The 'mysterious' bridge over the Nhieu Loc canal.

According to Tran Van Hoc's 1815 map, compared with the current site, the bridge is located approximately midway between two 90-degree bends at the headwaters of the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal (Ho Chi Minh City), specifically the bend from the Bung Binh canal (now Rach Bung Binh road) to the bends of bridges number 4 and 5 today.

More specifically, this bridge appears to be located between bridges number 6 and 7; in between is the railway bridge leading to Saigon (Hoa Hung) train station. The railway tracks are now part of alley 115 leading to Le Van Sy street, which is railway gate number 6.

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

It's rather "strange" because historical records and old maps don't record any bridge at this location, even though the military general and city governor Tran Van Hoc drew this map using the scientific methods of the West at that time, and it was quite accurate. At that time, surveying tools were very limited, and Saigon was still a relatively undeveloped area.

The name Lão Hòa is also an "unusual" bridge name, causing confusion among many interested people, including the erudite researcher Nguyễn Đình Đầu. In his book *A Brief History of Saigon from the 17th Century to the French Invasion* (1859) (Youth Publishing House - 2023), page 65, he wrote: "On the map drawn by Trần Văn Học in 1815, there is a mark indicating the old rampart , also known as 'Bán Bích ancient rampart', the details are exactly as described by Trịnh Hoài Đức, the only difference is that the bridge Lão Huệ is recorded as Lão Hòa bridge." And he also wondered: "I don't know which side is correct, or perhaps there was a name change."

In 1882, the 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 leading to Bong bridge, Kieu bridge, and Nhieu Loc bridge" ( Gia Dinh Bay Landscape - Tre Publishing House 2023, page 19). Was the Lao Hoa/Lao Hue/(Hue) bridge later called Nhieu Loc bridge?

The location of Lao Hoa Bridge on the 1815 Gia Dinh map drawn by Tran Van Hoc, annotated by Nguyen Dinh Dau.

The name Nhieu Loc Bridge was recorded at the beginning of the French colonial period. A map of "land subdivisions" published with an announcement in the Courrier de Saigon on May 10, 1864, indicated a bridge crossing a dirt road (now Dang Van Ngu Street) outside the planned Bao Ngan canal. This location was numbered 34 and clearly noted (verbatim): "Nhieu Loc Bridge (near Chi Hoa Fort): Nhieu Loc Bridge (near Chi Hoa Fort)". This fort was located at one of the two pointed corners of the Chi Hoa main gate area that we all know.

Also on the 1815 map, there is a road running across the bridge, heading northeast (Phu Nhuan) to southwest (Thien Ly Road, now Cach Mang Thang Tam Road). This road is clearly depicted in the topographic maps of the 20th District and surrounding areas (Plan Topographicque 20 eme Arrondissement et ses environs) from 1882 and 1885: running alongside a branch canal that flows into the Nhieu Loc canal; with the note "chemin vicinal" (village road). Initially, this road also included a section of footpath (drawn intermittently on the map) passing through what is now Hoang Van Thu Street in the Tan Son Nhat village area up to Hanh Thong Tay. A decade later, when several private farms were established in the Tan Son Nhat village area, the road was essentially demarcated at the intersection of Dang Van Ngu and Nguyen Trong Tuyen streets as it is today.

Regarding the Lao Hue bridge, ancient texts provide fairly consistent accounts:

Le Quang Dinh wrote in 1806, with the following passage: "(From Diem Bridge) 347 fathoms (one fathom is about 1,825 m), both sides of the road are lined with gardens, at the fork in the road, the southern branch goes 1,663 fathoms 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: "The Binh Tri River (...) flows south for about 4 miles to Phu Nhuan Bridge, 6 and a half miles to Hue Bridge, that's the origin, everywhere there are scattered ponds and pools" (Gia Dinh Thanh Thong Chi , Volume Upper - translated by Tu Trai Nguyen Tao - Department of Culture, Office of the Minister of Culture - Saigon 1972, page 40).

The National History Institute of the Nguyen Dynasty, during the reign of Emperor Tu Duc, in the latter half of the 19th century, in the section on "Gia Dinh Province," under the heading "Mountains and Rivers," wrote about the Binh Tri River (Binh Tri Giang - now the Nhieu Loc - Thi Nghe canal), noting five bridges, specifically (please note the original text, including spelling conventions):

"In the north of Binh Duong district, 6 miles from the Ben Nghe River (i.e., the Saigon River), passing the Ngang Bridge (Thi Nghe Bridge?), then flowing upstream 4 miles to the Cao Man Bridge (Bong Bridge), flowing northwest 2 miles to the Cho Chieu Bridge (?), flowing around east 4 miles to the Phu Nhuan Bridge (Kieu Bridge), 6 miles to the Hue Kieu Bridge, this is the original point, everywhere there are scattered ponds and pools, popularly called Hau Giang" (Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi , Volume Upper - translated by Tu Trai Nguyen Tao - Department of Culture, Ministry of National Education 1959).

Note: The Vietnamese term for a mile used in the past varies; some sources say 444.44 meters, while others say 576 meters. The term "tường" (a unit of measurement) is also inconsistent; some sources state 1.825 meters, others say approximately 2.12 meters, and some authors use a calculation of 2.48 meters. Therefore, these measurements are only estimates and not necessarily 100% accurate. Furthermore, the old Binh Duong district was not the current Binh Duong province, but a district belonging to Tan Binh prefecture, 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