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We first visited Hoa Lo Prison Relic with a delegation of the Dien Bien Provincial Journalists Association on a day at the end of July. Although it had been raining heavily in Hanoi for many days, the number of people visiting the relic was still very large, most of whom were young people and international tourists. Welcoming our delegation, the Hoa Lo Prison Relic Management Board enthusiastically introduced the relic before starting the tour. Accordingly, Hoa Lo Prison was where the French colonialists once imprisoned tens of thousands of Vietnamese patriots and revolutionaries from all over the provinces of Bac Ky. Hoa Lo Prison is not only a testament to the sacrifice and steadfast fighting spirit of Vietnamese revolutionaries against the enemy, but also a verdict denouncing the barbaric prison regime of the French colonialists. On June 18, 1997, Hoa Lo Prison was recognized as a national historical relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Before starting the tour, we, like many other tourist groups, were given a headset, connected to the tour guide's system. This is not new but quite strange to tourists from the Northwest like us. Accompanying the group was tour guide Phan Thi Kim Oanh - a Hanoi girl with a bright smile and an inspiring voice. At the stops, the tour guide asked the group to stand in a line to both observe the artifacts and listen to the more detailed and specific introduction. Only then did we see the effectiveness of the headsets, especially in the cramped, dark spaces of the old French colonial prisons. With this device, the tour guide did not have to speak too loudly, affecting the sightseeing of other tourists. We could also clearly hear each emotional introduction throughout the tour of the relic. On closer observation, tourists, especially international visitors, also had headsets. It turns out that these are multi-language automatic commentary machines for individual visitors who need them. Just wear the machine, go to the points in the relic with serial numbers written on the artifacts and press the corresponding number on the machine to listen to the specific commentary.
At the end of the emotional tour, our group sat down with the Relic Management Board to hear about the new and attractive ways that have created a fever among young people recently. According to the Hoa Lo Prison Relic Management Board, in order to bring more attraction to visitors, the unit has upgraded the visiting experience at the regular exhibition system. Specifically, the unit has created exhibition explanations suitable for each age group; historical content is conveyed to visitors through the narrator's narration, combined with vivid and suitable sound. To create highlights, the unit has also actively researched and innovated the form of expression, enhancing the practical experience of the thematic exhibition space, with rich content and topics associated with historical events or important holidays of the country. Interactive activities are applied more in thematic exhibitions, supporting the increase of visitors' experience, spreading the image of the Relic. The Relic's media team has been very creative in the form of presentation, such as integrating humorous puzzles, song lyrics, illustrations... with information related to seemingly dry history. Thanks to that, the Facebook Fanpage of Hoa Lo Prison Relic - Hoa Lo Prison Relic is currently receiving 337 thousand likes and 400 thousand followers. Since 2019, Hoa Lo Prison Relic has deployed an automatic commentary system to serve visitors. With this device, visitors can experience 35 historical stories through the stories of political prisoners about the difficult life in prison.
What is especially attractive when coming to Hoa Lo Prison Relic is the practical experience activities and performances of scenes recreating historical events related to the exhibition content... Every Friday and Saturday evening, Hoa Lo Prison Relic organizes the Sacred Night program. From the script to the experiences, all are created and implemented by the Hoa Lo Prison Relic Management Board, under the direction of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hanoi City. Sacred Night is an emotional journey, a multi-sensory experience, built on the themes of Sacred Night 2: Living like flowers and Sacred Night 3: Fire of youth. Both programs last 120 minutes. The Sacred Night journey is led by the narrator's inspiring voice, combined with vivid sound and lighting effects, realistic scenes taking place right in the real scene at the Monument, along with "one of a kind" experiences, bringing visitors unforgettable experiences. Sacred Night helps visitors truly feel the pain, sacrifice, and loss of the political prisoners of Hoa Lo Prison, of their predecessors, each visitor feels the difficulties and pressures in daily life are really small and become lighter.
Through the sharing of the leaders of the Hoa Lo Prison Relic Management Board, we were very surprised to know that the Sacred Night Program is currently receiving a lot of love and registrations from visitors. Currently, all Sacred Night experiences in August have been fully booked. If visitors want to experience it, they will have to wait until early September to register to participate.
With innovation in display, introduction and maximizing the effectiveness of social media, Hoa Lo Prison Relic has truly become one of the addresses for fascinating history lessons and an impressive destination for domestic and foreign tourists. According to statistics from the Hoa Lo Prison Relic Management Board, in 2023, the unit welcomed more than 600,000 visitors with revenue of more than 14 billion VND. Every day, the Relic welcomes an average of nearly 2,000 domestic and international visitors.
Looking at those results, we secretly think that with one of the three main pillars being historical tourism like Dien Bien, the new ways of doing things at Hoa Lo Prison Relic are valuable experiences that should be learned. Although we know that our province still has many difficulties, there are many relic sites, historical stories... that can completely build programs similar to the Sacred Night at Hoa Lo Prison. Along with that is promoting communication on digital platforms, especially making the most of the advantages of social networks like Facebook, Zalo, TikTok... If we can do that, Dien Bien's relic sites will be more successful in bringing history closer to the public, especially young people, contributing to promoting the province's tourism to develop more strongly in the coming time.
Source: https://baodienbienphu.com.vn/tin-tuc/du-lich/217408/di-tich-nha-tu-hoa-lo-dua-lich-su-den-gan-hon-voi-cong-chung
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