Stamp Issue : 2002-09-27
Long Bien Bridge was a historic cantilever bridge across the Red River that connects two parts of the city of Hanoi, Vietnam. It was built in 1903 by the French architect Gustave Eiffel. Before Vietnam's independence in 1954, it was called Doumer Bridge, named after Paul Doumer - The Governor-General of French Indochina and then French president. It was, at that time, one of the longest bridges in Asia with the length of 2,500 m.. It was heavily bombarded during Vietnam War due to its critical position (the only bridge at that time across the Red River and connect Hanoi to the main port Haiphong). Nowadays, only half of the bridge retains its original shape. A project with support and loan from French government is currently in progress to rebuild the bridge to the original state. Due to its age, the traffic in the bridge is now limited to the trains only.
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