Hai Van Pass

A mountain road climbs for about 20 kilometers, clinging to slopes that push out into the sea. This is the Hải Vân Pass, and its name means "sea and clouds". At the top, the sea lies at the foot of the pass, clouds often hang halfway up the slopes, and above them the sky opens wide.

The pass is a natural boundary between two cities, each governed directly by the central government. To the south, where the climb begins, lies Da Nang. To the north, where the road leads, lies Hue. It was once the capital of the Nguyễn dynasty, Vietnam's last royal dynasty, which reigned from 1802 to 1945. The pass is also an important climate boundary. The northeast monsoon is held back here. So Da Nang stays warm all year round, while Hue can have cold winters with long spells of steady rain.

The history of this pass is tied to the most important milestone in the southward expansion of Đại Việt, an old name for Vietnam. Until the early 14th century, the land around the Hải Vân Pass still belonged to Champa. In 1306, Emperor Trần Anh Tông agreed to give Princess Huyền Trân in marriage to the king of Champa. That king was Chế Mân. As his bride price, the king offered two districts, châu Ô and châu Lý. Together they covered the land that runs today from Quảng Trị to the old Quảng Nam province, now part of Da Nang. From then on, the Hải Vân Pass lay officially within the territory of Đại Việt.

One hundred and sixty-four years later, Emperor Lê Thánh Tông personally led a great army south against Champa. The year was 1470, and he meant to bring a long war to an end. Legend says that as he crossed the Hải Vân Pass, he stood on the mountaintop and looked down at the mighty sea. He was deeply moved, and he gave the frontier gate there a name: Thiên hạ đệ nhất hùng quan. It means "the most majestic frontier gate under heaven".

In 1826, Emperor Minh Mạng ordered a major restoration of the frontier gate at the top of the pass. He was the second emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty. He wanted to make this place a defensive outpost that guarded the capital at Hue from the south. He also wanted to control the great road that ran the length of the country, from north to south. This building work is what created Hải Vân Quan as it stands today. The work left two arched stone gates, walls of rough stone blocks, and barracks for the soldiers. And it was only then that the name linked by tradition to Lê Thánh Tông, more than 300 years earlier, was carved into the stone of the gate.

Two dates are easy to confuse here. The story of Lê Thánh Tông giving the name Thiên hạ đệ nhất hùng quan in 1470 is a tradition handed down from long ago. But the characters on the stone that visitors see today were carved under the Nguyễn dynasty, in 1826. They do not date from 1470.

The summit is close now. Hải Vân Quan stands at a height of about 490 meters. From the northern gate, looking toward Hue, the view takes in Lăng Cô Bay and the Lập An Lagoon. They are among the most beautiful natural sights in central Vietnam. From the southern gate, looking toward Da Nang, the Sơn Trà Peninsula comes into view, along with the whole of Da Nang Bay, spread out wide.

Visitors today are fortunate: a major restoration of Hải Vân Quan was finished only in 2024. For many decades before that, the site was left abandoned. It sits right on the boundary between Da Nang and Hue, and that led to a dispute. Each side claimed the right to manage it, and neither formally invested in it. Only in 2021 did the two sides agree to work together. They split the cost of the restoration equally, 50 percent each. The total investment came to more than 42 billion dong. It is the first arrangement in Vietnam in which two provinces jointly manage a single heritage site. On August 1, 2024, Hải Vân Quan officially opened its doors to visitors.

In 2008, the BBC motoring show Top Gear filmed a special episode in Vietnam. Jeremy Clarkson rode an old Vespa scooter over the Hải Vân Pass and called it one of the best coast roads in the world. That line became the best-known tourism slogan of Da Nang and Hue for many years afterward.

The pass can also be crossed by train, from Da Nang up to Hue. In 2018, CNN Travel put the railway over the Hải Vân Pass on a list of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. There were 19 journeys on that list. The train runs slowly along the mountainside, looking down over the sea. It is an experience that no bus or car can offer.

This is one of the most beautiful mountain passes in Vietnam. Below, the waves of the sea break against the shore. Above, white clouds can drift in at any moment. And on the summit, Hải Vân Quan still stands, looking down on both sides. For 700 years, from the time of Princess Huyền Trân to the reign of Minh Mạng and on to the present day, the pass has kept watch in silence. It has witnessed every migration and every change along this S-shaped country.