Cẩm Lệ River Explained

Cầu Đỏ, Cẩm Lệ
Subdivision Type1:Country
Subdivision Name1:Vietnam
Subdivision Type2:City
Subdivision Name2:Da Nang
Source1:Confluence of Túy Loan and Yên
Source1 Location:boundary between Hòa Vang and Cẩm Lệ
Source1 Coordinates:15.9944°N 108.1619°W
Mouth:Confluence with Đò Toản to form Hàn
Mouth Location:boundary between Cẩm Lệ, Ngũ Hành Sơn, and Hải Châu
Mouth Coordinates:16.0292°N 108.2311°W
Bridges:Cầu Đỏ bridge, Cẩm Lệ bridge, Nguyễn Tri Phuong bridge, Hòa Xuân bridge

The Cầu Đỏ River (vi|sông Cầu Đỏ) or Cẩm Lệ River (vi|sông Cẩm Lệ) is a river in Da Nang, Vietnam. It is formed where the Yên and the Túy Loan join on the boundary between the districts Hòa Vang and Cẩm Lệ. Its flow mostly follows this district boundary, to finally flow between the wards Hòa Xuân and Khuê Trung of Cẩm Lệ district, to the tripoint of the districts Cẩm Lệ, Ngũ Hành Sơn, and Hải Châu, where it joins the Đò Toản to form the Hàn River.[1]

The Da Nang Water Supply Company, which supplies the city of Da Nang with freshwater, relies in big part on the Cầu Đỏ River for water intake. During the dry season, this is made difficult by saltwater intrusion, which has become worse since the construction of hydroelectric projects upstream.[2] [3]

Names

The two main names of the river are Cầu Đỏ and Cẩm Lệ. Many sources consider these to be equivalent and use either name for the entirety of the river.[4] The official names, according to the Da Nang city authorities, are Cầu Đỏ from the start of the river until Nguyễn Tri Phuong bridge (which is the part that flows along the boundary between Hòa Vang and Cẩm Lệ districts), after which the name is Cẩm Lệ until it ends in the Hàn River (which is the part that flows through Cẩm Lệ district).[1]

There is agreement that the name Cẩm Lệ comes from a fruit that was sold there, but there is disagreement on which fruit exactly: a black-skinned bitter melon[5] or a type of lychee[6] . A folk etymology traces the name to the tears (vi|lệ) shed for a girl named Cẩm.[6]

The name Cầu Đỏ means “red bridge”, and comes from the name of one of the bridges spanning the river. This bridge used to be red, but is now white.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Circular 31/2015/TT-BTNMT of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the list of residential, mountain, hydrological, economic, and social place names for the creation of a map of the Da Nang city mainland. Thuvienphapluat. 2015. 2024-10-09. vi.
  2. Web site: Da Nang City, Viet Nam. UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. 2020. 2024-11-06. 7.
  3. Web site: Nghiên cứu xây dựng phương pháp xác định dòng chảy tối thiểu – áp dụng cho hệ thống sông Vu Gia – Thu Bồn. Vietnam Academy for Water Resources. Nguyễn Thị Kim Dung. 2018. 2024-11-07.
  4. For example, this article uses the name Cẩm Lệ and considers Cầu Đỏ an alternative name: Web site: Cuộc tụ nghĩa trên sông Yên. Đà Nẵng online. 2024. 2024-11-05. vi. Lê Thí.
    This article, on the other hand, uses the name Cầu Đỏ for the stretch completely inside Cẩm Lệ district: Web site: Đà Nẵng: 410 tỷ đồng mở rộng cầu sang Khu đô thị sinh thái Hoà Xuân. Báo điện tử Đầu tư. 2021. 2024-11-05. vi. Hà Minh.
  5. Book: Văn hóa xứ Quảng – Một góc nhìn. Võ Văn Hòe. Hồ Tấn Tuấn. Lưu Anh Rô. NXB Đà Nẵng. 2007. Thử lập hồ hơ: Cẩm Lệ - Cẩm Nam – Cẩm Bắc.
  6. Web site: Xuất xứ của địa danh Cẩm Lệ. Báo Đà Nẵng. 2010. 2024-11-08.
  7. Web site: Sóng nước Đà giang - Kỳ 1: Muôn dặm sông Hàn. Báo Pháp luật. Nguyễn Quang Trung Tiến. 2010. 2024-11-08.