Trip Planning · Central Vietnam
Thanh Toan Bridge, Hue: Who Built It and How to Visit
The covered bridge a village woman paid for in 1776, 6 km from central Hue: its story, what to see around it, and when to go.
Thanh Toan bridge is a tile-roofed covered bridge built in 1776 by Mrs Tran Thi Dao in Thanh Toan village, 6 km (about 10 minutes by car) from central Hue. Crossing it is free, and villagers still honour her at an altar on the bridge. A morning market and a farming-tools museum sit on either side.
Table of Contents
Coming to Hue on a cruise ship? See the Hue countryside day that stops at Thanh Toan.
What is Thanh Toan bridge, and who built it?
Thanh Toan bridge is a tile-roofed covered bridge over the village canal, built in 1776 by Mrs Tran Thi Dao so that the people of Thanh Toan could cross it. She was a woman of the village’s Tran family, a sixth-generation descendant of one of the twelve founders of Thanh Toan village.
Her husband was a mandarin appointed by the Le court to govern three districts around Hue, after the army of the Trinh lords from the north took the city in early 1775. She had no children of her own, and she paid for the bridge herself. A royal decree of King Le Hien Tong, dated 1776, praises her virtue and records that, thanks to her, the king freed the villagers from taxes and labour duties.
In 1925 Emperor Khai Dinh granted her a royal title. She is honoured at an altar in the middle compartment of the bridge and at the Tran family temple nearby. The village holds her memorial rite every year on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, the anniversary of her death.
Where is Thanh Toan bridge, and how do you get there from Hue?
The bridge is in Thanh Toan village, Thanh Thuy ward, 6 km from central Hue, about 10 minutes by car. Older maps and many websites still give the address as Thuy Thanh commune, Huong Thuy town: that is the same village under its former name.
By car or taxi. There is a car park right beside the bridge; from there you walk across the bridge to the village market. No taxis or Grab ride-hailing cars wait in Thanh Toan, so agree the return trip with your taxi driver before you set off and ask them to wait for you.
By bicycle. The ride is easy: 6 km along a fairly wide road that now links central Hue with the village.
Thanh Toan bridge at a glance (as of 2026)
| Location | Thanh Toan village, Thanh Thuy ward, Hue (formerly Thuy Thanh commune, Huong Thuy town) |
| From central Hue | 6 km, about 10 minutes by car |
| From An Bang cemetery | About 40 minutes’ drive |
| Built | 1776, by Mrs Tran Thi Dao |
| Size | About 17 m long and 4 m wide, seven compartments |
| Crossing the bridge | Free |
| Opening hours | None: the bridge is the village’s everyday community space |
| Farming-tools museum | 20,000 VND (about US$0.80 / €0.65) per person |
| Morning market | South side of the bridge, every day from early morning |
| Night market | Only around Tet, the Lunar New Year |
| Time needed | At least an hour |
| Rain season | October to December; the bridge is roofed and the museum is indoors |
What should you look at on the bridge itself?
Start with what the bridge was for: it was built not only to cross the canal but as a place where farmers coming back from the fields could rest, eat lunch or even lie down before going back to work. That is where our guides begin when they stand on the bridge with guests.
The style is called thuong gia ha kieu, “house above a bridge”: a roofed building set on the span itself. It is about 17 m long and 4 m wide, divided into seven compartments, under a roof of glazed pipe tiles. On the ridge, two dragons flank a sun, and Mrs Dao’s altar stands in the middle compartment. A typhoon destroyed the bridge in 1904; it was rebuilt in 1906 and most recently restored in 2020.
Thanh Toan bridge is not the Japanese Covered Bridge in Hoi An. It is smaller, and it was built many years after the Hoi An bridge. What gives it historical weight is its date: it is one of the few landmarks built in the Hue area under Le rule, which is why historians take an interest in it.
What else is there in Thanh Toan village?
Around the bridge you will find a morning market, a small farming-tools museum, rice fields and a number of family temples.
The market. On the south side of the bridge is an ordinary country market, like village markets all over Vietnam. Villagers shop very early so they can get to the fields afterwards, so it starts early and is held every day. The night market is held only around Tet, the Lunar New Year, not every week.
The farming-tools museum. On the north side, a small museum is looked after by a villager chosen by the village; entry is 20,000 VND (about US$0.80 / €0.65) per person. It shows the tools of a farming household, from the things used every day at home to the implements used in the fields, and village women demonstrate pounding and husking rice by hand.
The family temples. Thanh Toan has several family temples, including the Tran family temple where Mrs Dao is honoured. Each one is looked after by a member of the family, and the gates are usually locked, so you see them from the lane rather than inside.
Is Thanh Toan bridge worth visiting, and when should you go?
Yes, if you would like an hour of quiet village life: the bridge, the market and the museum take at least an hour, and you can walk on along the small lanes through the village to see how people live.
The prettiest times are the two rice harvests, around May and around October, when the road from the city runs past fields of ripe rice. The best time of day is early morning, while the market is on.
October to December is Hue’s rain season. It does not rain all month, and there are plenty of fine days in these months. If the fields around the village do flood, the bridge stays dry under its roof and the museum is indoors. Floods are also part of the village’s story: our guides often take guests to the flood gauge at the bridge, which shows that in the great flood of 1999 the water rose above head height, more than 2 m.
How does Thanh Toan fit into a day in Hue?
From central Hue it is a 10-minute drive and an hour’s visit, so it fits easily into a morning.
From a cruise ship at Chan May port, Thanh Toan is the second stop on our countryside day: 45 minutes from the port to An Bang cemetery, then about 40 minutes on to the bridge, with lunch and the Imperial City still to come. If the fields are flooded, your guide keeps the bridge and the museum and gives the extra time to the Imperial City. For how a whole port day works against the clock, see our guide to a Hue shore excursion from Chan May, or see the Hue countryside day that stops at Thanh Toan.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an entrance fee at Thanh Toan bridge?
No. Crossing the bridge is free and there are no opening hours: it is the village’s everyday community space. You pay only for the farming-tools museum: 20,000 VND (about US$0.80 / €0.65) per person.
Is there a night market at Thanh Toan bridge?
Only around Tet, the Lunar New Year. The rest of the year the village has a morning market, which starts early every day.
Is Thanh Toan within cycling distance of Hue?
Yes. It is 6 km from central Hue along a fairly wide, easy road. If you cycle out and want a ride back, arrange it before you leave: no taxis or Grab cars wait in the village.
How long should you spend at Thanh Toan?
Allow at least an hour for the bridge, the market and the museum, and longer if you want to walk the village lanes.
If you are coming to Hue on a cruise ship and would like a licensed guide at Thanh Toan to tell you Mrs Dao’s story on the bridge itself and explain village life, customs and daily routines in the rice country of central Vietnam, the village is part of our countryside shore excursion, with lunch and all tickets included. See the Hue countryside day that stops at Thanh Toan.
This article is part of our guide to whether Hue is worth visiting.
Written from years of guiding in and around Hue. Distances are our own measurements; the bridge’s story is told as Thanh Toan village tells it. Currency conversion: Vietcombank selling rate, 23 September 2026. Last checked: September 2026.
