Vinh Moc Tunnels in Quang Tri Province

Vinh Moc Tunnels is a system of typical tunnel village construction in Vinh Linh, Quang Tri Province, Vietnam.

In 1976, the Ministry of Culture and Communication approved that Vinh Moc tunnels were national remains and put them on the list of special importance. Local authorities and relevant agencies have maintained and restored the tunnels for their value.

More and more tourists from all over the country and foreign countries come here to admire the miraculous symbol. Tourists admire the local people’s strong spirit and the Vietnamese people’s talents.

At present, this is an important tourist site in the famous tour DMZ. The Vinh Moc village tunnels will be considered a good place to educate future generations and develop the country.

Location:

Vinh Moc (Vinh Linh, Quang Tri, Vietnam) is a village on a basaltic-soil hill by the sea. It is about 14 kilometers from Ho Xa town to the East and about 6 kilometers from Cua Tung to the North.

Structure:

Initially, this system had three main tunnels: the tunnels of the border-guard force 140, the tunnels of the Vinh Moc guerrillas, and the tunnels of the Son Ha guerrillas.

Then, due to the mission of fighting and cooperation, the three tunnels were connected to form one big interlinked system. The system is 1701 meters long and has 13 entrances and exits (7 to the sea and 6 to the top of the hill).

The tunnel has family rooms, drainage systems, meeting rooms, kitchen areas, and storage places.

For safety and long-term usage, the architecture of the tunnels is rather correctly scientific. Along the tunnels are shelters for families of 2-4 people. The floor of the tunnels was done on a slope of 2-3′ for water drainage. The whole tunnel system consists of 3 floors connected by the main tunnel (the 1st floor is 8-10 meters deep, the 2nd floor is 12-15 meters deep, and the 3rd floor is 23 meters deep).\

In addition, the tunnels contain the meeting hall (for about 60 people for meetings and move shows), the operating room, the Hoang Cam kitchen, the food storehouse, and the telephone post.

The primary use of the tunnels:

During the fight against America for national reunification, Vinh Moc was the front place of the North, the food storage site, and the supplier for Con Co Island. This island is strategically located to protect Vinh Linh (28 kilometers from Vinh Moc).

The time of tunnels:

Duration to build: The people of Vinh Moc built the system of tunnels from the beginning of 1965 to Feb 1966.

The tunnels require more than 18,000 labor days, and the people here must move over 6,000m3 of soil and rock.

Duration of life: The people lived in the tunnels for nearly 2,000 days (from 1966 to 1972).

During that time, 17 babies were born in the tunnels.

Although the local people lived in the tunnels, they did not passively suffer the bombing. They organized to fight against the enemy, to transport supplies of food, ammunition, medicine, and rescue injuries.

They organized hundreds of boats of transportation to supply Con Co Island under the range of bombs and artillery. Con Co stood firmly and was awarded two heroic rewards by the Government, partly thanks to the precious contribution from the people and the tunnels of Vinh Moc.

Check the tour to come to Vinh Moc Tunnels: Hue to DMZ – one-day tour.