steelwork is left exposed and painted silver-grey, looking light and slender next to concrete bridges of the same era. At night it is lit in changing colours — good for photographs, though plenty of locals prefer its daytime shape.
About Eiffel — getting it right
This comes up in almost every article about the bridge, and it is also where most of them go wrong.
The usual line is “Truong Tien Bridge was designed and built by the Eiffel company”. But the records show the firm awarded the design and construction in 1897 was Schneider et Letellier (some sources give Schneider, Cie and Letellier) — not Eiffel.
What is true is that the Eiffel company took part in major restorations of the bridge later, on two separate occasions.
Put simply: Eiffel is connected to Truong Tien Bridge, but as a repairer rather than a builder. A small detail, but if you are going to tell someone the story, tell it accurately.
A bridge that has broken more than once
Truong Tien has not stood untouched for 120 years. It has come down several times:
- 1904 — the great storm of that year brought part of the bridge down and forced a major rebuild.
- 1946 — the bridge was destroyed in fighting.
- 1968 — two spans collapsed during the Tết Offensive.
Each time it was rebuilt to the same profile. The bridge you walk across today is the result of several reconstructions — the same shape, but not the same steel.
Walking across
There are footways on both sides, and walking is the best way to take the bridge in. A few notes:
- Late afternoon into evening is the busiest and the best — the sun goes, the lights come on, and there is a breeze off the river.
- Early morning is empty, good for photographs without people.
- Walking the length takes about ten minutes, though most people stop in the middle for a good deal longer.
- It is still a working road with constant motorbike traffic. Stay on the footway and do not stand in the carriageway to take pictures.
What is around it
The bridge sits in the centre of Hue and anchors a whole evening:
- Đông Ba market at the north end — the fullest place to buy Hue specialities.
- The Nguyễn Đình Chiểu pedestrian street along the south bank, with music and food stalls at night.
- Dragon boats with traditional Hue music, leaving from the pier near the bridge.
- The Imperial City is about 2km away and Thien Mu Pagoda 5km upriver.
Eating nearby
The area around both ends of the bridge has the densest concentration of food in Hue: bún bò Huế, cơm hến, the bánh bèo–nậm–lọc set, and Hue chè.
For things to take home, cross to Đông Ba market — mè xửng, tôm chua, various fermented sauces, imperial tea and Kim Long candied ginger.
Places
- Thien Mu Pagoda — the Oldest Temple in HueFour hundred years on the bank of the Perfume River. In its courtyard stands the car that carried Thích Quảng Đức to Saigon in 1963.
- The Imperial City of Hue — How to See It ProperlyPlenty of visitors walk the Imperial City for forty minutes and leave thinking they have seen it. In fact they have covered less than a third.
- The Tomb of Khai Dinh — the Smallest and the Most ExpensiveEleven years to build, paid for by a 30% rise in land tax across the country. The most divisive of the Nguyen royal tombs — and the most sumptuous.