The Han Bridge is one of several bridges and building that contribute to the nighttime rainbow of colors along the Han River in Da Nang, Vietnam.
The Han Bridge was completed in 2000 and connects the Pham Van Dong Street on the east side of the Han River to Le Duan Street on the west sides of the Han River. The bridge has a spans of 487.7 meters (1600 ft.) in length and 13 meters (42 ft.) wide. The bridge is officially only one lane of traffic in each direction but the lanes are exceptionally wide allowing cars and motorcycles to travel side by side. Additionally, it is not unusual to see 3 or 4 motorcycles across each lane. The bridge also has pedestrian lane next to the rail of the bridge on each side.
The bridge has an unusual appearance for a cable supported bridge because only the center portion of the bridge is supported by the cables and the outer two thirds of the bridge is supported by pylons. This unusual appearance is because the bridge not only controls the traffic across the river but it also controls the traffic on the river. The center portion of the bridge is supported by a large turret that rotates the center portion of the bridge 90 degree allowing boat traffic to pass the bridge at scheduled times.
Daytime views
The best time to see the details of the Han Bridge are during the day and the photos below show the daytime view of the bridge from several different locations. The distinct feature of being able to rotate makes it the first and only swing bridge in Vietnam. Every night the middle section will rotate by 90 degrees allowing ships and boats to pass by the bridge. On Monday through Friday the bridge begins rotating open at 1 AM and it rotates back to the closed position between 2 AM to 4 AM depending on the number of ships passing. On Saturday and Sunday the bridge rotates open at 11 PM and rotates back at midnight.
Top of the Bridge
The top of the Han Bridge has a unique feature which appears to be a lightning suppression system to protect the cable from being damages by lightning. I could not confirm that it is a device for lightning protection but regardless of its function it is an attractive addition to the top of the bridge both in the daytime and at night.
View from above
I always like to see the places that I visit from above because it give me a better understanding of the city and many times it helps to see the landmarks better. This is the case with the Han Bridge, seeing it from above helps to understand the swing section of the bridge and to see that the majority of the traffic on the bridge is motorcycles with a few vehicles.
Crossing the Han Bridge
Similar to seeing the bridge from above, seeing the bridge from the street level gives the bridge a completely new prospective. Motorcycles are the primary mode of transportation in Vietnam and it is easily noticed while walking across the bridge.
View from the Han Bridge
Most of the transportation across the bridge is vehicles with very few pedestrians but I enjoyed walking across the bridge and I found myself stopping to admire the view. The photo below has three of Da Nang’s top landmarks in one picture. The Dragon Bridge is in the foreground, the Sunworld Farris Wheel is in the background and the Trần Thị Lý Bridge is in the middle. I have had a previous post on the Dragon Bride and I have provided a link to that post at the end of this post. I will also have posts on the Sunworld Farris Wheel and the Trần Thị Lý Bridge in the future.
Colors change at night
The nighttime display of colors along the Han River makes the river a special place to be after dark. The Han Bridge is one of four bridges that changes colors along with a couple of high rise buildings and several multi colors boats that cruise along the river.
Cables Change colors (Single color)
The color cables and pylons of the Han Bridge change between white, gold, red, pink, green, turquoise, and blue. The colors are continuously changing and sometimes the color of the cables are a single color and the pylons are a different color. A few example of this configuration are shown in the following photos.
Cables are lit two different colors
Many times the cables are lit in two different colors with the pylons being a third color or a similar color to one of the colors of the cables. A few example of this configuration are shown in the following photos.
Cables are lit with multi-colors
Periodically the color of the cables will be lit with multi colors. This effect is really beautiful which can be seen in the following photos.
Nighttime view from above
Seeing the Han Bridge’s nighttime display of colors from the river is really nice but looking down on the bridge from above give the show a completely different experience. The view from above makes it easy to see the cables on both sides of the bridge, effectively doubling the colorful lights. The two photos below helps to see how much more can be seen from above than from the river level.
Colorful tour boats cruise on the river
There are many colorful boats cruising the river at night. The two photos below are an example of how the river boats look as they pass under the Han Bridge.
The Dust on My Shoes
The Han Bridge is a beautiful display of nighttime colors. It is easy to sit and watch the bridge change from one color to another and then turn into a multi-color display. However, the Han Bridge is just one of several structures that are all making similar multi-color changes during the night. The Han Bridge alone could be a nice nighttime show but the combination of all of the structures that are also changing colors makes walking along the Han River at night a special event.
There are no bad places to enjoy colorful displays along the Han River but different place give different views of the displays. There are several rooftop bars along the river that also allow people to relax and watch the nighttime event.
Seeing an attraction from one vantage point can be really nice but seeing it from different positions sometimes helps to get a complete understanding of the attraction.
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