The iron bridge over the Khwae Yai river is Kanchanaburi's most visited landmark. The Japanese army brought the steel spans from Indonesia and Allied prisoners of war reassembled them as part of the Death Railway linking Thailand with Burma. The bridge was bombed repeatedly by Allied aircraft in 1945 — the curved replacement spans are still visible among the originals. Today the bridge is still used by local trains and is open to pedestrians; a small railway museum on the eastern approach holds WWII-vintage steam locomotives and a hybrid road-railcar from the same era. The area around the bridge is busy with riverside restaurants, souvenir shops and boat tours.
Bridge on the River Kwai
WWII Death Railway bridge, now a pedestrian landmark
A story
The bridge was made famous worldwide by Pierre Boulle's 1952 novel and David Lean's 1957 film — but both changed key facts. In the film, the British prisoners build the bridge and then blow it up. In reality, Allied POWs built the bridge under Japanese orders; it was Allied bombers who later destroyed sections of it. The curved replacement spans, visibly different from the original straight ones, mark where the bombs hit.