My Very First Blog

Right after my friend and I left the Temple of Literature, we walked for about 20 minutes to reach the famous Hoa Lo Prison.

Initially, I had planned to visit Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum which is just a stone throw's away from the Temple of Literature, but my friend insisted on visiting the Hoa Lo Prison which he did not want to miss. I ended up visiting the Fine Arts Museum on my own on my last day in Hanoi. (My friend had left Hanoi one day earlier).

However, do keep in mind that it makes more sense to visit the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum after visiting Temple of Literature as they are located so close to each other!



The French colonists who built the prison in 1896 called it Maison Centrale, which is the name you see above the front gate of Hoa Lo. The prison is also strangely known as Hanoi Hilton (what in heaven's name has it got to do with Hilton Hotel?!) but I will get to that later.

Entrance fee was a very reasonable 20,000 VND (about US$1).


Entrance ticket 

The word 'Hoa Lo' means fiery furnace or earthen stoves. Why is the prison called Hoa Lo? Let's delve a little into its interesting history.



The prison was built on the land of Phu Knanh Village which was famous for its earthen home appliances like kettles, teapots and portable stoves. The hand-made products of Phu Knanh Village were so famous that people came from far and wide to buy them. Accordingly, the village was also known as Hoa Lo Village - the village of portable earthen stoves. Phu Knanh villagers enjoyed a well-off life.

That is, until the French colonists came and occupied Hanoi. They moved all the villagers, the pagodas and communal houses to other places, and replaced them with the prison, a courthouse and their headquarters.


Stone stele of Phu Knanh communal house

Covering a total area of 12,908 square metres, Hoa Lo Prison was one of the largest and most concrete prisons in IndoChina at that time.


The purpose of this prison was to hold Vietnamese prisoners, especially political prisoners who were fighting for independence. Many of the prisoners were subjected to torture and execution. A few who survived the torture went on to become important political figures in Vietnam's Communist Party after the defeat of the French.

Below are displays of bricks used by the French colonists to build Hoa Lo Prison.





Chimney cap (left) and top of lightning rod (right)



Tiles used to build the prison



Drinking water cups and mugs used by Hoa Lo political prisoners



Large rice basins used by the prison's kitchen



It was reported that white rice given to prisoners were out of date, having parasite and very insipid. As a result, many prisoners suffered from heart oedema and as many as 40 prisoners died in a month.

Drinking water canteen used by political prisoners in Hoa Lo



Bowls, plates and spoons used by political prisoners



A sample of the clothes worn by the political prisoners



Blanket used by the prisoners



There was one part of my tour that was pretty creepy. It involved dark cells and dismal rooms with life-like replicas of suffering prisoners.



I was alone in this room and it gave me the chills.



I quickly took some photos and got out of there. LOL!



That's the stockade for keeping political male prisoners.



In the night of December 24, 1951, 16 political prisoners creeped through the underground sewer door by the death sentence yard and escaped. Five of them succeeded in joining the resistance base to continue the struggle.



A picture on the wall showing an overcrowded prison and a torture in progress.



I reached the cachot area, which was another creepy place for me.

Cachot or dungeon is used to confine prisoners who break the regulations of the prison. The prisoners were kept separately and inhumanely in the narrow and dark dungeon and they had to eat and answer nature call on the same spot. All the prisoners confined here suffered from oedema, their bodies covered with scabies dues to the lack of light and air.



A display of one of those iron stocks used to lock prisoners' feet.



I came across a dungeon cell. It was dark so I used my camera flash while taking this picture. But then, we can't see what is inside so....



I took the picture again without flash. A life-size replica of a prisoner was lying inside the cell.



More creepy life-sized prisoners in the other cells.







I had this urge to quickly leave the cachot area. There were not many visitors during my tour and I was separated from my friend at that time. I remember that at one point, there was a sudden, unexplained loud clanging sound above me and I made a quick run for the exit door. LOL!

It was great to be outdoors in the sunshine again. Haha!

This is the underground sewer door through which over 100 political prisoners escaped in 1945.



Here, I looked up and was surprised to see a tall, modern building towering over Ho Loa Prison. It was then I realized that a huge part of the original prison was destroyed by the Government and the land sold to developers to build this tall building known as Hanoi Towers.



So the Hoa Lo Prison I was visiting was just a small portion of the original, preserved as a memorial and museum.

Then I came to the Stockade area for female prisoners. Here, I reunited with my friend, so I was no longer alone.



Many female patriotic revolutionary soldiers were arrested during the French occupation. The lack of running water and unhygienic conditions in the stockades made life a living hell for these prisoners.



More displays of iron shackles.



This is an electrical engine used by the French colonists to torture female political prisoners in the Detective Department.



The many cells along the dark corridor.



Finally, we came to the last gallery where one of the two guillotines used by the French colonists to cut off the heads of revolutionary patriotic prisoners in Hoa Lo Prison was displayed.



Cutting off the heads of political prisoners was one way taken by French colonists to terrorise the Vietnamese struggle movements.



I am not very sure of the purpose of this rattan box, but I assume it was used to contain the heads, probably?



Bench, ladder and ropes used by the French colonists to torture political prisoners.



Not sure what this picture is showing, but it does not seem to be very pleasant!



After the French was ousted in 1954, the Hoa Lo Prison was used to incarcerate anti-revolutionaries opposed to the Communist Party.

Later on, during the Vietnam War, Hoa Lo Prison was used to detain, torture and interrogate downed American pilots and soldiers. Although Vietnam maintained that the American prisoners were well-treated, many US Prisoners of War (POW) reported of torture, medical neglect, unsanitary conditions and being fed food contaminated with faeces. Many observers actually considered it a war crime.

The condition was so bad that the American POWs sarcastically gave the prison a new name - Hanoi Hilton. This, of course refers to the famous Hilton hotel chain, but guess what? When Hilton Corporation finally opened a hotel in Hanoi in 1999, they had to give it a funny name - "The Hilton Hanoi Opera" - to avoid any link to Hanoi Hilton!



Since Vietnam had maintained that the American POWs were well-treated, I was not surprised to see that there were not much exhibits related to the Americans. The museum was mainly focused on the French colonial period and the sufferings of the Vietnamese political prisoners.

There is actually one propaganda-filled room devoted to the American POW but I did not take any picture of it. Displays in the room claimed the Americans were well treated and even cited the nickname 'Hanoi Hilton' as proof that prisoners found the prison comparable to a hotel!



My friend and I walked up the stairs (the picture above shows the view from the top of the stairs) to the first floor.

Here, the names of Vietnamese revolutionary patriots who were arrested and ill-treated by the French colonists were displayed.



It was something like a memorial for the heroes and martyrs of the Vietnam people.



And this is almond root, in which Hoa Lo political prisoners used to hide documents for the revolution.



I have to say, my visit to Hoa Lo Prison was both interesting and creepy but well worth it! Definitely not a place you should skip in your itinerary if you are a first time visitor to Hanoi!



Coming Up Next : Taking A Short Break At Joma Bakery 

After our delicious lunch at Koto Restaurant, my friend and I went over to the Temple Of Literature which is located just opposite the restaurant. However, the entrance was at Quoc Tu Giang Street, so we walked a little further to reach it.

The entrance fee was 20,000 VND (about US$1).



The picture depicted on the ticket is the Main Gate as shown below.



Known as Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam in Vietnamese, the Temple Of Literature hosts the Imperial Academy, Vietnam's first national university. This shows how religion and education were linked in the olden days. Initially reserved for the rich and the royalties, the university was later opened to outstanding students elsewhere in Hanoi.

Built by Emperor Ly Thanh Tong in the year 1070, the Temple Of Literature is dedicated to Confucius, whose influence is a huge part of Vietnamese culture.

Passing through the Main Gate, a huge courtyard with gardens greeted us. There were three pathways leading to the second gate - one on the far left, one of the far right and one in the middle. I think the path we were walking on is the middle one.



The Temple Of Literature is in fact a large rectangular complex consisting of five courtyards surrounded by a brick wall.

Walking straight ahead, we soon reached the second gate that leads to the second courtyard. At this second gate, there were information about the temple on both sides of the walls.



The second courtyard was really a huge lawn filled with ancient trees and trimmed plants. Look how beautiful the plants were trimmed and arranged to form a Chinese character!



I could almost imagine scholars relaxing on this beautiful lawn after their studying hours.



Walking further, we soon reached a unique structure called the Constellation of Literature Pavilion (Khue Van Cac in Vietnamese). Flanking on both sides of the Pavilion were two smaller gates. Can you see the two small gates in the picture below?



Built on four white-washed stone stilts, the red colored Pavilion has two circular windows on top and an elaborate roof. Inside, there is a bronze bell hanging from the ceiling.



View of the Pavilion from the other side.



Walking past the Constellation of Literature Pavilion, we found ourselves in the third courtyard.  Here, there is a small pond in the middle known as The Well of Heavenly Clarity (Thien Quang Tinh in Vietnamese).



On both sides of the Well are two halls which house tortoise-carrying stalae.



Out of the original 117 stelae, only 82 remain today. The tortoise-stelae depict the names and birth places of graduate students who accomplished exceptional results in the exams.



Between 1442 and 1779, 81 exams were held by the Le Dynasty and 1 was held by the Mac Dynasty.

Oh, there was a group of school students (I think) blocking the view!



So I took the picture again after they left. LOL!



I guess touching those stone tortoises or the stalae were prohibited as they had clearly restricted the access to them. Perhaps there were visitors or tourists who vandalised these stone slabs in the past?



What does this giant book says? I have no idea. Any Vietnamese reading this knows?



This is the gate leading to the fourth courtyard of the Temple of Literature.



In the centre of the courtyard is a building that housed altars.



Somehow, I did not take any pictures inside the building so I could not remember what was inside.



I guess I was more interested in the dragon carvings on the roof top!



There was only one picture I took and it's this one - a crane standing on the tortoise. In fact, there were two of them, one on each side of the entrance.



I never failed to see the crane standing on the tortoise in all the temples I visited in Hanoi. I guess in Vietnamese culture (as well as Chinese culture), the crane and tortoise represent longevity and happiness.



Nearby, there were souvenir shops selling water puppets and some really interesting looking masks.



I normally do not like angry and ugly looking masks - I would never hang them in my house anyway - so the thought of buying them had never crossed my mind!



The Water Puppets would make great souvenirs, but I think you would probably get a better price for them elsewhere.



Finally, we came to the fifth and last courtyard of the Temple, which is the grounds of the Imperial Academy.



Destroyed by the French in 1946, this courtyard was reconstructed in the year 2000 based on traditional architecture. Nowadays, cultural events were often organised here.



There is a huge wooden structure at one part of the courtyard that houses a giant bronze bell.



A closer shot of the bronze bell.



Inside the main building is an altar probably dedicated to Confucius. Look! There's a crane standing  on tortoise again!



Now, I may be wrong about the Confucius statue. Anyone reading this knows if that is in fact, the altar dedicated to Confucius?



You can of course engage a guide at the ticketing counter to explain the history and everything else in detail, and to confirm if the above is indeed a statue of Confucius. But we did not engage any guide that day.



On the first floor, there were three different altars.



One of the three altars.



I guess the middle altar is dedicated to Chu Van An, rector of the Imperial Academy. Again, I may be wrong of course. So any reader who knows, please correct me. By the way, if you do not know who Chu Van An is - he's considered the greatest scholar in Vietnam's history!



Outside, beside the main building, is another structure that houses a giant drum.



Look how huge this drum is!



A closer shot of the drum.



Guess how much does this giant drum weigh? Let me tell you now - it weighs 700 kg!



My friend and I had enjoyed visiting this Temple of Literature. It's definitely one place you must visit if you are a first time visitor to Hanoi.


The four pillars outside the Temple Of Literature 

Oh by the way, did you know that the Temple of Literature is so important in Vietnam that it is actually featured on the back of the 100,000 Vietnamese Dong bank note?



Yes, that's the Constellation of Literature Pavilion and the Well of Heavenly Clarity!

Coming Up Next : My Tour Of The Creepy Hoa Lo Prison