Da Nang says goodbye to February with beautiful weather and welcomes March with the heat that is not too harsh. With pleasant weather like this, Golden Bridge will continue to be one of the places not to be missed when you arrive in Danang.
Originating from the need to connect the landscape from Marseille Station to Thien Thai Garden and Le Jardin D’Amour flower garden of Ba Na Hills, Golden Bridge has become a global phenomenon of tourism in Vietnam.
Behind that success is a special journey. The unexpected effects from the Golden Bridge also forecast many bright signals for Vietnam’s tourism industry in general as well as Da Nang in particular in the future.
Extremely unprecedented design
Golden Bridge is the only bridge in Da Nang that does not cross any river, but on the contrary, it is located on a high mountain, with an impressive design like a golden silk strip drawn from inside the mountain and supported by a pair of giant hand.
The special bridge in the “city of bridges” is located in the tourist area on the top of Ba Na Hills. “Our first challenge when constructing the Golden Bridge is that the investor required to retain the entire greenery system below the bridge, minimizing the impact on the terrain and natural landscape,” shared by Architect Pham Thi Ai Thuy – Deputy Director of TA Landscape & Architecture – the design and construction unit of the Golden Bridge.
Located 1,414 meters above sea level, the Golden Bridge is impressively designed to evoke the image “the giant hands of the gods pulling a golden thread from the mountain”.
In June 2018, the Golden Bridge was opened to welcome guests after a year of design and construction. Up to now, 2019 Golden Bridge is gradually asserting its own brand.
The bridge consists of 8 spans, 7 pillars and 2 abutents with a total length of 150 m. The width of the entire bridge is 5 meters, in which the bridge surface for pedestrians is 3 meters wide, two flower rows on each side are 1 meter wide. The pier foundation structure is made of reinforced concrete; the piers are made of steel pipes.
The shell of the bridge is covered with gold-paint and together with a polished stainless steel titanium railing, creating a bright effect before sunlight. The sphere is paved with natural angular wood. This is a very durable wood in the air, no termites. With such design and material, the project ensures sustainability against all severe weather conditions in Ba Na.
The hands with the frame made of wire mesh looked like mossy rocks. In fact, the designers created the frame and the palm of the hand and covered it with wire mesh, then, finished with high quality fiberglass and decorated it.
At an altitude of more than 1,000 meters, at dawn, the Golden Bridge sparkles in the new sunshine. In the afternoon, the whole bridge is sunk in the middle of the clouds, and visitors can walk in a fairytale setting. Regarding ideas, designs and scenery, the Golden Bridge is considered an “unprecedented” work of Vietnam and the world.
International media phenomenon
Once opened to welcome guests, the Golden Bridge quickly covered social networks. Jason Goh, a Malaysian tourist suddenly became famous overnight after posting a picture of a Golden Bridge on Instagram. International media also immediately focused their attention on Vietnam.
Time Magazine wittily described the Golden Bridge: “Two giant stone hands reaching out from the mountains in Central Vietnam look old and like a ruin from ancient times. But don’t be fooled: it is a network of metal wires and fiberglass used to support an incredible pedestrian bridge that was inaugurated in June …
..The 150 m long bridge gives visitors plenty of space to enjoy the charming and impressive scenery. It is an effort to attract more tourists to the city. “
Golden Bridge is also in the top of the list of “100 most wonderful destinations in the world in 2018” after only two months of launching.
And the New York Times said: “From the cliffs appeared a pair of giant hands supporting a golden thread, as if the mountain had grown hands.”
Shortly after a month of its launch, the famous British daily newspaper, Guardian, honored the Golden Bridge in “the top 10 bridges with the most unique and beautiful architecture in the world”.
The Huffington Post of USA reported that it is “the most interesting bridge ever seen”, while Independent considers the Golden Bridge to be “one of the 10 incredible bridges in the world”.
CNN newspaper described: “The Golden Bridge is a narrow bridge surrounding the ridge, supported on old, mossy hands. The bridge is designed like Buddha’s hands lifting the gold strip. The work creates a walking path on clouds on the mountains for tourists, and has become a very attractive destination for tourists recently. “
Two other famous newspapers, Bored Panda and Unilad, compared the Golden Bridge to a scene of the blockbuster series “Lord of the Rings”.
The Guardian even said the Welsh government was considering a proposal to build a new £ 130 million bridge on the Menai Strait. This bridge has a special architecture when supported by the legendary “a giant of Wales”.
In 2019, the image of the Golden Bridge also appeared on Times Square (USA), which surprised many people.
Especially, in 2019, InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort continues to set a new record, when honored by WTA Asia-Oceania with six important categories: “The most luxurious resort in Vietnam “,” The most luxurious resort in Asia “,” The most environmentally friendly resort in Asia “,” Villa in the most luxurious resort in Asia “,” Most luxurious resort for wedding in Asia” and the award of ” Asia’s most luxurious fine dining restaurant” for La Maison 1888.
Artistic architecture, smoothly combining the quintessence of traditional and modern culture, has made the 5-star resort located on the Son Tra peninsula a favourite destination for international millionaires and celebrities.
In the entertainment segment, Sun World Ba Na Hills is the leading resort in Vietnam, honored by the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and the Vietnam Tourism Association over the past 5 years.
The resort owns a Guinness world cable car tour that takes visitors to enjoy the ancient French Village space on top of Ba Na, opening up an area of music and festivals, a unique restaurant chain with hundreds of famous cuisines and services of international standards. This place has long been described by domestic and foreign tourists as a “Disneyland” in Vietnam.
With these achievements, the Golden Bridge is considered as a long step on the journey to conquer the world. The landscape development strategies at the top of Ba Na are expected to contribute to the creation of a chain of high-quality tourism services in Da Nang in particular and Vietnam in general, with world class amusement, recreation and resort areas.
