Japanese Covered Bridge (Chua Cau)

The Japanese Covered Bridge, known in Vietnamese as Chua Cau or the Pagoda Bridge, is the emblem of Hoi An and appears on the 20,000 dong banknote. It spans a small stream that flows into the Thu Bon River, on the line where Tran Phu Street becomes Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street. The Vietnamese name Chua Cau translates as Buddhist Temple Bridge, a reference to the small shrine built onto it.

Japanese merchants began building the bridge in 1593 and completed it in 1595. In 1653 Japanese residents added a temple on the bridge, at its northern end, with the entrance in the middle of the span overlooking the water. Local legend connects the temple with Namazu, the monster believed to cause earthquakes, and statues of a monkey and a dog at the ends of the bridge represent the gods said to keep it in check. In 1719 Lord Nguyen Phuc Chu gave the bridge the name Lai Vien Kieu, meaning a bridge to welcome guests from afar, and those characters still appear at the entrance.

The structure is modest in size, about 18 metres long and 3 metres wide, with a timber frame under three linked roofs, porcelain bowls on the tile ends and Chinese-character inscriptions throughout. It has been renovated several times, including in 1817, 1865, 1915 and 1986, and over the centuries Vietnamese and Chinese elements gradually replaced some of the original Japanese ones. The temple was historically dedicated to Tran Vu, with a festival on the 20th day of the seventh lunar month.

The most recent restoration began on 28 December 2022 and was completed at the end of July 2024, with an inauguration ceremony on 3 August 2024. The work included surveys, archive research and 3D digitising of the structure, and the conservation centre reports that nearly 60 per cent of the original wood and around 80 per cent of the old decorative plates were kept and reused. Original timbers kept their natural colour, while replaced or reinforced parts were given only a colourless preservative.

Crossing the bridge is one of the two headline options on the Ancient Town ticket, alongside Quan Cong Temple. The bridge is small, so a crossing takes only a few minutes; take time to look at the inscriptions, the roof decoration and the statues at each end before moving on. It sits at the western end of Tran Phu Street, so it combines naturally with the assembly halls and the Museum of Trade Ceramics further along the same street.