Ten years ago, in March 2013, the inauguration of the Dragon Bridge in Da Nang (Vietnam) attracted the attention of a large number of people and media agencies.
Dragon Bridge started construction in 2009 and was inaugurated in 2013, with a total cost of more than 1,500 billion VND. This bridge has a length of 666m, including 5 main spans, and 3 leading spans, 37.5m wide with 6 lanes and 2 lanes for pedestrians.
The steel dragon on the Dragon Bridge is designed in the shape of a dragon of the Ly Dynasty, reaching out to the sea, with a dragon's tail with a lotus symbol. Particularly, the Dragon's head weighs 194.1 tons; the body length is 530m, weight 8,405.1 tons; the dragon's tail is 19.37m long, weighs 183.9 tons and the dragon's scales weigh 118.9 tons... Steel Dragon on Dragon Bridge can spray water, spray fire, and serve tourism at 9 pm Saturday and Sunday and holidays and festivals.
More info: blog.khoi.studio
In the early morning of March 29, 2013, VTV television station interviewed sculptor Pham Van Hang - the author who designed the image of the Steel Dragon on the Dragon Bridge
Along with the birth of the Dragon Bridge, Da Nang City has had many upgrades in city planning in the hope of attracting tourists. It seems that everything has gone as expected, the image of the Dragon Bridge has become popular in the media in Vietnam and internationally. Currently, Da Nang is a famous tourist destination with many tourists from Korea, Japan, the USA, Europe, Australia, China, and Taiwan.
People watch the sunrise on the Han River, a few hours before the opening ceremony of the Dragon Bridge
Students from a high school in Da Nang were present early in the morning to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Dragon Bridge
If you arrive at Da Nang International Airport, just go straight to Nguyen Van Linh Street, cross the Dragon Bridge, you can go straight to the beach, then continue on to Hoi An Ancient Town (if there is one on your schedule), very easy to find the way, isn't it?
Thanks to collaborating with an electronic newspaper, I had the opportunity to witness and photograph the launch of the Dragon Bridge with my old Olympus E-510 camera.
The area connecting to the Dragon Bridge was cleaned and sprayed with water to wash the road before the inauguration
People exercise by the Han River, next to the Dragon bridge
March 29, 2013, is a day with many historical milestones in Da Nang. After the inauguration of Tran Thi Ly Bridge and Dragon Bridge, Nguyen Van Troi Bridge (one of the oldest bridges in Da Nang, next to Tran Thi Ly Bridge) officially stopped traffic, ending the historic mission (now converted into a pedestrian bridge). Take a look at the photos and captions to learn about that.
The inauguration ceremony of the Dragon Bridge was held at the vacant lot to the east of the Dragon Bridge, now the Son Tra night market area
Before the inauguration day, the road leading to the Dragon Bridge was cleared of ground, spread with a mixture of crushed stone and asphalt, completing the landscape very urgently
The inauguration of the Dragon Bridge was a topic of interest to many Da Nang people at that time. In the afternoon, the elderly and especially young people often go to the Han River to observe the changes of the construction
People admire the view of Dragon Bridge from Bach Dang street
The parts to assemble, form the Dragon's head, tail and body are designed and finished in a separate workshop area. Heavy trucks carry parts to Dragon Bridge late at night for assembly
Close-up of the iron arch on the Dragon Bridge, painted in many layers for weather resistance and high durability
Dragon Bridge construction site before the inauguration day
From March 29, 2013, Da Nang has two new iconic bridges, spanning the Han River, which are Dragon Bridge and Tran Thi Ly Bridge (repaired from the old bridge with the same name). These two bridges are often mentioned in the media when promoting Da Nang tourism
The Dragon Bridge lighting system can change color continuously
The area at the head of the Dragon Bridge (east) has two stairs, built on both sides of the bridge, for visitors to move down the Han River quickly. The area at the tail of the Dragon Bridge (west) has an underpass for pedestrians to cross the bridge conveniently
Dragon Bridge is operated to spray water and fire at 9pm every Saturday and Sunday. This event has attracted the people of Da Nang and neighboring localities to watch for a long time
Da Nang held the opening of Dragon Bridge and Tran Thi Ly Bridge (new) in the morning of the same day. In the photo are the first tourists to cross Tran Thi Ly bridge
