Home
Bridging the Gap
Category: General Published on Saturday, 09 January 2010 14:15 Written by Brian Webb Hits: 291
The changes to Long Bien and Gia Lam, and to the whole of Hanoi, are best exemplified by Long Bien Bridge.
The bridge was a colonial construction, too. However, since it was built, it has gone through a number of transformations, not only physical, but also in the minds of this city’s residents. Formerly called the Doumer bridge, after the Governor-General of French Indochina, it was renamed Long Bien after Vietnamese independence in 1945. At one time, the structure stirred up feelings of colonial resentment. In the words of Vietnamese historian Dang Thai Hoang, the bridge was designed to impose “a sense of obedience on the Vietnamese while preparing to rob their country of it’s natural resources.”
Yet, during the war with the Americans, the bridge took on a vital, more practical role. For this reason, it was near the top of the American’s military targets during its bombing raids on Hanoi. The apparently imprecise American bombs didn’t succeed in hitting their mark until 1967, taking out the middle part of this iconic structure. According to historian William Stewart Logan, “since the bridge provided Hanoi’s only link with Hai Phong and the north apart from relatively primitive ferries across the Red River, [...] it was essential to restore communications, and the bridge’s central span was quickly replaced by bamboo gangplanks and later a pontoon consisting of small boats laced together.”
Once the bombing stopped it didn’t take long for the Vietnamese to rebuild. And it is still used now for both railway and motor traffic, although it is no longer the only link with the other side. Several, more modern, bridges have been built to the north and south of Long Bien, with more on the way.
Bat Trang, Pottery Village.
Bat Trang, otherwise known as the pottery village, is around 15km south-east of Hoan Kiem Lake. One of the better known handicraft villages within the city limits, it is a fairly popular tourist destination. Ceramics have been the village’s traditional occupation for about 1,000 years. During the reign of King Ly Thai To, the area was known as the “White Clay District”, for its hills of clay conducive to manufacturing ceramics.
The trade has been passed down through the generations, with some modern adjustments, so that a local handicraft industry has grown from regional trade into a lucrative international export.
Bat Trang pottery is known for its distinctive look and style, although much of what is sold there nowdays has strayed from ancient tradition and mimics other styles. Shoppers in Bat Trang may even stumble across pottery imported from China, if they aren’t careful to look for the ‘Bat Trang’ stamp found on the bottom of the higher-quality pieces produced in the village.
One of the characteristics of the pottery is that it’s fired at very high temperatures, at about 1,000oC.
Unfortunately, in order to save fuel, many establishments have resorted to firing their pottery at lower temperatures, which causes their wares to suffer in durability and beauty.
Since Bat Trang has become a major tourist destination, some workshops have begun to offer crash-courses allowing customers to create their own ceramic objects. If you have the time and the creative inclination, you can leave the village with a tea set, a cup or maybe a bowl made with your own hands.