Secret Weapon Bunker in Saigon

During the Vietnam War in 1966, the politician Tran Van Lai purchased a home in Saigon’s District 3 at 287/70 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Road. During the next months, he erected a secret cellar without his family’s knowledge. He utilized the hidden location to store weapons for the 1968 attack on the Royal Palace. This event was commonly referred to as the Tet Offensive.

To escape suspicion, he placed all of the excavated dirt into boxes and disposed of it with his automobile at night. Similarly, the guns were smuggled in and out by concealing them in bamboo cases or carpets. TNT, C4 explosives, detonators, rocket launchers, firearms, and hand grenades are used as weapons.

Today, the home serves as a small museum and a testament to a significant period in Vietnamese history. The Ministry of Culture designated it as a cultural and historical treasure in 1986. The next-door coffee shop, Do Phu Coffee also features secret passages and is owned by Tran Vu Binh, Van Lai’s son.