Six bridges cross the Red River in the city of Hanoi. The Long Biên Bridge is the oldest of them. It was constructed by the builder of the Eiffel Tower Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. The construction of the bridge began in 1898 and lasted until 1902. More than 3,000 Vietnamese workers were involved in the construction of the bridge, which earlier belonged to the longest bridges in Asia. By the end of French colonial rule it was named after former Governor General and later President of France Paul Doumer bridge. Today the 1682 meters long and 30 meters wide bridge, on wich the trains still run to the north, is because of their age only approved for pedestrians and mopeds. The traffic is run over the 600 meters Cầu Chương Dương. If you are on the Long Biên Bridge just at the time where it is passed by a train, you can feel the redissolved vibrations. During the Vietnam War the bridge was strategically important, because the at that time only bridge was constantly bombarded by American planes and damaged, for the first time in 1967. At times, it was defended by 300 anti-aircraft guns and 84 surface to air missiles. The heaviest damage was in May 1972, when Americans employed laser-guided bombs for the first time. All damages were previously resolved by the improvisational skills of the Vietnamese people fairly quickly, but after the attack it took almost a year, to get used again. Today, only about half of the bridge is preserved in its former structure. Currently, a project with the support of the French Government is underway to restore the bridge, which is indeed a remarkable technical monument, in its original appearance. Best regards Cathrin Cathrin’s Blog: Zwischen Traditionen und Moderne