The tiled roof
Over the little canal.
shankar s. from Dubai, united arab emirates — CC BY 2.0 · Chainwit. — CC BY 4.0 · yuichiro anazawa — CC BY 3.0
The emblem of Hoi An: an 18-metre wooden footbridge with a tiled roof over a small canal at the western end of the old quarter, built by the town's Japanese merchants in the 1590s to link their quarter with the Chinese one. A small temple was added on its north side in 1653, and in 1719 the Nguyen lord Nguyen Phuc Chu named it Lai Vien Kieu, «bridge for welcoming guests from afar», the name still written over its door. Rebuilt and repaired many times, in 1817, 1865, 1915 and 1986, it gradually took on Vietnamese and Chinese features. Wooden figures of a monkey and a dog guard its two ends, and legend says the bridge was built to pin down a monster whose movements caused earthquakes. It appears on the 20,000-dong banknote. The bridge reopened in 2024 after a major restoration begun in 2022. Crossing it counts as one of the five visits on the old-town ticket. Come early in the morning or late at night to photograph it without crowds; in the evening it is lit and reflected in the canal.
Over the little canal.
«Welcoming guests from afar».
Reflected in the canal.
West end of Tran Phu Street, Hoi An Ancient Town
No. Crossing it counts as one of the five visits included in the Hoi An Ancient Town ticket.
