Ben Hai River - Hien Luong Bridge

Ben Hai River also has another name: Rao Thanh River. The upper reach of the river is on a stretch of 100 kilometers to meet the sea at Cua Tung (Tung River mouth). The widest part of the river is about 200 meters. The portion where the Hien Luong Bridge spans across is about 170 meters.

Hien Luong steel Bridge was first built by French sappers in 1950. Earlier the only means of transport across the river was by boat. The bridge was 178 meters long and had seven girders. The birders. The bridge surface was paved with wood planks.

Under the Geneva Agreement on Vietnam signed in 1954 Ben Hai river on the 17th parallel has been selected as a temporary demarcation line separating the country regrouping purposes. The DMZ area had Hien Luong Bridge divided into two parts w hich served as the border gates to both sides.

Nowadays Hien Luong Bridge has become a historic landmark and a great tourist attraction. The existence of the bridge reflects the miraculous strength of the Vietnamese people throughout the course of the 20-year-long resistance war national independence, freedom and rail independence, freedom and reunification of the entire Vietnam.