Hai Van Pass


Entries

Hai Van Mountain Pass – the most grandiose landscape of life

Photo of Entry:  Hai Van Mountain Pass – the most grandiose landscape of life

From the central of Da Nang, following the National Street 1A to the north about 25 kilometres, you will meet the mountain pass's base. Hai Van belongs to North Truong Son mountain range and stretches to the sea to make up a natural boundary between Da Nang Province and Thua Thien - Hue Province. The road is precarious with one side of mountain and the other side of water. The peak of the mountain pass is covered by the cloud all the year; therefore, it is also called "Cloudy Mountain Pass". Standing at the height of 496 metres, tourists can have a general look of the view of Lang Co Town, Son Tra Peninsula, Non Nuoc - Ngu Hanh Son (Five Mountains) area. The National Street 1A connecting the North and the South is tortuous on halfway of the hill. Hai Van has an important relic of Post One - Hai Van entrance which is considered as the most significant border pass of the feudal Vietnam.


Hải Vân Quan xưa

Hai Van entrance in the pass


On the way through Vietnam from the North to the South, Hai Van is always an impressive geographical name. This is the most beautiful mountain pass of Vietnam with obstacles when passing by and is also the last mountain of the vessel Truong Son stretching to the sea. More than six centuries ago, this land belonged to two administrative units O and Ri of the Realm Champa. King Che Man of Realm Champa then split this area to bring it as a betrothal gift to propose Princess Huyen Tran in Tran Dynasty. Nowadays, Hai Van mountain pass is the border of Thua Thien - Hue Province and Da Nang City.


Đường đèo Hải Vân

A path of Hai Van mountain pass


In Minh Mang time (1620 - 1840), King Minh Mang decided to put up bricks to build staircases on the path so that it is easy for transporting. And on the top of the mountain pass, a citadel was established to create an entrance to protect the mountain pass and to be a stop for passengers. Until 1826, the citadel was heaped up to become higher. The northern and southern walls were high and thick and there was a path for going through. Above the entrance facing the north, people hung a big sign made of marble on which three Han (Chinese) words meaning "Hai Van Border-pass" were engraved; and above the entrance facing the south there is another marble sign with six Han words which mean "The most grandiose landscape of life".


Toàn cảnh Hải Vân

The whole view of Hai Van


From the height around 500 metres, the mountain pass of oceanic clouds have brought us impressive sceneries of the long-lying coastline of Vietnam. On the mountain pass's peak, there is a small temple worshipping Mountainous Deity which is materialised as a statue of tiger - the lord of jungle while other small temples locating along the mountain pass are made to commemorate people meeting accidents there. Here, at some blockhouses called Post One which were built by French colonials in 1826 to keep this pass, moss has grown during the long time. From these places, they can control the entire pass from two sides. Post One has witnessed many rebellions of Vietnamese people during the time fighting against conquering troops. Later, these blockhouses were transferred to American soldiers and then Vietnamese People's Army and it was used to be a bastion for firing to Da Nang.


Lô cốt trên đèo Hải Vân

Blockhouses on Hai Van mountain pass

What the nature has blessed, passing through human beings' hands, will then become humanistic civilised values. Visiting Hai Van means going to the intersection of two regions (Da Nang and Thua Thien - Hue); satisfying the desire of controlling the height; mixing ourselves with the echo of the history that still maintains the ancient Vietnamese people's footmarks breaking the land; and also fretting with the profound past of the Middle region of the country.


Source: simplevietnam.com



Post to FacebookPost to Twitter


Related Entries Hai Van Pass

Hai Van Mountain Pass – the most grandiose landscape of life

Related Photos Hai Van Pass

Photos Sea of Clouds Pass 2 - Hai Van PassPhotos Sea of Clouds Pass 1 - Hai Van PassPhotos Sea of Clouds Pass 3 - Hai Van Pass