Da Nang’s Dragon Bridge dazzles tourists each weekend with fire and a spectacular water jet. The behind‑the‑scenes story shows how engineer Phan Dinh Phuong turned a one‑week deadline into a lasting attraction.

In early 2013, Phuong had just over a week to design and install the water‑spouting system for the bridge. He devised a custom hydropneumatic water‑mist solution that required a steel tank more than 3 m in diameter and over 10 m long to hold both water and compressed air.

Because no local company could build the tank, Phuong worked with a university lecturer to fabricate it, then coated the steel with heated bitumen for corrosion protection. The massive tank was moved at midnight and lifted into place beneath the bridge using two cranes.

Phuong used the city’s clean water supply to avoid river rubbish and protect visitors. A three‑piston air compressor pressurised the tank, sending a jet over 250 m that turned each cubic metre of water into roughly 1,300 cubic metres of mist.

The result was a powerful, misty water jet that has become a signature part of the bridge’s weekend shows. Phuong’s rapid, inventive engineering proves that tight deadlines can still produce safe and impressive public spectacles.