Asia
Vietnam
Da Nang
Bridge
Cầu Rồng
Name:Dragon Bridge
Construction Period:2009 – 2013
Commissioned by:People’s Committee of Da Nang City
Architects:Ammann & Whitney Consulting Engineers / Louis Berger Group
Length:666,6 Meter
Width:37,5 Meter
Materials:Mainly steel and concrete
Construction Cost:1.5 trillion VND (approx. 88 million USD)

13 Fascinating Facts about the Dragon Bridge

 

  1. Location: Dragon Bridge is located in the heart of the Vietnamese coastal city of Da Nang and spans the Hàn River. It connects the western part of the city, including the city center and the airport, with the eastern districts leading toward the beach. This makes it an important traffic route between the city center, the riverfront and the coast.
  2. Significance: Today, Dragon Bridge is one of Da Nang’s most famous sights and clearly ranks among the city’s defining landmarks. For many visitors, it is one of the first images they associate with this modern coastal city.
  3. Tourism Boom: In just a few decades, Da Nang has developed from a mainly functional port and military city into one of Vietnam’s most important travel destinations. This rise was driven by the expansion of hotels, resorts, international flight connections, roads, bridges, beachfront promenades and major events. Today, the city combines beach holidays, a modern skyline, easy accessibility and exciting day-trip destinations such as Hoi An, Hue and My Son into a varied travel experience.
  4. Hàn River: The Hàn River is the central waterway of Da Nang. Strictly speaking, it is only around 8 to 10 kilometers long, forms south of the city center from several tributaries and flows north into Da Nang Bay. Along the way, it shapes the cityscape and separates the western city center from the eastern districts leading toward the coast. Several bridges cross the river, but none is as striking as Dragon Bridge.
  5. Construction History: The idea for Dragon Bridge came out of an international design competition launched by Da Nang in 2005. The city wanted to create more than just a new traffic crossing. It also wanted a structure that could become an attraction in its own right and a symbol of its modern rise. The selected design was submitted by the U.S. engineering and planning firms Louis Berger and Ammann & Whitney. Their concept featured a low bridge structure designed to interfere as little as possible with the sightlines along the river. Construction began in July 2009, was completed after just under 4 years and the bridge officially opened in 2013.
  6. Architecture: The bridge consists of 3 sweeping arches made from 5 bundled steel tubes. Together, they trace the winding body of a dragon. The dragon’s head projects about 72 meters beyond the bridge structure, while the tail at the other end measures around 64 meters. Both are covered with scale-like metal panels that evoke traditional dragon imagery.
  7. Lighting: After dark, Dragon Bridge reveals its full visual impact. More than 2,500 LEDs bathe the dragon’s body in constantly changing colors. At times it glows fiery red, at others cool blue, and then it almost seems to come alive. The lighting system is fully programmable and is specially coordinated with themed color displays for holidays and special occasions.
  8. Show Organization: The fire and water show at Dragon Bridge usually takes place on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and important Vietnamese public holidays at 9:00 p.m. For the performance, traffic on the bridge is briefly stopped so visitors can safely watch the spectacle from the roadside and the riverbank. In bad weather, during special events or for safety reasons, the show may be changed or canceled at short notice.
  9. Fire Show: The performance begins with an impressive fire show, during which the dragon breathes powerful bursts of fire from its mouth in several rounds. The flames can reach up to 10 meters and spread across roughly 3 meters.
  10. Water Show: After the fire show comes the second part of the performance. The dragon releases several powerful jets of water from its mouth, which look especially striking in the light of the bridge. Anyone standing close to the dragon’s head may even get wet.
  11. Symbolism of the Dragon: In Vietnam, the dragon is not seen as a frightening creature, but as a revered symbol with deep cultural meaning. Its origins go back to an ancient creation legend in which the mountain fairy Âu Cơ and the sea dragon Lạc Long Quân have 100 children. They are regarded as the ancestors of the Vietnamese people. The dragon represents strength, luck, prosperity and protection, and was once a symbol of imperial power.
  12. Symbolism of the Number 6: Dragon Bridge is 666 meters long and has 6 traffic lanes. This makes one number stand out particularly clearly, a number considered auspicious in Vietnam. There, 6 is associated with prosperity, success and a favorable course of events. Combinations such as 66 or 666 are especially popular, for example for license plates, telephone numbers and bank account numbers.
  13. Origin of the Name: The Vietnamese name of Dragon Bridge is Cau Rong. Cau means bridge, and Rong means dragon.