Thứ Ba, 14 tháng 4, 2015
Quang Tri and Quang Binh, the two provinces closest to the DMZ, were the most heavily bombed and saw the highest casualties, civilian and military, American and Vietnamese, during the American War. Tour Hue DMZ is available on the trip: Go to phong nha at VM Travel.
Vietnam's Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, is the area around the former border between North and South Vietnam. Historically it was a narrow band of terrain extending from the Laos border to the coast, five kilometres on either side of the Ben Hai River, roughly on the 17th parallel north of latitude.
Go to Phong Nha and visit Ben Hai river
Quang Binh is 160 km north of Hue. On the way from Hue to Phong Nha ,Quang Binh by bus to visit magnificent and impressive caves, the bus will stop at DMZ zone in Quang Tri for tourists to see Hien Luong bridge , Ben Hai river, Vinh Moc tunnel,..which are famous historical places.
The Ben Hai river is located in Central Vietnam, along route 120 km north of Dong Ha and 60 km south of Dong Hoi, Quang Binh. Ben Hai River originates from Annamite Mountains bordering Laos and flows into the South China Sea at Cua Tung. Ben Hai River has a total length of about 100 kilometers, a width of 200 m at the broadest point.
Ben Hai River is one of the notable Vietnam rivers. From 1954 until the defeat of the Americans in 1975, Ben Hai river marked the division of Vietnam. It is the official dividing point between North and South Viet Nam, at the centre of the DMZ between July 22, 1954and April 29, 1975 before South Viet Nam fell. 5km either side of the river was declared a DMZ - a stark contrast to what really took place in this region. In fact, the surrounding region experienced some of the heaviest fighting during the Vietnam War.
According to a legend, there were some fairies who often swam in the river . Its water was blue in all seasons. Water flew from the opposite sides of each other. Its water flew to the west forming Sebanhieng river, Van Kieu people called this "reverse flow of water." Water flew to the east forming Ben Hai River. One time, there were some men seeing the fairies swimming in the river. The story reached the ears of God. God decided to punish human beings. He said that anyone coming there had to bring a shackle around his neck to prevent him from glancing around. Since then, the mountain was named Dong Mang. The river originated from Dong Mang became a boundary which prevented people living in both sides of the river from seeing each other for 20 years although they were siblings.
During the period of Partition of north and south Vietnam, a bridge was constructed across the Ben Hai River and was named as Hien Luong Bridge or popularly also known as Hien Luong Bridge. The bridge was built from steel by the French in 1950. It is painted in two colors with a white line down the middle. The North side is blue while the South is yellow.
There was also a small museum on the northern side where you could learn a bit about the history of the area. There were some horrifying pictures of people who’d lost their arms or legs during the American bombing, but then pictures of them with artificial legs and arms. It says about how hard life is for them, but how they were lucky to have survived.
