Exploring Hoa Lo Prison - 'Hell on Earth'

The Hoa Lo Prison historical site is located at No. 1 Hoa Lo Street, Tran Hung Dao Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi City. The site is a clear testament to a period of arduous and difficult history, and the indomitable and resilient spirit of patriotic Vietnamese people.

I am Nguyen Long - a final year student at the Academy of Journalism and Communication. Although I was born and raised in Hanoi, I have never had the opportunity to visit Hoa Lo Prison. Today, taking advantage of my holiday, I decided to come here to experience it.

Right outside the prison is the ticket office and free parking. The daily admission fee is 30,000 VND/person. In addition, there are other special cases where admission is discounted or free.

To have the most complete experience, I rented a tour guide for 50,000 VND/unit. When we go to each room, exhibition location, just press the corresponding button, the machine will play content related to that location so that visitors can better understand what they are seeing.

In addition to information about each historical figure, exhibit, area or room, the narrator also plays quotes from people who were in this prison, making everything more vivid.

Unlike the outside, when we enter the area inside the prison, the light is quite dim, creating a very real feeling of an old prison. However, the dim light will help visitors focus more on the exhibits.

When first built, Hoa Lo Prison covered an area of ​​12,000 square meters. Today, the prison only has an area of ​​about 2,434 square meters remaining, preserved as a relic site, serving the needs of visitors.

While listening to the narration inside the machine and seeing each object and each simulation model with our own eyes, we are even more impressed by the will and spirit of the revolutionary soldiers who were imprisoned in this prison.

Prisoners' clothes, food and drink containers, chains, etc. are displayed in the prison space.

Depending on the time, the number of visitors is more or less. However, when entering the prison space, everyone is conscious of keeping quiet.

If there is no audio guide, visitors can read information about the place they are standing and the objects they see through the signs attached right next to them.

The models simulate the conditions of revolutionary soldiers when living in prison. Honestly, many times I got “goosebumps” when standing in this space, seeing the simulated images, as well as listening to the explanations.

The revolutionaries were imprisoned in a dark dungeon with no light, chained and locked. Every day they suffered torture from the enemy, a miserable diet, and illness...

Truly, listening and standing in this space, I admire their spirit even more - the steadfast revolutionary soldiers.

The area displays the equipment and pilot suits of American pilots shot down by the army and people of the North, then captured and imprisoned at Hoa Lo prison.

During the tour of prisons and dungeons, visitors can also admire the hundred-year-old banyan tree - which is also associated with the lives of many revolutionary soldiers.

There are many exhibition spaces within the prison area.

Due to lack of time, I was not able to visit all the places inside the prison today. I lit an incense stick at the memorial of the heroic martyrs, then ended my experience.

The journey has brought me a lot of emotions. There is nothing more authentic than the feeling of coming to a place and experiencing it yourself. I will definitely come back here one day soon to experience all the places that I have not been able to go to. During this holiday, Hoa Lo Prison can absolutely be an ideal destination for domestic and foreign tourists to visit and experience.