Quang Tri Citadel
Quang Tri Citadel, situated in the central of Quang Tri Town, was a military bastion and an administrative head office of Nguyen Dynasty in Quang Tri Province (1809 -1945). Quang Tri Citadel was built in 1824, during the 4th year of the reign of Minh Mang.
The citadel had a style of Vauban architecture with its circuit of 2,160 m – one door each side. There were four fortresses jutting out from each four corners to control the four citadel gates. Inside was the town palace surrounded by a system of thick walls with a circuit of 400m. The town palace was a three-roomed house whose two wings were used as places for the King to worship, and to give promotions to his inferiors or to occasionally celebrate festivals. Outside the town palace, there were a flagpole and castles such as TuanVu, An Sat and Lanh Binh and a rice store, etc and under the French domination, soldier camp and tax agency were added. However, there are no remains of the past there nowadays – due to the destruction of U.S bombs in the hot summer of 1972.
The citadel has gone down in history as a glorious period of the nation’s war against foreign invasion. The Vietnamese people are proud of it, and foreigners admire it.
Looking at its walls riddled with bullet holes, visitors will feel how devastating the war was. In order to commemorate the soldiers’ meritorious service, a monument was set up in the center of the citadel as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of the Quang Tri people and army and as a token of gratitude to the sacrifices of the fallen soldiers for the independence and freedom of the nation.
Vinh Moc Tunnels
Vinh Moc Tunnels is situated in Vinh Linh Village, Vinh Thach Commune, Vinh Linh District, Quang Tri Province. Vinh Moc Tunnels - a place well-known as an underground village constructed to avoid bombardments during the American War (1965-1966).
Situated 13km east of the national Highway 1A and just 6km away from the sea, Vinh Moc Tunnels has become a favorite destination for foreign tourists, especially American war veterans.
The spectacular tunnel network stands as a testament to the endurance, wisdom, and bravery of the local people in their fight for independence. The tunnels used to be thousands of meters long. But now there remain only 1,700m. This underground network is linked with 13 doors (seven opening to the sea and six to the hills). The structure is divided into three layers, the deepest being 23m underground. They are connected by a 768m main axis that is 1.6 to 1.8m high and 1.2 to 1.5m wide. It is linked to the sea by seven exits, which also function as ventilators and to a nearby hill by another six.
Along the two sides of the main axis are housing chambers. There is also a large meeting hall with a seating capacity of 50 to 80 people, which was used for meetings, movies, art performances, surgeries, and even the delivery of babies (17 were born here). There are also four air wells, two watch stations, and three water wells. The village featured unique Hoang Cam stoves, named after the general who invented the store to allow for underground cooking without emitting smoke, thus evading the discovery by bombers.
Our lady of La Vang
La Vang is a Catholic church in central Vietnam located in La Vang village, Quang Tri Province. It was destroyed during the Vietnam war by the American bombardments in 1972: it remains today only the steeple and the wall on which it leans.
Our Lady appeared to the Vietnamese parishioners in moments of extreme misery, culminating in La Vang. La Vang is a name derived from the name of a deep forest in central Vietnam (now Quang Tri town), where there are many types of plants called La Vang (Leaves Vang). According to another explanation, La Vang is the resounding shriek of the mountains, or the screams of the people when there are wild animals. La Vang also means “crying”, asking for help from those who are persecuted.
The tradition of Our Lady of La Vang dates back to the time when Catholics were executed in Vietnam. Many people sought refuge in the rain forest of La Vang, and many became very ill. They were praying when a lady appeared, wearing the traditional Vietnamese áo dài dress and holding a child in her arms, with two angels beside her.
The people present interpreted the vision as the Virgin Mary and the infant Jesus Christ. They said that Our Lady comforted them and told them to boil leaves from the trees for medicine to cure the illness.
Hien Luong bridge and Ben Hai river
Ben Hai River has its source from An Nam Mountain to Cua Tung Beach, about 100 km. It is the most typical river associated with Quang Tri. Hien Luong Bridge is a bridge across the Ben Hai River that divides this river in half. This bridge was built for pedestrians in 1928.
This is an important place in the history of resistance against the French colonialism of our people. The Geneva Agreement of 1954 chose the Ben Hai River and Hien Luong Bridge as temporary military roads and until the spring of 1954, this line was officially destroyed. This is why this place plays an important role in the years of fighting for the unity of our people.
Cua Tung Beach
Located in Vinh Linh district, Quang Tri province. At Cua Tung, near the mouth of Ben Hai River is a beautiful small beach. This beach is not long and not very big, but it has a special beauty. Its sand is smooth and silky, emerald water and light breeze blow gently throughout the year.
Cua Tung is a truly vivacious, changing color from hour to hour under sunlight. It’s romantic to go down by boat along the Ben Hai River and admire the beautiful scenery from here. From Hien Luong Bridge, the boat slid gently on the stream, among the waves, in the murmur of the wind.