Thanh Toan Bridge

The bridge at Thanh Toan was built in 1776 across a canal in a village outside Hue, paid for by Tran Thi Dao, the childless wife of a mandarin, who funded it for the villagers' use; the Le court granted her a decree of merit for it and the village has honoured her since with an altar in the middle of the bridge itself. It is a wooden structure on stone piers with a tiled roof and benches along both sides, in the yin-yang tile style, and it is used as it was intended to be - people sit on it out of the sun and the rain. A small farming museum stands beside it and the bridge is cycled to from Hue through the fields.

What you actually see

• A covered bridge of 1776 - wooden, on stone piers, tiled.
• Funded by Tran Thi Dao - and honoured by royal decree.
• An altar to her on the bridge - in the middle of the span.
• Still used for sitting - benches along both sides.

When to go

Year round; the cycle out from Hue is pleasant in dry weather. Half a day.

Honest expectations

It is small and the visit is short. It has been restored more than once. The village is ordinary and services are minimal. Coach groups pass through in the middle of the day.

Nearby

Hue is west; the royal tombs are south of the city.