Hien Luong Bridge - a symbol of the aspiration for national unification

There was a time when mentioning Hien Luong Bridge and Ben Hai River, people would recall the following verses: “Hien Luong is a creek with two streams/ People are on that side but their hearts are on this side” or “A river apart, but we miss each other/ Sharing the same bridge, but our fate is far apart”… Now, the war has gone far, but the memories of a painful yet heroic historical period still remain. And Hien Luong Bridge, after half a century since the reunion of the North and South banks, is still standing strong as a sacred symbol of the Vietnamese people’s desire for peace and unity.

Báo Tin Tức•23/03/2025

Looking at the map of the Fatherland, Ben Hai River is like a thin silk strip, originating from the top of Dong Chan Mountain in the Truong Son range before flowing along the 17th parallel and finding the sea at Cua Tung. Ben Hai is also the natural boundary between the North and South banks.

The "National Unification" Festival was solemnly held at the Hien Luong - Ben Hai National Monument (documentary photo).

According to the book “Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi”, in 1928, Vinh Linh district mobilized thousands of local workers to build a bridge to connect the two banks of Ben Hai river. After a short time, Hien Luong bridge was put into use with a width of 2m, built with iron poles and reserved for pedestrians. Later, the French colonialists upgraded the bridge so that small vehicles could pass through.

By 1950, to serve the growing needs of transportation and military, the French colonialists rebuilt the bridge with reinforced concrete, officially turning the Hien Luong Bridge into an important part of the North-South highway. At that time, the bridge was 162 m long, 3.6 m wide, and had a load capacity of 10 tons. However, the bridge existed for 2 years before being destroyed by guerrillas using explosives to prevent the French colonialists from advancing.

In May 1952, Hien Luong Bridge was newly built with 7 spans, 178 m long, reinforced concrete pillars, steel beams, pine wood flooring, 4 m wide. Both sides of the bridge had 1.2 m high barriers. The maximum load at this time was up to 18 tons. This was also the bridge that existed for the next 15 years as a historical "border".

Hien Luong Bridge was built in 1952.

Accordingly, in 1954, after losing the decisive strategic battle of Dien Bien Phu, the French colonialists agreed to return independence to Vietnam according to the Geneva Agreement. In July 1954, the Geneva Agreement was signed, temporarily dividing the country in two at the 17th parallel. And Hien Luong Bridge located on the 17th parallel was chosen as the temporary military demarcation line. According to the Geneva Agreement, the military demarcation line was not considered a national border and only existed until the completion of a general election 2 years later. Implementing the Geneva Agreement, tens of thousands of cadres and soldiers from the South gathered in the North with the belief and hope that 2 years later they would return through a general election as stipulated.

However, on the southern bank, with the intention of permanently dividing Vietnam and avoiding the fact that “Ho Chi Minh’s victory would be like an unstoppable rising tide” (Excerpt from the book Victory at All Costs - Cecil B. Currey), the Ngo Dinh Diem government, with the support of the United States, resolutely refused to hold a general election. In 1956, the Republic of Vietnam government declared “locking the line”, betraying the Geneva Agreement and turning the 17th parallel into a “national border” and at the same time turning Hien Luong into a bridge dividing the two banks for the next 15 years.

Hien Luong - Ben Hai National Special Historical Relic Complex (viewed from North - South).

During that time, Ben Hai River and Hien Luong Bridge became witnesses to the pain of separation. “A river apart, but here we miss each other/ Sharing a bridge, but our fate is far apart”. The Ben Hai River, on one side we miss each other, became a land that was writhing under the enemy’s bombs. The enemy built forts, iron fences, tanks, and cannons, but could not subdue the courage, intelligence, and belief in victory of the people on both banks of Ben Hai. Swedish filmmaker Joris Ivens once exclaimed: “The 17th Parallel is a place that displays the ultimate barbarism of American imperialism and the divine courage of the Vietnamese people”.

Despite being surrounded by the enemy, people on both banks still found ways to send love. They talked to each other using symbols and familiar souvenirs. The wife wore the shirt she wore on the day she sent her husband off to the assembly area, the mother held her newborn baby, the brother led his newly bought bicycle... Those who had nothing walked along the riverbank, calling their own names. The other side heard and recognized their loved ones, so they found a way to respond, and then together they found a narrow stretch of the river, looked at each other, raised their hands to greet each other, laughed, and cried together. On the southern bank, each time they sent a message was a dangerous time. They had to play the role of washing clothes, washing vegetables, carrying water, catching crabs, catching snails... to fool the police and secret agents.

Hien Luong - Ben Hai National Special Historical Relic Complex (viewed from South - North).

Feeling deeply the pain of separation, in 1957, on a homesick afternoon in Vinh Linh, musician Hoang Hiep wrote the song “Cau ho ben bo Hien Luong”. The lyrics are the longing and longing of a Southern mother for her child who went to the North to regroup; the deep, loyal longing of lovers, of married couples: “Oh boat, oh boat, do you miss the dock/ Then the dock will wait for the boat with all your heart”. And above all, it is the oath of steadfast belief in the revolution, belief in the joyful day of victory: “I tell everyone to always keep the oath/ Through the storm, keep your heart steadfast”. Those simple lyrics have moved millions of hearts, encouraging the desire for reunion, the desire for national unification.

Not only a witness to the pain of division, Hien Luong Bridge is also a shining symbol of the will and aspiration for national reunification of the Vietnamese people. For more than 20 years, the small bridge across Ben Hai River has become a special front - the place where a silent but fierce war took place, between a plot to divide the country on one side and an iron determination to regain peace and unity on the other.

Hien Luong Bridge belongs to the special national monument of Hien Luong - Ben Hai, shimmering at night.

During the years 1954 - 1964, Hien Luong was divided into a demilitarized zone, but in reality, this was the center of a war that was no less fierce in terms of reason, psychology, ideology and even life. The silent confrontation with unique and special forms of struggle, such as paint fights, flag fights, and loudspeaker fights, but in the end, victory always belonged to justice.

In the middle of Hien Luong Bridge, there is a white horizontal line used as a boundary. To create the image of dividing our country, the Saigon government proactively painted the southern half of the bridge blue, but with the desire to "unify the country", we immediately painted the remaining half of the bridge blue. After that, they changed to brown, so we painted them brown again. Just like that, Hien Luong Bridge always changed colors, whenever they were painted differently to create two contrasting colors, we immediately painted them the same, like the desire to unify the country of the entire nation. Finally, in 1975, the entire bridge was painted a peaceful blue.

Another legend is the chess match between us and the enemy. According to the Geneva Agreement, border police stations had to fly flags. The enemy provoked us by erecting a 15-meter flagpole, and we responded with an 18-meter flagpole. And so the chess match took place fiercely. In 1962, when Ngo Dinh Diem ordered the erection of a 30-meter-high reinforced concrete flagpole on the South bank, our army and people built a new flagpole 38.6 meters high with a 134-square-meter flag weighing 15 kilograms on the North bank. This was the tallest flagpole in the border area.

The Hien Luong flagpole was rebuilt as a prototype in Hien Luong village, Vinh Thanh commune (North bank of Ben Hai river).

Since then, throughout the years of fighting, all enemy artillery fire was aimed at the flag on the northern bank of the Ben Hai River. To keep the national flag flying proudly on the Hien Luong flagpole, our army and people fought over 300 large and small battles with many sacrifices. Many examples of flag-keeping made everyone admire, such as mother Nguyen Thi Diem, despite her old age and weak health, she did not evacuate, determined to stay and patch the flag. The armed police officers of Vinh Linh clasped hands and swore: "As long as our hearts still beat, the flag will still fly." And that's right, the red flag with a yellow star has never been absent from the Hien Luong flagpole, just as nothing can extinguish the flame of the Vietnamese people's desire for national unification.

In addition to the chess match, there was also a sound war - a loudspeaker war between us and the enemy. To expose the plot to invade our country by the US-puppet government and to encourage and support the people of the South to fight firmly, we built a large-scale and modern sound system. The total capacity of the loudspeaker system on the North bank of Hien Luong was 180,000 W, with 7,000 W in the Hien Luong bridge area alone. Along with rich and diverse radio programs, this loudspeaker system really overwhelmed the loudspeaker system on the South bank of the US-puppet government. The loudspeaker system contributed to maintaining the people's trust in the Party and Uncle Ho, in a day of national reunification.

The war continued fiercely between the two banks of Ben Hai. Until 1967, in order to block the flow of supplies from the North to the southern battlefield, the former southern government bombed and destroyed Hien Luong Bridge. From then until Quang Tri was liberated (in 1972), there was no more bridge across the Ben Hai River.

The old and new Hien Luong Bridge cross the Ben Hai River.

In 1974, to ensure traffic across the Ben Hai River, at the old Hien Luong Bridge location, a new reinforced concrete bridge was built, 186m long, 9m wide, with a pedestrian corridor. However, after many years of use, this bridge gradually deteriorated.

In 1996, the Ministry of Transport built a new bridge to the west of the old bridge, 230m long and 11.5m wide. The new bridge was constructed using push-cast technology - the most modern method at that time and the first time it was applied in Vietnam.

In 2001, the old Hien Luong Bridge was restored to its original design, 182.97m long, with 7 spans, and ironwood flooring with each plank numbered. In March 2014, the Hien Luong Bridge was restored to its original state, as it had existed in history.

The monument cluster "Aspiration for Unification" on the southern bank of Ben Hai River and the statue of the police officer protecting the border, the loudspeaker system on the northern bank of Ben Hai River belong to the Hien Luong - Ben Hai Special National Monument.

Along with the historic bridge, the Hien Luong Bridge Relic Site has also been restored and embellished with a welcome gate, a union house, a border police station, a watchtower... On the other side of the bridge is the "Aspiration for Unification" monument located on the southern bank of the Ben Hai River, including the image of a Southern mother and a baby with an anxious wait, eyes looking towards the North. Behind is the image of coconut leaves of the beloved South rising from the ground, symbolizing the aspiration for national unification.

Today, along the gentle Ben Hai River, not far from the historic Hien Luong Bridge, is the "Hien Luong River Relic Site" which has been ranked as a National Relic. The pair of high-power loudspeakers used in the loudspeaker battle with the enemy now lie here as a "witness" of history, contributing its "voice" to the journey of the "Central Heritage Road", bringing domestic and foreign tourists to reminisce about a painful yet heroic time of war.

Panoramic view of the special national relic cluster of Hien Luong - Ben Hai banks.

The Hien Luong Bridge relic is not only a historical destination but also a living "school", contributing to educating patriotism, solidarity and resilience for the younger generation. Stories about the persistent struggle along the historic bridge, about the national flag flying on the top of the flagpole despite bombs and bullets, or about people on both banks still finding ways to send love despite being separated... all become vivid lessons, helping the younger generation better understand the glorious past of the nation.

Every year, many groups of students from all over the country visit the Hien Luong Bridge Relic Site to see the historic bridge, the majestic flagpole and the war relics with their own eyes to gain a deeper understanding of the sacrifices of their ancestors. This is an opportunity for the younger generation to foster national pride, thereby becoming more aware of their responsibility in building and protecting the country.

From those historical lessons, the indomitable spirit of the nation continues to be the driving force for Quang Tri to rise strongly today. Along with the development of the country, life on both banks of Hien Luong is also changing day by day. Along the banks of Ben Hai River are areas of intensive cultivation of rice and high-quality agricultural crops. Upstream of Ben Hai hills are green rubber and pepper plantations. Vinh Linh and Ben Hai today continue to write new pages of history, in a new mindset, when bridges are born true to their nature: Not to divide, but to connect happy banks, prolong happiness and unify a beautiful and peaceful strip of Vietnam.

The historical relic site on both banks of Hien Luong - Ben Hai attracts many tourists.

If in the past, the greatest aspiration was independence and national unity, today, that aspiration has turned into the will to build a strong Quang Tri, firmly on the path of development. Now, the government and people of Quang Tri are realizing the aspiration to rise up, turning the heroic land into a prosperous land. The Party Committee, government and people of Quang Tri are striving to successfully implement the Resolution of the 17th Quang Tri Provincial Party Congress, term 2020 - 2025, with the goal of making Quang Tri a province with a high-average development level by 2025 and a fairly developed province in the country by 2030.

Half a century has passed since the North and South reunited, and Hien Luong Bridge remains steadfast as a sacred symbol of peace and unity. The wounds of war have receded, but the memories of a painful yet heroic historical period remain, reminding today's and future generations of the value of independence and freedom. Today, along the gentle Ben Hai River, Quang Tri is striving to develop, realizing the aspiration to build a prosperous homeland, writing a new history page for this heroic land.