Quang Tri Overview Area: 4,745.7 sq. km.
Population: 616,600 habitants (2004)
Capital: Dong Ha Town.
Administrative divisions:
- Town: Quang Tri
- Districts: Vinh Linh, Gio Linh, Cam Lo, Trieu Phong, Hai Lang, Huong Hoa, Da Krong, Con Co.
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Bru - Van Kieu, Ta Oi, Hoa.
Quang Tri Geography Located on North - Central Vietnam ( North Central Vietnam tour )Quang Tri is surrounded by Quang Binh Province on the north, Thua Thien-Hue Province on the south, Savanakhet (Laos)on the west, East Sea on the east with 75km seaside. Topography consists of mountains, hills, plains, sand dune and seaside. The long coast and complex network of rives includes Ben Hai, Cam Lo, Quang Tri, Thach Han… making a good condition for hydroelectricity and aquiculture. The weather condition is very severe with hot and dry south- west winds. Annual average temperature is 24ºC. Quang Tri Tourism Quang Tri preserves many remains from the anti- American resistance war such as the ancient citadel of Quang Tri, Khe Sanh Combat Base ( Quang Tri DMZ tour ), Truong Son National Cemetery, Vinh Moc Tunnels, Hien Luong Bridge and Ben Hai River. Coming to there, tourists are able to take interesting holiday in Dakrong Beauty Spot and Cua Tung Beach. The beach has sparkling clean water, silky sand and soft breeze, the whisper made by the rows of casuarinas trees. It is very pleasant to go on boat down stream on the Ben Hai River and admire the beautiful landscapes. Quang Tri Transportation Dong Ha Town is 74km from Hue City, 80km from Lao Bao Border crossing, 94km from Dong Hoi (Quang Binh Province), 190km from Danang, 598km from Hanoi, and 1,112km from Ho Chi Minh City ( Saigon city tour ). National Highway No.1A runs through the province and National Highway No.9, the Trans-Asia Highway connects with the Lao Bao international border gate to Laos. Cua Tung beach Location: Cua Tung Beach is located in Vinh Linh District, Quang Tri Province.
Characteristics: Although Cua Tung Beach is not very wide or long, it has its own beauty. The beach has sparkling green water, silky sand, and it is touched by soft breezes throughout the year.
It is very pleasant to go on a boat down stream on the Ben Hai River and view the beautiful landscape. From Hien Luong Bridge, the tour boat will bring visitors along the river where rice and maize fields, green bamboo belts, rows of Casuarinas trees, and villages are visible far off into the distance.
In the evening, there are many albatross flying across the sky and diving down into the green water. As night falls, it is time for wind and sea music, the sound of the waves and the whisper made by the rows of casuarinas trees.
Cua Tung Beach is no doubt a great place for both a holiday and a rest. Quang Tri citadel Location: Quang Tri Citadel is situated in the central of Quang Tri Town.
Characteristics: Quang Tri Citadel was a military bastion and it was also 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 is approximately 60km north of Hue.
The citadel had a style of Vauban architecture with its circuit of 2,160m – 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 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 Tuan Vu, 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 incident of 81 days and nights (from June 28 to September 16, 1972) has made this citadel well-known all over the world. By using fire-power, the South Vietnam puppet troop was determined to re-occupy Quang Tri Citadel within a couple of days. Quang Tri Town, therefore, had to suffer from the US bombardment and shelling of 140 B52 aircraft in turn, more than 200 tactical planes, 12 – 16 fighter planes and cruisers. Within 40 days and nights it had suffered 80,000 tons of bombs – as many as that in the World War II in African battlefield within a month. Sometimes the number of bombs dropped in Quang Tri a day was far more than that on the whole South battlefield in the years of 1968-1969. Especially, on July 25, there were 5,000 shells fired at an area of 3km2 of Quang Tri and its vicinity once suffered 20,000 shells of big size a day. The US aggressors used bombs and shells with their destructive capacity, to destroy Quang Tri, equivalent to 7 atomic bombs they dropped onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki – Japan in 1945. It is, really, unbelievable that each inhabitant in this land had to suffer 7 tons of bombs averagely. All were determined, side by side with Quang Tri to fight to their last breath. The Northern people had saved everything such as: ammunition, food and etc. to send to Quang Tri.
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 centre 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 Location: Vinh Moc Tunnels is situated in Vinh Linh Village, Vinh Thach Commune, Vinh Linh District, Quang Tri Province.
Characteristics: 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.
Before entering the tunnels, visitors are shown the displays of that brutal period in Vietnam's history by some photos. They provide a sharp contrast for the vitality of the local people in during war time, celebrating on the victory day.
The war forced many people to either leave their villages or live beneath the ground. Vinh Moc residents opted for the second solution. A few would imagine that the rubber and pepper tree plantations today used to be a fierce battleground from 1966-1972 when Vinh Moc was a place to pass food and ammunitions to Con Co Island.
The area underwent tens of thousands of tones of bombs by US warplanes. The invaders wanted to return the area to the "stone age" and launched a destructive war there. It was estimated that local residents endured the equivalent of 500 heavy rockets per day.
In 1976, the Ministry of Culture and Information recognized Vinh Moc Tunnels as national heritage site and included it in a list of especially important historical sites. To ensure security for visitors, the tunnels were restored with reinforced concrete and internal lightening. |
