Viengxay caves
Encyclopedia
The Viengxay caves in Houaphanh Province of North-Eastern Laos
are an extensive network of caves in limestone
mountains. Four-hundred eighty of these caves were used by the Pathet Lao
during the Second Indochina War
to shelter from American bombardment.
Up to 23,000 people lived in the caves, which contained a hospital, a school, Pathet Lao offices, bakeries, shops, and even a theatre. The area was home to the Communist army, who were fighting the royalist forces, based in Vientiane. The caves were used for living and working in because the US Army was bombing the area so heavily. Locals say that farmers had to farm at night to avoid bombing raids. Vieng Xay served as a base for the Communist forces (and holding facility for captured US servicemen) because it was close to the Vietnamese border for logistical and political support.
The Lao government hopes to promote the caves as a tourism destination, similar to the Củ Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City
in Vietnam
and the Killing Fields
Memorial
near Phnom Penh
in Cambodia
. It is an unusual site in that it offers the opportunity to explore a largely intact revolutionary base.
The World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO), Netherlands Development Agency and Asian Development Bank
have been asked to help develop the site for international visitors. A project plan has been drawn up in conjunction with the Caves Office and implementation has begun, with improved signage and interpretation at sites.
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
are an extensive network of caves in limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
mountains. Four-hundred eighty of these caves were used by the Pathet Lao
Pathet Lao
The Pathet Lao was a communist political movement and organization in Laos, formed in the mid-20th century. The group was ultimately successful in assuming political power after the Laotian Civil War. The Pathet Lao were always closely associated with Vietnamese communists...
during the Second Indochina War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
to shelter from American bombardment.
Up to 23,000 people lived in the caves, which contained a hospital, a school, Pathet Lao offices, bakeries, shops, and even a theatre. The area was home to the Communist army, who were fighting the royalist forces, based in Vientiane. The caves were used for living and working in because the US Army was bombing the area so heavily. Locals say that farmers had to farm at night to avoid bombing raids. Vieng Xay served as a base for the Communist forces (and holding facility for captured US servicemen) because it was close to the Vietnamese border for logistical and political support.
The Lao government hopes to promote the caves as a tourism destination, similar to the Củ Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and the Killing Fields
The Killing Fields
The Killing Fields are a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Civil War ....
Memorial
Choeung Ek
Choeung Ek , the site of a former orchard and Chinese graveyard about 17 km south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is the best-known of the sites known as The Killing Fields, where the Khmer Rouge regime executed about 17,000 people between 1975 and 1979. Mass graves containing 8,895 bodies were...
near Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital and largest city of Cambodia. Located on the banks of the Mekong River, Phnom Penh has been the national capital since the French colonized Cambodia, and has grown to become the nation's center of economic and industrial activities, as well as the center of security,...
in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. It is an unusual site in that it offers the opportunity to explore a largely intact revolutionary base.
The World Tourism Organization
World Tourism Organization
The World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...
(UNWTO), Netherlands Development Agency and Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
have been asked to help develop the site for international visitors. A project plan has been drawn up in conjunction with the Caves Office and implementation has begun, with improved signage and interpretation at sites.