Sat quietly in the rural outskirts of Hue, Thanh Toan tile-roofedbridge draws visitors from the city with its own particular charms,offering something different from its sister Japanese-style bridge inHoi An.
Thanh Toan is located in Thanh Thuy Chanh village, 10kmeast of Hue 's centre. It is surrounded by an abundance of greenfields and waterways and serves as an out-of-the-way tourist spot forvisitors seeking an insight into rural traditions.
Built in the18th century, the bridge is no longer a crossing place for traffic onthe two sides of the canal that cuts through the village. A recentlybuilt concrete bridge nearby connects the banks and helps to keep theolder bridge relatively quiet.
These days, Thanh Toan ispredominantly used to provide shade for tired and hot villagers duringthe warm summer days. The seating that lines either side offers aperfect opportunity for napping, particularly for farmers after a hardday work. It also acts as the heart of the village; a place for ladiesfrom the market to sell their goods, older residents to reminisce aboutthe past and courting couples to sit and watch a romantic sunset.
Thebridge is often used for community activities, more so than its Hoi Ancounterpart, as it is fairly wide and its central altar does not take upmuch space.
Across the bridge, visitors can call in at anearby museum which boasts an impressive array of farming and fishingtools which are surprisingly interesting for both foreigners andVietnamese people born in urban areas.
Nguyen Thi Hau, a 76-yearold local lady, bounds from tool to tool, offering passionatedemonstrations of how they were once operated, singing as she does so.One minute she is furiously grinding rice with a stone, the next she ispedalling at top speed to show off a traditional water retrieval system.
"Operating the stuff is very easy as I have done it for muchof my lifetime," she says. "Now I perform the task again every day forvisitors, who really love to see it. I don't feel tired because I amencouraged by their smiles.
The farming tool museum was set upin 2007 and every three years the village votes for a farmer to be theperformer at the museum. Hau is the latest.
Although she can'tcomplete full English sentences to communicate with foreigners, herwinning sense of pride and energy is at the centre of a wonderful typeof community tourism.
Few visitors escape the village withoutfirst getting their fortune told by Tran Thi Dieu, an enigmatic mainstayof the bridge. Many people have called Dieu ‘the soul of Thanh Toan',where she has spent the last 16 years working as a fortune teller. The72 year-old is still going strong, offering predictions to all who passher way. She has even learnt to talk to foreigners in English, using thebits of language she can remember from her first marriage with anAmerican soldier in Hue in 1967.
"Speaking a little Englishhas been helpful for my career. It also lets me have foreign friends,although unfortunately my powers don't allow me to predict when theywill return to my village from their homes abroad!"
Among theother colourful characters in the community is the poet known as Kinh. Anormal lady who sells drinks and coffee, Kinh has become locally famousfor her poems about the beauty of the bridge and her love for hervillage.
A day-long visit reveals that in reality, and despiteits fame, Thanh Toan is not all there is to Thanh Thuy Chanh. Any tripto the village should take in the unique colours, contours andcharacters in this remarkable rural getaway.-VNA
Thanh Toan is located in Thanh Thuy Chanh village, 10kmeast of Hue 's centre. It is surrounded by an abundance of greenfields and waterways and serves as an out-of-the-way tourist spot forvisitors seeking an insight into rural traditions.
Built in the18th century, the bridge is no longer a crossing place for traffic onthe two sides of the canal that cuts through the village. A recentlybuilt concrete bridge nearby connects the banks and helps to keep theolder bridge relatively quiet.
These days, Thanh Toan ispredominantly used to provide shade for tired and hot villagers duringthe warm summer days. The seating that lines either side offers aperfect opportunity for napping, particularly for farmers after a hardday work. It also acts as the heart of the village; a place for ladiesfrom the market to sell their goods, older residents to reminisce aboutthe past and courting couples to sit and watch a romantic sunset.
Thebridge is often used for community activities, more so than its Hoi Ancounterpart, as it is fairly wide and its central altar does not take upmuch space.
Across the bridge, visitors can call in at anearby museum which boasts an impressive array of farming and fishingtools which are surprisingly interesting for both foreigners andVietnamese people born in urban areas.
Nguyen Thi Hau, a 76-yearold local lady, bounds from tool to tool, offering passionatedemonstrations of how they were once operated, singing as she does so.One minute she is furiously grinding rice with a stone, the next she ispedalling at top speed to show off a traditional water retrieval system.
"Operating the stuff is very easy as I have done it for muchof my lifetime," she says. "Now I perform the task again every day forvisitors, who really love to see it. I don't feel tired because I amencouraged by their smiles.
The farming tool museum was set upin 2007 and every three years the village votes for a farmer to be theperformer at the museum. Hau is the latest.
Although she can'tcomplete full English sentences to communicate with foreigners, herwinning sense of pride and energy is at the centre of a wonderful typeof community tourism.
Few visitors escape the village withoutfirst getting their fortune told by Tran Thi Dieu, an enigmatic mainstayof the bridge. Many people have called Dieu ‘the soul of Thanh Toan',where she has spent the last 16 years working as a fortune teller. The72 year-old is still going strong, offering predictions to all who passher way. She has even learnt to talk to foreigners in English, using thebits of language she can remember from her first marriage with anAmerican soldier in Hue in 1967.
"Speaking a little Englishhas been helpful for my career. It also lets me have foreign friends,although unfortunately my powers don't allow me to predict when theywill return to my village from their homes abroad!"
Among theother colourful characters in the community is the poet known as Kinh. Anormal lady who sells drinks and coffee, Kinh has become locally famousfor her poems about the beauty of the bridge and her love for hervillage.
A day-long visit reveals that in reality, and despiteits fame, Thanh Toan is not all there is to Thanh Thuy Chanh. Any tripto the village should take in the unique colours, contours andcharacters in this remarkable rural getaway.-VNA
