Traveling from Thua Thien province to Hue to visit Phu Quoc Prison, Ms. Tran Thi Cam Tu (child of a former prisoner) was moved and choked up when listening to the narrator talk about forms of torture in prison.
Ms. Tu shared: "During his lifetime, my father wanted to return to visit this place but due to poor health, he could not go. Now that my father has passed away, I will take his place here to fulfill my wish. I once heard my father talk about his torture, when I walked into the relic site, I saw the stories as if they appeared before my eyes.
During the American Imperial War, the escaped regime built a prison for prisoners with an area of about 400 hectares, divided into 12 subdivisions. This is the largest communist Prisoner detention facility in the South with more than 40,000 revolutionary soldiers captured and brutally tortured by the enemy, of which more than 4,000 soldiers were loyal and heroically sacrificed.
Special National Historical Site Vietnam - Phu Quoc Prisoner Prison (abbreviated as Phu Quoc Prison or Phu Quoc Prison) is a living proof, marking the extremely brutal crimes of the colonial and Imperialist regime, also expressing the indomitable fighting spirit of the revolutionary soldiers. The reenactment of the life of a forced captive, with Vietnamese prisoners suffering from brutal torture, has made a strong impression on visitors.
Ms. Le Thi Yen - a tourist from Thanh Hoa province - emotionally shared: "The first time I visited Phu Quoc prison, I was overwhelmingly moved by the sacrifice of the soldiers. I feel extremely grateful for those sacrifices that have brought about the peace that I have today.
Mr. Vu Cong Son - a tourist from Hanoi - confided: "The Vietnamese people have fought for independence, freedom and national liberation, now this relic is here to teach the children of future generations about the history of the heroic Vietnamese people, so that they can love the country more and continue to promote patriotism".
Today, Phu Quoc Prison is a special national historical site, a place to educate revolutionary traditions for present and future generations. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, the place welcomed nearly 17,600 visitors, including 856 groups, more than 9,300 foreign tourists.
Ms. Tran Thi Ngoc Giau - Deputy Director of the Center for Culture, Sports and Communications of Phu Quoc City - Head of the Phu Quoc Prison Relic Department, said that during the explanation process, many guests asked questions or expressed their emotions.
Someone burst into tears, telling us more of what we were told, which is a source of valuable documents shared by living witnesses, or relatives of the former prisoners. This place preserves artifacts and stories expressing national traditions. This tradition is aroused in the hearts of tourists, they will come to the relic and feel it more deeply, said Ms. Giau.
She believes that the narrator does not simply tell historical stories, but this is to sow seeds for people who love and respect history, educate revolutionary tradition, patriotism for the people, especially students, students, and young people.
Thereby, the historical value is further multiplied. She believes that the task of an illustrator is to understand each value of an artifact, each story to bring to the hearts of tourists.
Over time, the prison areas, watchtowers, and bureaus have all been kept intact or partially restored. This place also preserves many valuable artifacts about the struggle of prisoners, such as a shirt, shorts, a spear, a spoon...
Phu Quoc prison is open every day to serve tourists to visit and learn about history. Many tourists not only visit once but many times to learn about historical values.
