Scene of Buon Ma Thuot exile house, once a 'hell on earth'

From a place like hell on earth in the past, Buon Ma Thuot prison is now a peaceful space in the heart of the sunny and windy highland city, attracting tourists to visit and learn about its history. hero.

From a place like hell on earth in the past, Buon Ma Thuot prison is now a peaceful space in the heart of the sunny and windy highland city, attracting tourists to visit and learn about its history. hero.

Buon Ma Thuot exile house is located at 17, Pham Hong Thai street, Tu An ward, Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province. The prison was built in the years 1930-1931, where many patriotic prisoners were detained. Located in the middle of a sparsely populated area, surrounded by wild, dense mountains and forests, this place has a heroic and quiet character over time.

Through a period of history full of ups and downs in the country, in 1980, the exile house was recognized as a national historical relic. After two restorations in 1992 and 2006, this place was put into operation and opened to welcome visitors to study and learn about the history of Dak Lak in particular and of Vietnam in general.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Bao (born 1984, Buon Ma Thuot City) is the owner of the photo series of exiled houses in Buon Ma Thuot shimmering in the morning sunlight, attracting attention on social networks.

"It was a beautiful day at the end of August. Youth groups from several provinces came to burn incense to commemorate the heroes' souls at the exile house. Although the previous days had been raining continuously, the day we arrived the weather was beautiful again. "unusual. I decided to take a set of photos of the exiled house to share with tourists from all over, especially young people," Quoc Bao shared.

The Buon Ma Thuot exile house is dressed in a golden color of nostalgia, tinged with time. The entrance to the exile's house was swept clean and repainted, and on both sides of the path were rows of neatly trimmed green trees.

The exile house was built with a total area of ​​nearly 2 hectares, including 4 surrounding walls 4m high, 40cm thick, all 4 corners have solid guard posts. The entire prison area has many construction items such as: Detention prison, management house, medical house, kitchen, teaching house, torture area, workshop, chapel, desk area... This project came into operation in two main periods, during the French colonial period and the resistance war against the US.

When first built, the Buon Ma Thuot exile house was quite simple with the frame made of wood, the walls were made of mud mixed with straw, the inside was a bamboo core, the outermost part was plastered with a thin layer of cement, the roof was thatched roofing. After a period of operation when the number of prisoners increased. The exile house was rebuilt more solidly with brick walls and tiled roofs around the end of November 1931. Later, due to many prison escapes, this building was carefully restored and solid as it is today.

Inside the prison grounds, there are a total of 6 collective prisons, numbered from 1 to 6. Each prison row has an area of ​​about 180m2, can hold more than 100 prisoners, and the main gate faces south. The prisons are all built in long stretches, with tall windows, carefully guarded by iron bars, solid walls, tiled roofs, and barbed wire mesh on the ceiling to prevent prisoners from escaping.

Besides the 6 collective prisons, the cell area is a special detention place for prisoners with a high level of danger. Here, political prisoners are subjected to harsher conditions, imprisoned in a space of about 2 square meters, shackled for 24 hours, and all activities take place on the spot. But they also did not expect that it was that barbaric brutality that created an organized, unyielding and unyielding "loyal force". In 1940, the first Communist Party cell in Dak Lak was established here.

The management area of ​​the former exile house was remodeled into a gallery. This place currently stores many documents, images, and artifacts about the process of building exile houses, fighting movements, and the development of the Communist Party in exile and Dak Lak province.

In December 2018, the Prime Minister signed a Decision classifying Buon Ma Thuot Exile House as a special national monument.

Over the course of time and through two renovations, this special historical site has more or less changed in appearance, landscape or facilities, but still ensures to maintain the original materials, color, shape, size during the remodeling process.

Currently, the landscape of the exile housing area is always cleaned, neat and tidy every day. The space is peaceful and quiet but no less heroic. Sightseeing ticket price for adults is 20,000 VND; Children are 10,000 VND. Tourists who come to visit will receive a detailed explanation of the history of the exile house through each stage.

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Update day : 29/11/2023