VietNamNet Bridge – After a sweaty five years of construction, Hai Van Tunnel, the longest tunnel in Southeast Asia, started operating in 2005.

Gotta dig it: A scene from Hai Van Quan Melody, which documents the Hai Van Tunnel's construction.

For two of those years, filmmakers at Television Film Studio were also working away to complete the production of Hai Van Quan Melody, a 40-minute documentary, officially released last Wednesday, about the building of the tunnel.

The two-episode documentary reveals the hardship and danger that builders faced while conquering Hai Van Mountain Pass to create the tunnel, now an important cog in the country's economic wheel.

Beginning with the early history of the paved road over the Hai Van mountains, the documentary eventually leads viewers to the steep 22km section of National Highway 1 in the 20th century, lying between the two cities of Da Nang and Hue in central Vietnam.

Although the road has been a major artery of national transportation for centuries, its hairpin turns create a bottleneck in the South-North Expressway and a nightmare for drivers in bad weather.

Hence, the Government in 1998 decided to launch the US$251mil project to upgrade the function of that artery, expecting lucrative economic returns on the safer transport road, once completed.

After countless headaches and delays caused by the mountain's topography and the complex nature of the rock, a 6.274m-long main tunnel was constructed parallel to the one used for emergencies and maintenance.

The documentary highlights the role of the young Vietnamese staff who played a key role in the battle against nature to master the mountains of Hai Van.

Writer Nguyen Khac Phuc praises the film for the historical record it provides.

"After watching the documentary, I feel really moved and want to thank filmmakers for the innovative idea of recording this historical event for future generations.

Without this film, we may never have known about the hardship and hazards that construction workers faced to cut the driving time through the Hai Van Pass from one hour to less than 10 minutes."

(Source: Viet Nam News)