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Located at the peak of Khau Ca Hill, Son La City, Vietnam. Son La Prison is not only a historic landmark. It's an emblem of persistence, sacrifice, and the indestructible character of the Vietnamese people in the pursuit of their country's freedom.
Outside the prison (Source: 63Stravel)
Son La Prison was first built on 500 square meters of land by the French as a prison for common criminals. But as the Vietnamese nationalist movement gained more power, the prison became a main place to hold political prisoners. The French continued to expand the prison on several occasions and ended up expanding it to over 2,000 square meters by the 1940s.
The prison was designed to be a fortress, with walls of brick and stone, a cement roof, and stone bunks upon which the prisoners were shackled. Conditions were harsh extreme heat in the summer and cold in the winter, combined with overcrowding, created disease ridden conditions. The underground cells, which varied from one to three square meters, were the most feared, offering no respite from the bleak surroundings.
Inside the prison (Source: AirforceMuseum)
This "Hell on Earth," as it came to be known, accommodated over 1,000 political detainees between 1930 and 1945. They comprised main leaders of the Vietnamese revolutionary movement, such as Truong Chinh, Le Duan, and To Hieu. Even with the harsh treatment, the resistance spirit among the prisoners never wavered.
Another view of the prison (Source: Flickr)
Son La Prison was not just a place of torture but also a revolutionary school. The prisoners, among them many famous communist leaders, used their time in prison to prepare and plan for Vietnam's future independence. The prison was a key place of political education and revolutionary theory, where future revolutionaries would shape and eventually lead the Vietnamese struggle for freedom.
Perhaps the most famous of the prison's stories is that of To Hieu, a revolutionary who grew a peach tree in the last years of his time at the prison. The peach tree represented the unbreakable will of the Vietnamese resistance.
To Hieu Peach Tree (Source: BaoDaiDoanKet)
Their legacy lives on in the numerous exhibits staged at the Son La Prison Historical Relic site, which are testaments to the faith and bravery of Vietnamese revolutionaries. The artifacts do not only bear testimony to their struggles but also to their steadfast belief in the cause of freedom.
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Although the French colonialists attempted to destroy all traces of their crimes by bombing Son La Prison in 1952 and 1965, the spirit of Son La Prison survived. The complex was rebuilt in the 1980s and 1990s so that future generations would be able to learn about the past. Son La Prison is now a national historic relic and a hallmark of the national independence struggle.
The prison was designated a national relic in 1962, and in 2014 it was declared a special national historical relic. The name is a recognition of Son La Prison as being a focal point in Vietnam's revolutionary past and a representation of the sacrifices of numerous individuals who struggled to make the country independent.
Statues recreating prison scenes during the resistance war years (Source: VnExpress)
Son La Prison is a place of tourism for hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and foreign tourists every year. It is an educational, contemplative, and patriotic venue in which tourists can observe and learn about Vietnam's colonial past and the war of national liberation. Guided tours, which narrate the lives of the prisoners and the humiliating circumstances in which they were detained, evoke huge pride in Vietnam's revolutionary past.
The site is also preserved by the prison and local government officials who continue to upgrade and preserve the site as a living memorial to the sacrifices of the past. By maintaining the artifacts in their original form and employing modern audio visual presentations, they intend to pass on the history of Son La Prison to future generations and impart a sense of national pride and solidarity.
A tour with historical learning meaning (Source: BaoHaiQuan)
Contemporary Vietnam, Son La Prison is history and a site that teaches lessons of endurance, solidarity, and patriotism. Also this place is a red address in Vietnamese history as an educator of revolutionary traditions to generations of Vietnamese. It reminds us that even as the flesh wounds of history fade, lessons of resistance, solidarity, and sacrifice remain close to us at all times.
Prisons have great historical symbolic significance (Source: Wikipedia)
Son La Prison is not just a historic monument, a living witness to the people's resilience and indomitable will. It is where innumerable heroes resided under innumerable adversities to usher in freedom for their fatherland, as a living memory of the past and an ever encouraging proof of human power that would never be undermined. Thus, come and visit Asia King Travel today and have a great ancient experience in Son La Prison.
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