Moving stories related to the Hien Luong Bridge which crosses the Ben Hai River in Vinh Linh District, the central province of Quang Tri during the resistance war against the US for national salvation will be everlastingly talked about by generations of Vietnamese. 

The Geneva Convention signed in 1954 divided Vietnam into the two regions of the North and the South  with parallel 17, where the Ben Hai River crosses over, being a temporary boundary line . Many believed that it was only a temporary separation that would last about two years and end after the national election to reunify the country. However, in reality it lasted up to 21 years until the South was liberated and the nation was totally reunified in 1975.

During those interminable 21 years, the Hien Luong Bridge existed as a witness of suffering for those who lived in expectation. The thin line of white paint in the middle of the bridge became the boundary line separating the country into two regions of the North and the South and driving far away the dream of family reunion of hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese on the two sides of the line, keeping wives waiting for their husbands, children waiting for their fathers and siblings waiting for each other. Therefore, the bridge has been known internationally as a symbol of the thirst for peace, national reunification and family reunion of the Vietnamese people.

Today, the Hien Luong Bridge and the historical relic complex on the two banks of the river has become a special national relic, an unforgettable place for Vietnamese when recalling the terrible war in the past and a “must see” destination on the journey to the North and to the South.

By Thanh Hoa & Hoang Ha