According to information from the Management Board of the Cu Chi Tunnels Historical Site (Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City), starting from March 18th, this site will collaborate with several travel companies to officially operate night tours to the Cu Chi Tunnels.
This tour will take visitors to the Cu Chi Tunnels, known as the “Underground City,” the only one in Vietnam and considered one of the most fascinating tunnel systems in the world.
With the theme “Moonlit Battlefield,” the tour will recreate the nightly lives and activities of the people of Cu Chi during the liberation period against the Americans. Visitors will witness realistic scenes such as locals participating in tunnel digging, working under the moonlight like planting rice, threshing rice, engaging in traditional courtship activities in the fields, gathering in markets, etc. The performance scene will depict the service of soldiers, guerrillas, and civilians amidst the sounds of bombs, gunfire, and enemy aircraft.
Visitors will also experience life in the tunnels to gain a deeper understanding of the nightly lives of the Cu Chi residents. Through this tour, tourists can grasp the life and spirit of the Cu Chi people during this period, always optimistic, confident, and enthusiastic in the struggle for national liberation and reunification.
According to the schedule, the night tours at Cu Chi will take place from 6:00 PM to 8:40 PM with various activities. From 6:00 PM to 6:50 PM, visitors will watch orientation on the sand table and a 3D film recreating the Cedar Falls battle – one of the fiercest campaigns launched by the enemy to destroy the Cu Chi Tunnels and the nerve centers of the Saigon-Gia Dinh Military Zone stationed here. From 7:30 PM to 8:40 PM, visitors will watch the “Moonlit Battlefield” performance and immerse themselves in the life of the tunnel residents during that period.
The Cu Chi night tours will take place on March 18th, 22nd, and 25th, with tickets priced at 399,000 VND per person.
The Cu Chi Tunnels are located about 70 km northwest of downtown Ho Chi Minh City. They were built in 1946 initially as individual secret hiding tunnels, but due to the war, local households linked the tunnels together, forming the Cu Chi Tunnel network. From 1961 to 1965, amidst the escalating war, the tunnels were significantly expanded into a sophisticated and extensive network covering approximately 250 km across six communes in Cu Chi District, hidden underground.
During the 30-year period from 1945 to 1975, the Cu Chi Tunnels evolved from secret hideouts into an interconnected network comprising underground tunnels, transportation tunnels, combat tunnels, command centers, communal areas like kitchens, meeting rooms, infirmaries for wounded soldiers, food and weapon storage underground, contributing to sheltering and supporting Cu Chi’s people and soldiers in their combat and production efforts, forming an underground village.
After 1975, some areas of the Cu Chi Tunnels were preserved, conserved, and opened for tourism, serving domestic and international visitors and as educational destinations for younger generations about patriotism and anti-foreign aggression.
The Cu Chi Tunnels Historical Site was designated as a Special National Monument in December 2015, and by 2020, city leaders entrusted the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports to advise and compile a dossier for UNESCO recognition as a World Heritage Site.
According to the Management Board of the Cu Chi Tunnels Historical Site, the development of night tours aims to create new tourism products to attract and meet the increasing demand of visitors to this Special National Monument. The tours also contribute to nurturing patriotism in future generations.
