VietNamNet Bridge – The Asian Record Organization will recognize nine records of Vietnam as Asian records on May 26.



This organization will present its certificates to 10 Vietnamese records at a ceremony in HCM City this Saturday.

The Con Dao Prison will be recognized as the largest prison on an island. This relic is located on Con Dao Island, offshore the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, around 97 nautical miles from Vung Tau City.

Construction of the prison systems by the French colonial government began on February 1, 1862. There were 6 prisons built by the French. The total number reached 11 prisons--of which 4 were newly built and 1 was extended in the American war in Vietnam, including the infamous "Tiger Cages."

In addition, one of those hasn’t been completed yet because of the liberation of Con Dao (Prison No. 9). Various generations of patriots and revolutionists were imprisoned and died in the so called “Hell on Earth.” More than 20,000 prisoners died at Con Dao after suffering brutal tortures and hard labor.



The Hang Duong cemetery holds the remains of thousands of Vietnamese revolutionary soldiers, many of whose identities are unknown. Covering an area of 190,000 square meters, Hang Duong cemetery contains more than 2,000 graves including 23 communal graves, 600 graves with names and the rest unknown. Hang Dương cemetery is preserved as a special historical relic – graphic evidence of the crimes of imperialists and colonialists and an echo of the glorious past of the Vietnamese nation.      

This prison complex has become a tourist attraction. Last year, Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Joile visited this relic.

The largest bronze-made pagoda on the mountain top will be granted to the Bronze Pagoda on Yen Tu mountain in the northern province of Quang Ninh.



Bronze pagoda was built in Le Dynasty (1428-1527), on Yen Tu Mountain's peak with the height of over 1086m above the ground. It has over a 20 square meter area and 4 meters in height. It was recently re-cast in 70 tons of pure bronze imported from Australia at a cost of over US$1 million.

Located 130 km northwest of Hanoi, Yen Tu has been considered an important Buddhist destination since the 10th century. It used to be a Buddhist capital of Vietnam, where the Truc Lam school of Vietnamese Zen Buddhism originated in the 13th century.

At the end of the 13th century, after defeating the Mongolian invaders, King Tran Nhan Tong gave up his throne in favor of his son and left for Yen Tu to live as a Buddhist monk, eventually founding the Zen Buddhist sect.



The rest of the records include: the longest corridor with 500 Arhats and Buddha's gold-inlaid bronze statue in Bai Dinh pagoda (Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province); the largest Christ statue in Vung Tau city; the longest dry cave – Thien Duong (Paradise) cave in Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, Quang Binh province; the longest tunnel - Cu Chi tunnel in HCM City; the biggest flower-made Goddess of Mercy statue – at Linh Phuoc pagoda, Da Lat city; the largest book – a product of Dr. Hoang Quang Thuan.

The only record for an individual belongs to a 12-year-old boy, Bui Ngoc Thinh, in the central province of Khanh Hoa: the blind boy who can play many musical instruments. Thinh is blind but he can play seven musical instruments.

Representatives of Lao and Cambodian record organizations will attend the ceremony. On this occasion, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia will discuss a plan to establish the Indochina Record Organization.



Na Son