The Golden Bridge (Cầu Vàng) isn’t just a stunning feat of design—it’s steeped in powerful symbolism and imaginative storytelling. At the heart of its charm are the two colossal stone hands that appear to lift the shimmering golden walkway skyward.

But what’s the story behind these mysterious hands?

🌿 Designed to Look Ancient, But Entirely Modern

Though they look like remnants of an ancient civilization—weathered, moss-covered, and timeworn—the truth is that the hands were constructed in 2017 using steel framework covered in fibreglass and mesh, then hand-painted and textured to resemble aged stone.

The goal was not to fool anyone into thinking they were actual relics, but to evoke a sense of timelessness and myth, as if the bridge were being gently held aloft by “the hands of the gods.”

🧙 Symbolism: The Hands of the Mountain God

The design, by Vietnamese firm TA Landscape Architecture, was deeply inspired by Vietnamese mythology and the surrounding natural environment. The hands are said to represent the “mountain god” or a guardian spirit, cradling a golden thread of silk—the bridge itself—and offering it to the people and visitors below.

This narrative ties into ancient Vietnamese legends where deities and spiritual figures shape the landscape and guide humans through the mountains and forests.

The idea is poetic:

“The god’s hands lift a golden ribbon out from the land, offering a path through the clouds.”

🛤 A Bridge Between Worlds

The concept also draws from the notion of connecting heaven and earth, both literally and symbolically:

• Literally, the bridge hovers at 1,400 meters above sea level, often above the clouds.

• Symbolically, it’s a transition space—linking the earthly realm (the cable car station) to the French Village, a fantasy world atop the mountain, with its European-style architecture and gardens.

The bridge becomes more than just a structure—it becomes a gateway, a journey, and a spiritual metaphor for transcendence.

🎨 Artistic Vision, Vietnamese Soul

The project’s lead designer, Vu Viet Anh, said in interviews that the goal was to create something that looked like a “ruin from a forgotten time,” something that belonged both to nature and to legend.

“We wanted to evoke the image of the hands of God, pulling a strip of gold out of the land.”
– Vu Viet Anh, TA Landscape Architecture