Hai Van Pass
| Hai Van Pass | |||
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 View from the pass towards Lăng Cô . The remains of a bunker are visible in the foreground. |
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| Compass direction | north | south | |
| Pass height | 496 m | ||
| province | Thừa Thiên-Huế | Đà Nẵng | |
| expansion | Pass road | ||
| Map (Vietnam) | |||
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| Coordinates | 16 ° 11 '15 " N , 108 ° 7' 51" E | ||
The Hai Van or Cloud Pass ( viet. Đèo Hải Vân , French Col des Nuages ) forms the natural border and weather divide between North and South Vietnam . It is approx. 20 km long, reaches a height of 496 meters and leads over the foothills of the Truong Son Mountains, which extend to the sea. From the highest point there is a panoramic view over the ocean, to Da Nang and the Son Tra peninsula . But the pass is often shrouded in clouds.
National Road 1 runs over the pass . Since 2005, the extremely important traffic connection has been relieved by the 6.3 km long Hai Van tunnel . The Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City railway line then crosses the pass.
history
Historically, the pass was the border between the Champa and Dai Viet kingdoms .
Due to its high strategic importance, this place was also heavily fought over during the Indochina War . When on June 24, 1953 a train hauled by two locomotives drove onto an arched bridge, the Viet Minh blew up a bridge segment. Both locomotives and 18 wagons fell almost 20 meters. More than 100 people died.
The pass was also hotly contested in the Vietnam War . At the top of the pass there are ruins of French and American bunkers.
Today the border between the province of Thừa Thiên-Huế and the city of Đà Nẵng runs along the pass .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ "Indochina Rail Crash Kills 100". In: Playground News (Fort Walton Beach, Florida) of June 25, 1953. Volume 8, No. 22, p. 8.