The tunnel is 32 km long hidden under the communal house

QUANG NAM – During the war, the communal house of Thach Tan village, Tam Thang commune, Tam Ky city was dug to connect with a tunnel 32 km long in the ground to hide officials.

Thach Tan village communal house was built over 300 years ago to commemorate the merit of the people who gave birth to this land. After many times of restoration, the temple remains the architectural status of the house with 3 rooms with 2 wings, a type of house with 3 rooms with 4 roofs with 2 auxiliary roofs with 2 gables called 2 wings.

During the war against the US in 1964, implementing the resolution to liberate the suburbs and the plains, Tam Ky city was divided into two strategic regions. The eastern region is Ky Anh commune, now Tam Thang commune and the western region is Phu Ninh district.

At that time, people and soldiers and soldiers made use of the communal house with a favorable location and spiritual elements that could avoid the enemy’s surveillance. Local people dug 2 tunnels right under the communal house to serve as an ambulance and store food supplies for the northwestern region of Tam Ky against the US.

Only one person entered the tunnel entrance. The bunker located behind the communal house, which used to cover the door with laterite and construction stone, to avoid detection by the enemy, is now restored with a concrete slab

From these two tunnels, in May 1965, the soldiers, guerrillas and people dug the tunnels to shelter and hide the officers, until 1967 completed. “In two years, 32 km was dug, 0.5-0.8 m wide, 0.8-1m high. The tunnels became a solid fortress to help Ky Anh militia organize a counterattack, an enemy ambush. when they sweep, “said Huynh Kim Ta, Ky Anh Tunnels Relic Management Board.

Students visit the tunnels. The tunnel is shaped like a chessboard, winding, meandering, many nooks and crannies, so once we discovered the enemy still did not dare to descend. In Thach Tan village, the tunnels followed the bamboo bushes, bushes, straws… ran all over the commune and had a tunnel mouth to avoid easy shelter.

Way up a hatch. The war ended, the tunnels subsided and damaged much. “Only about 200 m has been restored and put into use,” said Kim Ta. According to history books, from 1965 to 1975, Ky Anh army and people fought the enemy at 1,052 battles, destroying more than 3,700 names. Three aircraft, 15 military vehicles of the enemy were also shot down in this commune.

A tunnel mouth is camouflaged under a straw, making it difficult for the enemy to detect.

The command tunnel, along the tunnels, has many ambulance tunnels, combat tunnels, food storage tanks … In 1997, Ky Anh tunnels were recognized as a national historic site. In early June 2017, Quang Nam province opened this historic tourist destination.

A tunnel door connected to the people’s house to bring food and food down to feed the soldiers and soldiers.

A gun, ammo, gun, cage pair … during the war was found during the restoration of the tunnels. They are displayed at the artifact house.

Oil lamps, ammunition boxes and soldiers’ clothing and items.

Visitors to Thach village communal house and Ky Anh tunnels can also explore the craft of weaving mats. According to the village elders, their ancestors when entering the new land to start a career in this new land brought sedge weaving to both settle part of the labor force during leisure time and bring income.

Thach Tan village communal house and Ky Anh tunnels are about 7 km from Tam Ky city center. Each year, it welcomes nearly 20,000 visitors; By 2020, the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic has more than 8,000 visitors. Guests can visit for free.