Hai Van Pass, Vietnam – The Pass of The World’s Top 10 Greatest Cycling Routes in 2010
Hai Van Pass, Vietnam – The Pass of The World’s Top 10 Greatest Cycling Routes in 2010
Lonely Planet Guide Book has listed the drive from Danang to Hue is one of The World’s top 10 Greatest Cycling Routes in 2010. No doubt. On the top of Hai Van Pass, the pass on the route of Danang – Hue, on fine days, there is a breathtaking scenic of turquoise waters and green mountains.
Hai Van Mountain after the noon rain
Hai Van Pass
Wikipedia
The twisting road on the pass has long been a challenge for drivers traveling between the cities of Huế and Đà Nẵng. Since the completion of Hai Van Tunnel, traffic flow and safety have improved.[1] The pass has been the scene of at least two of Vietnam’s most serious rail accidents, and at least one air crash.
Overview
Hai Van Summer Haze, Stunning view from Sontra, Hai Sontra
The Hai Van Pass crosses over a spur of the Truong Son (Annamite) Range that emerges from the west and juts into the South China Sea, forming the Hai Van Peninsula and the adjoining Son Tra Island. The pass, which once formed the boundary between the kingdoms of Dai Viet and Champa, also forms a boundary between the climates of northern and southern Vietnam, sheltering the city of Da Nang from the “Chinese winds” that blow in from the northwest. During the winter months (November–March), for instance, weather on the north side of the pass might be wet and cold, while the south side might be warm and dry.
The pass is renowned for its scenic beauty.Presenter Jeremy Clarkson, host of the BBC motoring programme Top Gear, featured the pass during the show’s 2008 Vietnam Special, calling the road “a deserted ribbon of perfection—one of the best coast roads in the world.”
History
Hai Van Pass has been of major strategic importance in this history of Vietnam, and for a long time represented a major barrier to any land army that attempted to move between the northern and central regions of the country.
In the middle of the 1st century, the Chinese general Ma Yuan (Mã Viện), after pacifying northern Vietnam, advanced south and established the southern border of the Han (Hán) empire by setting up columns of bronze, possibly at Hai Van. Ma Yuan also left behind some Chinese military families to hold the frontier. When the Han Empire collapsed at the end of the 2nd century, the local kingdom of Linyi (Lâm Ấp), the predecessor to the medieval polity of Champa, was created by a petty frontier bureaucrat of the Han administration, probably in the area of modern Hue (Huế) somewhat to the North.
Transport
The pass is crossed by two main transport routes: Vietnam’s main north–south highway, National Road 1A, and the North–South Railway. The road crosses over the mountain more or less directly, climbing to an elevation of 496 m (1,627 ft) and passing south of the 1,172 m (3,845 ft) high Ai Van Son peak, while the railway hugs the coastline more closely, passing through a series of tunnels along the way. Since its opening in 2005, the Hai Van Tunnel—the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia—offers an alternative road across the pass, reducing travel times by at least an hour.
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