Hanoi (VNA) – Located in Nam Truc districꦗt, Nam Dinh province, Thuong Nong tile bridge is a demonstration of the talent and creativity of the ancients in "thuong gia ha kieu” (the house is above and the bridge is below)🐷 architecture. 

Among rare ancient bridges with "thuong gia ha kieu" architecture remaining in the country, Nam Dinh province has three in Hai Hau, Truc Ninh and Nam Truc districts. These bridges are all hundreds of years old. Through the ups and downs of time, the covered bridges have retained their unique shape, becoming a pride of the locals and favourite check-in points for tourists when coming to the locality. The "thuong gia" is composed of a wooden frame forming a tiled roof above, both creating conditions for people to travel and hide from rains and sun, while protecting the wooden architectural structures of the bridge. The "ha cau" part has a structure of three main components, including abutment, girder and deck.   The bridge bends slightly gracefully and is very strong thanks to the abutments made of monolithic stones. Thuong Nong tile bridge has a total of 40 columns along both sides, each side with 20 columns. Of which, 20 main columns have a height of 2m and the remaining 20 are 1.6m high. The entire bridge frame and girders are all made of ironwood. In 2019, the authorities restored the bridge, replaced some damaged columns and repaired the tile roof, especially the two beams along the bridge. The bridge deck is 1.74m wide, formerly paved with wooden planks for people to walk. In 1993, when remodeling the bridge, the wooden floor was replaced with a stone floor along with the reinforcement of two vertical beams with reinforced concrete to create sustainability for the bridge. The two sides of the bridge corridor are also paved with boulders, creating a ledge 0.15m higher than the deck. Particularly in the three central naves, the corridor is about 40cm higher than the deck to create steps. This is a place for people to rest, relax and comtemplate the river.

 Two entrances to ꦆthe bridge have green stone steps. Each step has a width of abouꦕt 50cm and a height of about 10cm.

With its architectural and historical value, in 2003, Thuong Nong tile bridge was recognised as a provincial historical and cultural monument and in June 2012, it was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national historical and cultural relic site. Thuong Nong tile bridge is a unique mark of ancient Vietnamese architecture in the 18th century. Thanks to the quintessence in foundation treatment techniques, stone joining and roof assembly, the bridge has carried a sustainable vitality in the flow of time, adorning the beauty of a peaceful countryside, becoming an attractive destination for tourists from near and far./.