JAPANESE COVERED BRIDGE
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This bridge, built in 1593 to link the Japanese and Chinese quarters, is now threatened by bad weather.
Built in 1593 to connect the Japanese district with Chinatown. In 1986, work allowed the bridge to recover its original speed bump, levelled by the French in order to allow vehicles to pass through. According to a legend, there was once a giant named Cu whose head was in India, his tail in Japan and his body in Vietnam. Each of his movements triggered a natural disaster. To protect the city, the population built the bridge, preventing the giant from moving at ease. In the middle of the bridge, the small pagoda Câu (chua Câu) dates from the 17th century. It would shelter the soul of the giant stirrer and it honours Tran Vu, the guardian genius of the North. The frontispiece indicates that in the 18th century the bridge was called Lai Viên Kiêu [ "Bridge of Friends from afar"], a name that is no longer in use.
On either side of the entrances, the two monkeys and two dogs indicate that the construction began in the Year of the Monkey and ended in the Year of the Dog. Dating from 1593, a Japanese stele dedicated to protecting the bridge is enclosed in a tree at 98 Phan Chu Trinh Street.
The bridge is now threatened by the violence of the storms - typhoons and floods - that hit the region every year. The thousands of visitors who enter the bridge every day put its foundations to the test. Restoration work is being studied. Experts recommended the complete dismantling of the structure. Each part would be restored individually before the reassembly of the structure.
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