Hanoi's world-record ceramic road bursts at the seams

By Ngoc Thanh June 9, 2020 | 03:23 am PT

Completed in 2010 to mark the capital's millennium anniversary, "Ceramic Road" is being partly destroyed to help decongest traffic flow.

A schoolboy walks past a section of the Hanoi’s iconic, Guinness record holding Ceramic Road.The road, also known as Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural, spans almost 4,000 meters through Tay Ho, Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem and Hai Ba Trung districts. The mural entailed multiple paintings on various themes, made from ceramic tiles embedded on the walls of the Red River dike system.Construction began in 2008 and finished in 2010, in time for the capital’s 1,000th anniversary. Since early June, over 600 m of ceramic mosaics along the road have been demolished for a project to widen the road to ease traffic jam.

A schoolboy walks past a section of Hanoi’s iconic, Guinness record holding "Ceramic Road" that spans almost 4,000 m through Tay Ho, Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem and Hai Ba Trung Districts.
The mural includes paintings on various themes, made from ceramic tiles embedded along the walls of the Red River dike system.
Construction began in 2008 and finished in 2010, in time for the capital’s 1,000th anniversary. Since early June, over 600 m of ceramic mosaics have been demolished for a project to widen the road and ease traffic congestion.

The demolition is to serve the expansion of Au Co Street, which is part of the second phase to build an overpass at the An Duong-Thanh Nien junction, which spans 3.7 km, to relieve congestion in Ba Dinh and Tay Ho districts. The project will expand the dike’s surface and replace part of the soil dike with reinforced concrete walls.

Demolition is to serve expansion of Au Co Street, as part of the second phase in building an overpass at the An Duong-Thanh Nien junction, which spans 3.7 km, to relieve traffic congestion in Ba Dinh and Tay Ho Districts. The project will expand the dike’s surface and replace part of the soil dike with reinforced concrete walls.

The construction unit has dug more than five meters deep into the ground to bury iron piles for reinforcement for the project, which does not just aims at solving traffic congestion in this area but strengthening dikes, ensuring flood prevention.

The construction unit has dug over five meters down into the ground to bury iron piles for reinforcement to ensure adequate flood prevention.

Part of the construction site seen from above.

The mosaic wall mural is made from ceramic tesserae which are products of Bat Trang, a Hanoi’s village famous for its traditional pottery that has lasted seven centuries and is still going strong. The content of the mosaic represents the decorative pattern from different periods in the history of Vietnam. Also incorporated on the wall are modern art works, paintings of Hanoi, and childrens drawings.

The mosaic wall mural is made from ceramic tesserae from Bat Trang, famous for its centuries old traditional pottery.
The mosaic represents decorative patterns from various historic periods in Vietnam. Also incorporated on the wall are modern art works, paintings of Hanoi, and children's drawings.

World-record ceramic road marking Hanoi’s 1,000th anniversary under demolition - 12

The millennial anniversary of Hanoi was celebrated for 10 days in October of 2010 to mark the foundation of the capital, initially named Thang Long (Ascending Dragon) by King Ly Thai To.

Running from Au Co Street in Tay Ho District to the address of 1059 Hong Ha Street in Hoan Kiem District. Participating in the work of decoration are not only Vietnamese artists but also foreign embassies and culture centers in Hanoi such as the Goethe-Institut, Alliance française Lespace, British Council, Società Dante Alighieri Dalte Centre, and other cultural centers of Russia and South Korea.

The mural runs from Au Co Street in Tay Ho District to 1059 Hong Ha Street in Hoan Kiem District. Artists participating in the project included not only Vietnamese but also foreign embassies and culture centers representing France, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Korea and the U.K.