The Bến Hải River () is a river in central

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

which became an important landmark in the partition of the country into a northern and a southern zone along the 17th parallel by the Geneva Accords of 1954 then ended in 1976. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two parts extended about from either side of the river.

Geography

The Bến Hải River has a total length of about 100 kilometers; its source is located in the Annamite Mountains along the border with

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

and it flows into the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

at Cua Tung (Tung River mouth). In the mountains, the river is named "Rao Thanh". It flows from west to east just south of the 17th parallel and close to the northern border of Quảng Trị Province, in which it is located. At its widest point, the river is about 200 meters wide.

Recent history

At the time of the partition 1954, the principal north-south road (Highway 1) crossed the Bến Hải River over Hien Luong Bridge (also known as the "Peace Bridge"), a beam bridge built from steel by the French in 1950. After the partition, the northern portion of the bridge was painted red and the southern portion yellow. The bridge was damaged by American bombardment during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

in 1967. U.S. jets destroyed the bridge on 5 April 1972 in order to delay invading North Vietnamese forces during the

Easter Offensive The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive (') by North Vietnam, or the Red Fiery Summer (') as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN, t ...

. After the Paris Peace Accords, a modern bridge was built next to the old bridge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Hai River Vietnam War sites Rivers of Quảng Trị province Borders of Vietnam Rivers of Vietnam