The footbridge – the cultural life of people in the southwest of Vietnam

The footbridge is a cultural characteristic of all villages belonging to the Mekong Delta that cannot be unmistakable. The usual picture is that people pass a swinging bridge while the underneath is all water. On the footbridge, it has a lot of handrails which look very spiffy. Also, this image easily makes us associate to the monkey. Therefore, the name “cầu khỉ” in Vietnamese was born. Let’s discover some interesting information about this kind of bridge and experience crossing it once in your Vietnam tours.

1/ The footbridge – a spiritual life of southwestern people

Southwestern is a rich land which has formed a culture of water gardens with the footbridges spanning canals and rivers. The footbridge tie to agricultural life, it becomes a familiar and dear image to all people in the southwest of Vietnam. Footbridge is always imprinted in southwest people’s memories. It is considered as a unique beauty of the landscape and the daily life of people in the Mekong Delta. In the past, this rural was extremely poor but footbridge was still “faithful” to the homeland and rural people. When stepping on the footbridge, people seem to have a feeling of the lullabies from their gentle mothers in their childhoods.

Vietnam Tours: The footbridge

2/ The characteristics of the footbridge

In some geographical position, it is not convenient to use the dinghy. Therefore, local people often make some simple bridges for easily moving and the footbridge is a typical one. It is usually made of wood or tree lying on the crossing bamboo sticks and it has lots of handrails on one side to hold when moving. If footbridge is extremely familiar to countryman, on the other hand, it is a fear of urban people. The reason is that footbridge appears to be weak and unsafe.

This tricky footbridge has added a remarkable beauty to the village whose roads are separated by many rivers and canals. Neither picky nor noble, the footbridge is immersed into the life which mainly using jolly-boat. It has a task to connect the two banks to help people go through and exchange together. Every day, it brings enjoyment and happiness to all people in the village. The footbridge always has an odd arch because people take advantage of deep water for boats to carry heavy passages. Thus dividing the river into two equal parts.

Vietnam tours: The characteristics of the footbridge

3/ The value of the footbridge

Nowadays, we have a modern life, a large number of bridges in the southwest of Vietnam are gradually replaced and evolved by the ones made from iron and cement with high technique. Those innovative bridges are absolutely larger and more solid than the old ones. However, in every isle and village in the country, the footbridge still exists. Today, it is difficult to catch a picture of a boy who himself crosses the footbridge by sitting on it and moving little by little before he is skilled to control on the footbridge. Besides, people will miss the image of a rocky footbridge in folk-song, which reminds them of their past time.

Vietnam tours: The value of the footbridge