Monuments to visit Vietnam

In the words of P. Doumer: "The most remarkable work that has been done in the Far East." For others, it is the "dragon that straddles the Red River".

The bridge changed its name after the revolution of August 1945. Twenty 40-metre-high piers supporting the 1,682-metre-long bridge are supported by caissons buried up to 30 metres below the low-water level. Some of them are not original and were added due to damage to the bridge. The bridge was designed by the Gustave Eiffel company, and the work was carried out by Daydé et Pillé, a company based in Creil, at a cost of 10.5 million francs at the time. The work lasted a little over three years. The work was inaugurated in 1902 (some fifteen years after the Eiffel Tower) by Emperor Thanh Thai (Nguyen dynasty) and Paul Doumer, then Governor General. The bridge was to bear witness to "the power of French civilization in the works of peace".

For the Vietnamese, it is today a symbol of unity, endurance and patriotism. It was bombed 14 times by the American air force and each time it was repaired. This also explains why only six of the original 19 arches remain. In the beginning, the bridge was only intended to be used for railroading. The roadway, added in 1923, is no longer in use today.

Phu Xua Island (known as Banana Island) separates the capricious river course into two main branches. It was formed by the accumulation of alluvial deposits carried by the river, and the land is very rich and naturally suitable for agriculture. The inhabitants of the capital maintain market gardens and fruit tree plantations. At all times, the Sông Hông (Red River) has posed problems for engineers, problems due to the tons of alluvium carried by the river (the delta of the river stretches on average 10 km per century). In spite of a rather demanding maintenance, navigation remains difficult because, during a monsoon flood, the sandbanks are extremely shifting.

The venerable bridge has suffered the ravages of time and history (the effects of age and rust are added to those of the bombardments...) and renovation work is becoming urgent. Several scenarios are being considered - restoration, partial or complete reconstruction, relocation. The question is not decided but unleashes passions because of the historical and symbolic charge linked to the work.

The image of the tank which, at 11:30 a.m. on April 30, 1975, broke down the gates, putting an end to the Republic of Vietnam, has remained engraved in many minds. In 1868, at the request of Mr. Lagrandière, the first governor of Cochinchina, the residence of the governor general of Cochinchina was built on this site. Called the Norodom Palace, it was inhabited by President Ngô Dinh Diem when the French left. Following its destruction during a bombing in February 1963, its reconstruction was entrusted to the architect Ngô Viêt Thu trained in Paris. Completed in 1966 - Diem was meanwhile assassinated in 1963 - the new building was renamed the Independence Palace. It includes a fortified basement of 3 levels. It is 26 m high and houses several lounges and often very large meeting rooms. It is decorated with traditional furniture revisited by contemporary artists.

On the^first floor, in the Phu Dau Rông (head of the dragon) room, the president received foreign delegations. Notice the sentence engraved in gold letters on a red velvet background: "The water flows, the mountains collapse, but the people and the country are immutable in the face of adversity and bad weather." This is a phrase of Nguyen Trai, poet and strategist, who helped Le Loi get rid of Chinese invaders in the 15th century. After the fall of Saigon, the palace served as the headquarters of the city's military administrative committee. In December 1975, it was renamed Reunification Palace.

Prison remains of the French administration. The prison resumed service during the American War. It was declared a historic monument in 1993. Opened to the public shortly afterwards, it was even "restored" with the establishment of new barbed wire networks and very realistic depictions of the atrocities suffered by the prisoners. The Red Cross visited the prison in 1969 and 1972 and confirmed the systematic nature of torture. The overly demonstrative aspect of the reconstructions will not be suitable for all visitors.

In the past, this building was the printing house of the Far East. In Art Deco style, it is signed G.-A. Trouvé.