Sacred Night – Unbroken Vietnamese Spirit: A Prisoner’s Life in Hoa Lo

Located at address 1 Hoa Lo Street, Tran Hung Dao Ward, Hoan Kiem District (Ha Noi), Hoa Lo Prison Relic was known before as “hell on earth” right in the heart of Ha Noi. Coming to Hoa Lo Prison Relic, visitors will have a chance to experience the images recreating the scene where political prisoners were tortured. This place is a clear testament to the indomitable and resilient spirit of the patriotic Vietnamese people. The relic site still stands in Hanoi today, attracting many tourists to visit.

The French erected Hoa Lo jail in 1896 to house thousands of Vietnamese patriots and revolutionary soldiers. Recently, Hoa Lo Prison Relic has gotten a lot of support and attention from all types of visitors, particularly young people who come to learn about the nation’s historical past. Relic has innovated in its communication activities, reaching out to the public, particularly young people, via Facebook and the official fan page. The fan page “Di tich Nha tu Hoa Lo – Hoa Lo Prison Relic” currently has 168,000 followers and receives over 156,000 likes, comments, and shares every day. In addition to the Facebook page, the Management Board of Hoa Lo Prison Relic is working on generating information for other social networking platforms. The Management Board of Hoa Lo Prison Relic has used digital transformation to launch a special radio channel on the Spotify platform for the first time, making history education simple, entertaining, and novel for the general public.

1. About history

As mentioned above, Hoa Lo Prison was built in 1896, originally named Prison Centrale (Central Prison), but to avoid the curiosity and agitation of the people, it was changed to Maison Centrale (Central House), and the name is still on the main gate leading to the relic.

This prison was built by the French in 1896 in the suburbs of the city to serve as a central prison for both the Central and Northern regions. It mainly detained political prisoners and patriots against the colonial government. In the heart of the bustling, bustling capital, there is still a Hoa Lo Prison that is always there and preserves the ups and downs of history over time.

2. Architecture 

The French colonialists paid special attention to the construction of the prison, especially the materials. All equipment and accessories had to be imported from France and approved by the architect. From that, the French colonialists said that this prison was “No one can go out or come in”. After 3 years of construction, although many items of the construction were not yet completed, many Vietnamese patriots were arrested by the French colonialists.

The cells at Hoa Lo Prison were designed in the same style: tiled roofs and solid brick walls painted with gray lime and tar; the cells only had a few small windows opened close to the roof, making the cells even darker and more stuffy. Surrounding the prison was a solidly built stone wall (4.3m and 5.4m high, 0.5m thick), filled with sharp pieces of glass to prevent prisoners from escaping. A patrol line along the corridor more than 2m wide separated the prison’s protective wall. The four corners of the prison are four guard towers so that the guards can observe all activities both inside and outside the prison.

The total area of ​​the former prison is up to more than 12,000m2. Most of the prison area was used to build the Ha Noi Twin Towers in 1994. The remaining area of ​​2,434m2 is preserved as a relic site, serving the purpose of sightseeing for those who want to come and witness the scenery of the colonial prison when exploring Hanoi. The structures that are retained include 3 buildings, 2-story buildings built in French architecture, 2 rows of collective detention camps for male and female prisoners, 4 death row cells, 2 guard towers, and part of the stone wall surrounding the prison.

Also built on the land of Phu Khanh village, Vinh Xuong commune (old) is a craft village specializing in pottery production, with kilns burning day and night, so the village is also called Hoa Lo. During the French colonial period, Hoa Lo Prison was designed and built with a structure including 4m high, 0.5m thick stone walls reinforced with electric steel wire. The entire prison area is divided into 4 areas A, B, C, and D.

– Area A, B: For prisoners under investigation, unimportant prisoners, or prisoners who violate prison discipline.

– Area C: For French or foreign prisoners.

– Area D: For prisoners awaiting the death penalty

3. Information about Hoa Lo Prison

How to get there

Currently, there are many ways to get to the Prison with many types of vehicles such as motorbikes, cars, taxis, buses… Bus routes 02, 32, 34, 38 are all buses that pass by the prison. In addition, this is also an important location that the double-decker city tour bus passes by.

If you travel by motorbike or car, depending on your starting point and Google Map of Hoa Lo Prison, you can get there. Motorbikes will be parked outside the Prison with free parking.

Opening hours

Every day, Hoa Lo Prison will be open from 8:00 to 17:00. Especially on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the prison will close later. Some experiential tours are open from 19:00 to 19:45.

Ticket price

Currently, the ticket price is 30,000 VND/adult. For people aged 60 and over, and students, the ticket price will be 15,000 VND.

4. Special activities at Hoa Lo Prison

Hoa Lo Prison also regularly organizes activities and exhibits, aiming to attract tourists to admire the works of art associated with that location.

At the Relic, there is also a Memorial to the patriotic soldiers who sacrificed their lives. With high aesthetic art, the stone carvings into the images of prisoners, the Memorial is considered one of the most beautiful monuments in Vietnam.

Show “Sacred Night” recreates the whole scene of “hell on earth” that Vietnamese soldiers steadfastly fought with an undying spirit of patriotism during the war.

This show will realistically describe the truths of war. The scene is so real that it is heartbreaking. Sacred Night Hoa Lo is also divided into 3 parts, with content paying tribute to revolutionary soldiers, telling about the indomitable youth of Uncle Ho’s soldiers. The show is receiving great reception from both domestic and foreign tourists.

The show “Sacred Night of Hoa Lo” is held from 7 pm to 9 pm. Ticket prices vary depending on each night, with different content to change the ticket price.

Specific ticket prices of the show “Sacred Night of Hoa Lo”:

Night 1: Theme “Shining Vietnamese Spirit”, ticket price 399,000 VND/ticket.

Night 2: Theme “Living like flowers” ​​399,000 VND/ticket.

Night 3: Theme “Fire of Youth”, ticket price: 499,000 VND/ticket.

The show “Sacred Night,” performed at Hoa Lo Prison Relic, will help viewers admire the indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese people. This story seems to bring back the past, and each viewer feels the sadness, pain, and generosity of the nation.

The images of revolutionary soldiers, blood, sweat, tears, and shackles are clearly shown through the 3 parts of “Sacred Night”. This “hell on earth” is recreated as a place for young people to love their nation, to be motivated in life, and to contribute more to society:

Sacred Night 1: Shining Vietnamese Spirit

This performance is inspired by the lives of prisoners at Hoa Lo prison. Rekindling this glorious history and tragic past makes many people unable to hold back their tears.

Sacred Night 2: Living Like Flowers

This performance is inspired by the inner pain and silent sacrifice of Vietnamese women and heroic Vietnamese mothers. This show revives the story of revolutionary Nguyen Phong Sac and his wife, Hoang Thi Ai, who escaped from Hoa Lo prison in 1945.

Dem Thieng Linh 3: Fire of Youth

This show is invested and elaborately staged to recreate the lives of soldiers who were imprisoned in the past. This tour is very suitable for the younger generations to promote patriotism. In particular, these tours bring tears to countless revolutionaries who have contributed to the country and had the chance to overcome the pain of war.

Opening night tours are one of the most profitable tourism items and demonstrate the pervasiveness of the Hoa Lo Prison Relic. During these remarkable and unique night tours, tourists will see firsthand the terrible life of former political prisoners. Stories repeat through role plays, which are integrated with a realistic light and sound effects system to arouse visitors’ emotions.

In short, if you want to experience and learn about the history, culture, and people of Vietnam, this will be a destination that will take away a lot of your emotions and thoughts. The Hoa Lo Prison relic, once a symbol of pain and oppression, now stands tall as a solemn reminder of the past, helping people learn from the mistakes they have made. At the end of the visit, people can be inspired to fight for justice, freedom, and compassion in their own lives. Because when we understand the darkness of Hoa Lo Prison, we will understand the reminder of the enduring power of hope, resilience, and the strong will of human beings to win. Hopefully, with these shares, you will be more knowledgeable and want to join the “prison trip” at least once.