Despite ban, a large number of people have flocked to Hanoi's Nhat Tan Bridge on its opening day, January 4, to take photos of Vietnam's longest cable-stayed bridge.

Not only people from nearby communes of Vinh Ngoc and Nam Hong in Dong Anh District visited the bridge, many visitors from as far as Phu Tho Province also came. A long line of motorbikes and cars were parked along the bridge while drivers got out to snap some photos.

Even though many vehicles were running on high speed, some visitors still went to the middle of the lanes to pose. Street vendors and balloon sellers also walked out on the lanes to find customers.

Since the bridge does not have a thick traffic flow and police presence, many motorbike riders took this chance to leave helmets at home or ran on wrong lanes.

Nhat Tan Bridge was opened to traffic on January 4. The new six-lane highway crosses the Red River and helps reducing the time travel from Hanoi to Noi Bai International Airport and other neighbouring industrial zones. Construction of the bridge started in March 2009 at a total cost of 13.6 trillion VND (639.2 million USD). The project is funded by a Japan International Cooperation Agency ODA loan.

Some photos of the Nhat Tan Bridge on its opening day:

An overview of Nhat Tan Bridge

Drivers parked vehicles along the bridge to take photographs

Many visitors came to take photos of newly-opened bridge

Many people Illegally crossed streets to get on the bridge