Exhibition marking 13th National Party Congress opens at Hoa Lo Prison

Hanoi (VNA) - Many photos, documents, and objects featuring National Party Congresses are on display at an exhibition that opened at Hoa Lo Prison in Hanoi on January 8.

The exhibition aims to mark the upcoming 13th National Party Congress and the 91st anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3).

It also honours soldiers who made great contributions to the struggle for national liberation, including those who were detained at Hoa Lo and other prisons.

Visitors had a chance to meet the relatives of the soldiers and witnesses to history at the opening ceremony.

The exhibition will last until the end of April.

Hoa Lo Prison is a special historical relic in Hanoi, built by French colonialists in 1896 to imprison Vietnamese patriots. Called Maison Centrale, it was one of the largest prisons in French Indochina. Many patriots and revolutionary leaders of Vietnam were held captive there, such as Phan Boi Chau, Luong Van Can, Ho Tung Mau, and Nguyen Luong Bang, as well as five Party General Secretaries: Nguyen Van Cu, Truong Chinh, Le Duan, Nguyen Van Linh, and Do Muoi.

From August 5, 1964, to March 31, 1973, part of the prison was used to hold American pilots who were shot down during bombing raids against North Vietnam. The prison was euphemistically called the “Hanoi Hilton” by prisoners. “Alumni” of Hoa Lo include Pete Peterson, who later became the first US Ambassador to Vietnam, and John McCain, the late US Senator.

The Government transformed part of the prison into a historical relic site in 1993. Located in the southeast reaches of the old prison, this part was preserved, renovated, and upgraded. There is also a monument dedicated to Vietnamese patriotic and revolutionary fighters./.