Long Bien Bridge was designed by the French and constructed from 1898 to 1902. It was called Paul-Doumer Bridge, named after Paul Doumer – The Governor-General of French Indochina.
As more and more couples have started going to the bridge for dates, they left love locks and graffiti on the bridge similar to the old love locks on the Pont de L’Archevêché in France.
Many people carved the date or wrote their names on the locks.
Hundreds of couples locked their loves on the bridge each year. In 2017, the local authorities had to remove all the locks in order to preserve the bridge and to prevent the barriers from becoming rusty and potentially collapsing due to metal fatigue but new locks still appeared afterwards.
Many people agree that it is a romantic gesture but shouldn’t be practised anymore since it will damage the bridge.
Some photos of the bridge:
