Rach Mieu Cable-Stayed Bridge

There's something that sets this Rach Mieu Bridge apart from the rest. When you stand on the bridge and look out over the South Sea, you'll notice the four islets of Ben Tre: Long (Dragon), Lan (Unicorn), Quy (Turtle), and Phung (Phoenix) converge on the mighty river. "Tu Linh," or "The Four Holy Beasts of Vietnam," is the name given to this concept. Each islet has its own characteristics and subtleties, resulting in a spectacularly vibrant environment.

The Rach Mieu Bridge is 8,331 meters long, including the roadways that link to it. The main bridge is 2,868 meters long and consists of three bridges: The first bridge is a three-span cable-stayed structure: The 117m-270m-117m pace in Tien Giang Province spans the Thoi Son Island and has a vertical clearance of 37,5 meters (Lan Islet). The 990m long bridge (no. 2 and no. 3) is made up of two 90m long spans with a pre-stressed concrete girder construction built using the cast-in-situ process. Each span is 40 meters long in total. It's in the province of Ben Tre.

The bridge's entire width is 12 meters, but the cable-stayed portion is 15 meters, allowing for four traffic lanes: two for vehicles and two for motorcyclists. There is also a lane designated for walkers. The bridge carries a load of around 30 tons. The Ministry of Transport staged a groundbreaking ceremony for the Rach Mieu Bridge on April 30, 2002. Rach Mieu Bridge was eventually opened on January 19, 2009, after six years of challenges and scandals.

After going across all of the cable-stayed bridges, Rach Mieu Bridge leads to Lan Islet (Unicorn Islet), also known as Thoi Son Islet, in the north. Among the four holy beasts, Thoi Son Islet has the four best: the oldest, largest, most marvelous, and harmonious. Thoi Son Islet's history is also the most glorious. Each garden and canal here is said to commemorate the victory of Hero Nguyen Hue, who defeated 5,000 Siamese soldiers. Then, in the twentieth century, during the Vietnam War, this site witnessed yet another legendary victory of "the patriots over the American Empire."

Phung Islet (Phoenix Islet), also known as Tan Vinh Islet, is close to Lan Islet and is home to the Coconut religion, which was discovered by the coconut monk Nguyen Thanh Nam in the 1960s. Only Lan Islet and Phung Islet have "Don Ca Tai Tu" performances among the Four Holy Beasts (an instrumental and vocal traditional Southern music). The two extremities of Lan and Phung Islets point toward Rong Islet (Dragon Islet), also known as Tan Long Islet, which is located on the other side of the Tien River. Tan Long Islet was formed thousands of years ago, but it was only reclaimed a century ago.

People from Ben Tre came here to avoid being bombed during the war. Tan Long is now an administrative unit of Tien Giang's My Tho city. Quy Islet is the Four Holy Beasts' youngest "brother." In the 1960s of the twentieth century, it was reclaimed. As a result, the Quy islet retains its pure charm and attracts a large number of tourists. The Rach Mieu Bridge has been formally opened, removing the long distance between Ben Tre and the river. That is the prerequisite for Ben Tre's successful development. Ben Tre will become an ideal city only if the motorway connecting Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta is improved.