Unique architectures of tile-roofed bridges in Kim Son district

The Phat Diem tile-roofed bridge located in Phat Diem town. It was built in 1902 and crosses over An River running through Kim Son district. 

It was recognised as a provincial cultural historical site in 2018. It is one of the well-known ancient bridges with tile-roofed architecture in the country, such as Thanh Toan tile-roofed in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, Cau Pagoda in the central province of Quang Nam, and Luong tile-roofed bridge in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

Through the ups and downs, the Phat Diem bridge has still retained its unique shape and structure and become a pride of local people.

 The Phat Diem tile-roofed bridge has unique architecture. The upper part of the bridge is a tile roof with a system of wooden beams and pillars like in a standard house. The tile roof helps people to travel and hide from rain and sunshine, while protecting the wooden architectural structures of the bridge.

The bridge consists of three spans and four compartments constructed steadily on concrete pillars. Truss-roof, beams, pillars and banisters are made of Lim (Erythroploeum Fordi Oliver) timber while the floor was made of stones. 

A part from the Phat Diem tile-roofed bridge, Kim Son is also home to two other tile-roofed bridges - Luu Quang bridge in Quang Thien commune and Hoa Binh bridge in Hung Tien commune. These bridges were inaugurated and put into use in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

The Luu Quang tile-roofed bridge has a similar design and architecture to the Phat Diem bridge.

While the Hoa Binh bridge consists of four roofs. The rooftops at the two ends of the Hoa Binh bridge are designed with traditional curved blades of Vietnamese pagodas. 

It consists of three spans and nine compartments, with a length of 20 meters and a width of 8 meters. The roofs are made of red bricks, while the banister, floors, girder, abutment, bearings and piles are made of stones and are carved meticulously. The roofs are decorated with traditional shapes of dragon and phoenix.

Together with the Phat Diem stone cathedral, these unique tile-roofed bridges are hoped to become must-sea destinations for both domestic and foreign tourists when visiting Ninh Binh.

Translated by Nguyen Thuy