history, has been an inspiration for many artists zoith , One of the
latest American photographer Douglas Jardine.
He
displays his black-and-white photos of the bridge until on Nov. 12 at an
exhibition titled Long Bien Bridge – The Connection at Maison
des Arts, Van Mieu Street , Hanoi .
Hanoi 's
Long Bien Bridge was built in 1903 by French architect Gustave
Eiffel, the man who, 14 years, earlier, designed the Eiffel tower.
In fact the iron latticework used on the bridge reflects the style of the Eiffel tower.
When built, the bridge was called the Doumer Bridge , after Paul
Doumer – the Governor General of French Indochina and later the French
president. At the time, it was one of the longest bridges in Asia with
a length of 1,682m.
During the American War, the
bridge was the highest-priority target in northern Vietnam for US
bombers. This was because all supplies moving by rail from China and
Hai Phong crossed into the city over the bridge.
The
first bombing raids in August, 1967 dropped three of the bridge's 19
spans into the river. From that date until January, 1973, the bridge was
repeatedly bombed and repaired.
But despite putting
the bridge out of commission for long periods of time, the US never
succeeded in fully halting the flow of supplies into the city, which
continued to move over an improvised network of pontoons, bamboo rafts,
and other makeshift devices.
Nguyen Nga, owner of
Maison des Arts, said she hoped the bridge will remain a place of
cultural and artistic importance, linking Vietnam to countries
across the world.
"The bridge spans the banks of the
Hong (Red) River, it also spans the banks of memory and history," says
Jardine. "When we stand on the bridge, we are connected to the past and
we gaze at the future."
Jardine, 34, who is married to
a Hanoian woman, now works as director of Academic Affairs at the
Faculty of International Studies at Hanoi University .
Jardine visits Long Bien Bridge four or five times a week to
enjoy the view and take photos of the bridge and the life around it.
With his black-and-white photography, he likes to capture people close
up.
Sometimes, they don't want to be photographed, so he spends time talking to them to capture their stories./.
