Field hospital in a mountain cave on Cat Ba island
Quan Y Cave on Cat Ba Island is a field hospital formed in the heart of the rocky mountain to treat wartime
Quan Y Cave is located on Cat Ba Island, Cat Hai Island District, Hai Phong City. The cave is located in Hung Son cave, next to the exclusive road across the island, 13km from Cat Ba town. Called Quan Y cave because during the war with the US, people built a hospital with hundreds of beds in the heart of the cave. The cave door is made of iron and steel alloy, over the years but still very solid
Introduction to Quan Y cave
Quan Y Cave is a cave located in the middle of a mountain, in the Khe Deep area, of Tran Chau commune, Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city, at the same time about 13km from Cat Ba town.
It is known that this cave was originally found by a Tran dynasty general who fought against the enemy on the Bach Dang river, so it was named Hung Son. But then, in the period 1963 – 1965, when the war against the American Empire was at its most fierce, people took advantage of this place as a field hospital and avoided bombs, so it was changed. name to Quan Y.
After the war, the hospital was relocated, but because of the stable and safe topography, people often chose to be shelter during storms and floods. And to this day, it becomes a top historical monument in Cat Ba that visitors cannot ignore.
The unique architecture of Quan Y cave
Over nearly 100 years with many ups and downs of history and fluctuations of weather, but the architecture of Quan Y Cat Ba cave is still quite intact by the solid reinforced concrete system, with 2 long caves. 200m and total area up to 2000 m2, accommodating more than 100 wounded soldiers simultaneously.
The cave has two main entrances to the east and west. The entrance to the cave was originally built as a mobile wooden ladder, so that it can be easily dismantled or destroyed when there is an alarm that the enemy is entering, thereby securing the location of the cave as well as ensuring safety. for those inside.
And of course, wood will not last as long as concrete or stone, so it took quite a few times to repair and rebuild. But because people want to keep its historical significance as well as its value, people still do not change the materials that make up the ladder.
After stepping through the stairs, you will not be able to always enter Hung Son cave, but will have to face a solid iron door with 4 auxiliary iron and 1 main post, if not experienced in people. during wartime, it is impossible to open the door. So, hiring a guide comes with a price of 15,000 VND / person is extremely necessary.
The special thing is that this door is fixed by extremely solid thick steel with the function of bulletproof and curvature so that if a bullet is fired, they will be thrown to the sides instead of being stuck in the middle. damage the door. The ingenuity and ingenuity of the old people have never stopped admiring and admiring.
When you have gone through the “gate” which is a solid door, welcoming you will be a deep, deep corridor of an epic field hospital. Because Quan Y cave has the “touch” of human hands, it is not as dark as other caves, with a light system carefully installed to serve travel.
However, the small door makes the sunlight outside can not penetrate much, combined with the lights, makes the cave a rather “fanciful” yellow, so for those “weak heart”, perhaps Will also shiver a little at its cold and fuzzy.
The field hospital in the mountain cave is also designed into 3 floors, including 17 rooms. In which: 1st floor is the main healing area with full 14 functional rooms: operating room, patient room, drug room, recovery room, restroom, living room, toilet, bathroom, room. Kitchen, reception room, guard room, and hall …
The second floor has quite rough terrain, so it was used as a movie theater, swimming pool and place to practice and check the fitness of local soldiers. From the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor – where important military meetings are held, a secret passage is designed. At the same time, on the 3rd floor, there is also an emergency exit to the nearby mountain side to protect security and safety.
Besides, when you visit all the hospitals, you will find that it is equipped with both a drainage system in the corridor and a ventilation system in the rooms. Moreover, according to the experience of those who have experienced, the cave is built by assembling wooden panels together into molds and pouring concrete into the space in between, so the rooms are extremely square and smooth. A thoughtful, meticulous detail that no one will initially think is just a very primitive natural cave.
Today, when traveling to Quan Y cave in Hai Phong , visitors will find hospital beds, wooden tables and chairs or some still kept in the middle of the room, wooden pieces attached to the wall of the medicine cabinet. There are still traces left. In addition, they also put more statues simulating images of soldiers guarding or doctors who are not examining wounded soldiers … to create true “breath” of wartime.
In particular, because it is located deep inside the rocky mountain, the air in the cave always maintains a stable, cool temperature in summer and warm in winter, so everyone who enters will feel very comfortable and comfortable.
Revealing, because the cave is located on the middle of the mountain side, when you stand at the entrance of the cave looking down, you can capture the majestic poetic beauty of the mountains, clouds and the surrounding scenery in the cool.
How to move to Quan Y cave
From the center of Cat Ba town, you ride a motorbike in the direction to Cai Vieng ferry to get to Cat Tien street, then go through 1/4 Street, Tung Dinh Street and Tung Thu Street to enter the road across Cat Ba Island. You will find Quan Y cave on the right side of the road. The total travel time only takes about 30 minutes and the cave is also very easy to find because there is a large signboard located right on the side of the road.
If you have had fun and tiredness on the romantic beaches of Cat Ba and want to relax and remember about a heroic time of the Vietnamese people, Quan Y cave is an ideal destination for you.
Photo: Internet
