Oversized and weathered, the concrete hands that stretch Vietnam's new Golden Bridge away from the Ba Na hills are a stunning sight to behold. That's just the point, according to principle designer Vu Viet Anh, who aimed to invoke the sensation of walking along a thread stretching through the hands of God.
Designed by Ho Chi Minh City-based TA Landscape Architecture, the Cau Vang, which translates to gold bridge, is meant to attract more tourists to an already popular destination. Ba Na Hills, a resort originally built by French colonists in the 1919, already features the longest single-track cable car in the world, a replica French medieval village with a faux castle, a wax museum, and the painstakingly manicured Thien Thai gardens that the bridge extends through.
The 490-foot-long, eight-section pedestrian walkway brings visitors past purple chrysanthemums on one side and seemingly cantilevers 4,600 feet above sea level over the cable car and hill country below for far-reaching views on the other side.
By weathering the pair of hands, the bridge’s creators tried to give the new installation a sense of history, contrasting with the modern, golden thread that goes through the stone. Designers have a second bridge in the planning, this one a silver strand of God’s hair to connect with the gold already shimmering through the hills.
Source: AFP
Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.
