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ancient gateway on the treacherous mountain pass
Hai Van Pass is not the longest, the highest, or even the most treacherous pass, but it is perhaps one of the most unique passes in Vietnam, due to its extremely precarious location on the North-South highway.
On one side, the mountains rise majestically, on the other, the sea stretches endlessly blue: amidst the cloud-shrouded mountain pass, looking south, one sees Da Nang Bay with its curving golden sandy shores shimmering in the sunlight; looking north, one sees Lang Co Beach stretching straight ahead, dimly visible through the mist – a truly magnificent landscape.
A corner of Da Nang glows in the early morning sun.
Lang Co Beach stretches straight towards Chan May Cape.
Hai Van Pass – the gateway at the top of the mountain pass – probably dates back to the Tran Dynasty, because according to legend, the title "The most magnificent pass in the world" was bestowed upon this pass by King Le Thanh Tong when he personally led an expedition against Champa in 1470-1471, meaning the gateway at the top of Hai Van Pass existed even before that period.
Hai Van Pass summit
It was not until the Nguyen dynasty that Hai Van Pass received special attention, possibly because during the Tran and Le dynasties, the capital was located far to the north in Thang Long, while during the Nguyen dynasty, the capital Hue was not far away.
For the Nguyen Dynasty, Hai Van Pass held a particularly important position at the southern gateway to the capital city. The sturdy brick gate structures remaining on the pass summit that we see today are a remnant of the "Hai Van Defense Wall" - the southernmost defensive belt of Hue Imperial City - built by the Nguyen Dynasty in 1826.
It became the southern defensive stronghold of Hue Imperial City.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the road over the pass was not in its current location. Instead, it ran from Da Nang, passing through the Da Nang gate (the blue X on the Hai Van defensive rampart map), circling around the Hue gate (the blue Y), and then heading towards Hue.
The Hai Van defensive rampart in the early 20th century (recreated from a map in the journal *Friends of the Ancient Capital of Hue*)
In 1921, a Frenchman named H. Cosserat described the "Defensive ramparts on Hai Van Pass" in a journal.Friends of the ancient capital of Hue (BAVH) -It consists of a series of structures blocking the mountain pass road, including:
- The Da Nang Gate and the Hue Gate remain relatively intact relics to this day. (The brick layer above these two gates was built later during the war, used as a bunker to guard the mountain pass).
- Two walls blocked the ABU and VL roads; today, the BL section is the existing road surface, while the VL section and the wall connecting VL to the Hue gate still remain as relics.
- On the two walls of ABU and VL, there were artillery emplacements at positions C, D, E, F, G, H, which have now been lost.
- The curved stone wall, which enclosed the area from Da Nang Gate to Hue Gate, still retains traces of its foundations today.
- Structures P, R, Q, T, and J have completely disappeared.
The two Hai Van Pass gates: the Hue gate and the Da Nang gate.
The Da Nang Gate, facing south (towards Da Nang). The upper brick layer was constructed during the war, in a later period.
Remnants of a section of the VL wall extending from the side of Da Nang Gate towards the east.
Stone slab on the lintel of the Da Nang gate. Large inscription: "Hai Van Pass". Vertical inscription: "Built on an auspicious day in the seventh year of Minh Mang's reign" (1826).
The Hue Gate, the inner side of the defense complex (west side).
The stone slab on the eastern gate of Hue. The large inscription reads: "The most magnificent pass in the world."
The remains of a curved stone wall, encompassing the area from Da Nang Gate to Hue Gate.
It became abandoned.
According to H. Cosserat's records, in 1876, the Hai Van Pass was guarded by a troop of about 50 men under the command of a military officer. However, in early November 1885, a traveler named C. Paris noted that at Hai Van Pass there was only "a captain and 5 Annamese soldiers guarding it," and on December 15, 1885, when General Prudhomme passed through Hai Van Pass: "...reaching the top of the pass, the soldiers were exhausted and weary, and had to rest in the stone fortifications, which were defensive fortifications for the passage that had been abandoned for a long time..."
This means that the Hai Van guard post was effectively eliminated sometime between November 15, 1885, and December 15, 1885.
In the blink of an eye, more than 136 years have passed, and Hai Van Pass has fallen into disrepair.
Da Nang Gate, overlooking Da Nang Bay.
The Hue Gate and Lang Co beach are dimly visible in the north.
The bunker window on the second floor of the Da Nang gate (added later)
It is regrettable that this historical site was neglected and left to deteriorate for a very long time, until Hai Van Pass was finally recognized as a National Monument in April 2017.
On December 19, 2021, the Da Nang Department of Culture and Sports, in coordination with the Hue Ancient Citadel Relics Conservation Center, held a groundbreaking ceremony.conservation, restoration, and rehabilitation projectand promote the value of the Hai Van Pass historical site. Hopefully, from now on, this historical site will receive more attention from authorities as well as domestic and international tourists.
