The 'mysterious' bridge on Nhieu Loc canal

According to Tran Van Hoc's map in 1815, compared with the current field, the bridge is located near the middle of two 90-degree bends at the source of Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal (HCMC), that is, the bend from Bung Binh canal (now Rach Bung Binh street) to the current bends of bridges number 4 and 5.

More specifically, the location of this bridge seems to be around bridge number 6 and 7; in the middle is the railway bridge to Saigon train station (Hoa Hung). The pair of railways is alley 115 to Le Van Sy street today, which is train gate number 6.

The 1815 map of Gia Dinh drawn by Tran Van Hoc and annotated by Nguyen Dinh Dau includes all four bridges on the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal.

It is a bit "strange" because all historical documents and old maps do not record any bridge at this location, although the military general and city supervisor Tran Van Hoc drew this map in the Western scientific style of that time, quite accurately. At that time, measuring equipment was still very limited and Saigon at that time was still a wild land.

The name Lao Hoa is also a "strange" bridge name, causing confusion for many interested people, including the profound researcher Nguyen Dinh Dau. In the book Brief History of Saigon from the 17th century to the French invasion (1859) (Tre Publishing House - 2023), page 65, he wrote: "On the map Tran Van Hoc drew in 1815, there is a mark of Cuu Luy , that is "Ban Bich Co Luy", the details are exactly as Trinh Hoai Duc described, the only difference is one place name, Lao Hue bridge is written as Lao Hoa bridge". And he also wondered: "I don't know which side is correct, or maybe there was a name change".

In 1882, scholar Truong Vinh Ky published Ancient Gia Dinh Bay Landscape , which noted four bridges: "Ba Nghe (Ba Nghe canal, Ba Nghe bridge) is the intersection of Bong bridge, Kieu bridge, and Nhieu Loc bridge" ( Gia Dinh Bay Landscape - Tre Publishing House 2023, page 19). Was Lao Hoa bridge/Lao Hue bridge/(bridge) Hue later called Nhieu Loc bridge?

Location of Lao Hoa bridge on the Gia Dinh map in 1815 drawn by Tran Van Hoc, annotated by Nguyen Dinh Dau

The name of Nhieu Loc bridge was recorded at the beginning of the French colonial period. The "plots and land for sale" map posted with the announcement in the Courrier de Saigon newspaper on May 10, 1864, at the location outside the Bao Ngan canal as planned, there was a bridge crossing a trail (now Dang Van Ngu street). This location was numbered 34 and clearly noted (written verbatim); "Nhieu Loc bridge (près du fort de Chi-hoa): Nhieu Loc bridge (near Chi Hoa fort)". This fort was located at one of the two sharp corners of the gate area of ​​the Chi Hoa fort that we all know.

Also in the 1815 map, there was a road running across the bridge, from the northeast (Phu Nhuan) to the southwest (Thien Ly street, now Cach Mang Thang Tam). This road in the topographic map of the 20th Tham Bien District and surrounding areas (Plan Topographicque 20 eme Arrondissement et ses environs) in 1882 and 1885 was drawn very clearly: running alongside a branching canal leading to Nhieu Loc canal; with the note "chemin vicinal" (village road). This road initially had a trail (the map drew intermittently) passing through Hoang Van Thu street, now the Tan Son Nhut (Nhat) village area, up to Hanh Thong Tay. Ten years later, when the Tan Son Nhut village area formed a number of private farms, the road was basically circled at the Dang Van Ngu - Nguyen Trong Tuyen intersection as it is today.

About Lao Hue bridge, old books recorded quite consistently:

Le Quang Dinh wrote in 1806, with a passage: "(From Diem bridge) go 347 spans (one span is about 1,825 m), both sides of the road are adjacent gardens, at the fork, the southern branch goes 1,663 spans to reach Lao Hue bridge" (Hoang Viet Nhat Thong Dia Du Chi - translated by Phan Dang - Thuan Hoa Publishing House 2005, page 293).

Trinh Hoai Duc wrote around 1820: "Binh Tri River (...) flows south about 4 miles to Phu Nhuan (bridge), 6.5 miles to Hue bridge, and is the same origin, everywhere there are scattered ponds and puddles" (Gia Dinh Thanh Thong Chi , volume Thuong - Tu Trai Nguyen Tao translated - Nha Van Hoa, Office of the Minister of State in charge of Culture - Saigon 1972, page 40).

The National History Institute of the Nguyen Dynasty wrote during the Tu Duc period, in the second half of the 19th century, in the "Gia Dinh province" section, the Son Xuyen section wrote about the Binh Tri River (Binh Tri Giang - the current Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal), recording 5 bridges, specifically (please quote the original, including spelling rules):

"In the north of Binh Duong district, 6 miles from Ben Nghe River (ie Saigon River) through Ngang Bridge (Thi Nghe Bridge?) then flowing upstream 4 miles to Cao Man Bridge (Bong Bridge), flowing northwest 2 miles to Cho Chieu Bridge (?), flowing around to the east 4 miles to Phu Nhuan Bridge (Kieu Bridge), 6 miles to Hue Kieu Bridge is the end of the line, everywhere there are scattered ponds, commonly called Hau Giang" (Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi , volume Thuong - Tu Trai Nguyen Tao translated - Culture Department, Ministry of National Education 1959).

Note: A mile used by Vietnamese in the past, some documents say 444.44 m, some documents say 576 m. A span is also not consistent, some documents say 1.825 m, some say about 2.12 m, some authors multiply and divide by 2.48 m. Therefore, the measurements are only estimates, not necessarily 100% correct. And the old Binh Duong district is not the current Binh Duong province but a district of Tan Binh district, Gia Dinh province before the French colonial period. (to be continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cay-cau-bi-an-tren-rach-nhieu-loc-thi-nghe-cay-cau-la-185250220214643569.htm