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A Historical Dig Into The Past Of Da Lat

More than just a pleasant climate and scenic landscape, Da Lat is also a land of history, ethnic diversity, and quiet resilience. 
A Historical Dig Into The Past Of Da Lat

The roundabout in front of Đà Lạt Market during 1968-1971. | Source: Billy Robie

Ever since Doi Moi, when Vietnam opened its market in 1986, Da Lat has become one of the most visited cities in Vietnam. In 2023 alone, the city marked 6.7 million visitors, a 11.62% increase compared to the previous year, despite the aftermath of the long-winded pandemic.

Certain cues would pop up if one mentions the magic keyword “Da Lat”: the city of flowers, “little Paris” or the pine trees city. However, one thing rarely mentioned about Da Lat is its rich history of indigenous life, historical artifacts and anthropological remnants.

For those curious to look beyond the French villas and honeymoon cafés, below are four historical sites that reveal the Da Lat’s layered past.

Da Lat Research Institute of Biology

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A charming stone building tucked between a forest of pine trees. The haunting beauty of the former monastery has attracted many to take vintage-style wedding photoshoots. | Source: VnExpress

Originally built as a monastery, Da Lat Research Institute of Biology, or the Highland Biological Institute, has been open to the public after 1975. Together with the Phat Diem stone monastery, Da Lat Research Institute is considered Vietnam’s biggest stone architecture in the 20th century.

The institute has six animal archivals in addition to taxidermy exhibitions of the highland’s animals, with countless bones, horns and models of the gaur, white-cheeked gibbon, dhole, marbled cat, ground hornbill, leopard, elephant…

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245 large mushroom varieties that grow in the pine forests of Lam Dong Province. | Source: VnExpress

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An angle of the institute in a 78-million-view music video by a Vietnamese artist. | Source: Vũ Official
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The mysterious look of the institute intrigues curious explorers, from expats to local visitors. | Source: Google Review

Hidden behind an unassuming gate, this peculiar institute feels more like a riddle than a stop for visitors. Quiet, cryptic, and somehow mysterious.

  • Address: 116 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, District 7, Da Lat, Lam Dong
  • Opening hours: 7:30–11:30 and 13:30–17:00 every weekday

Lam Dong Museum

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The Museum stores prehistoric archaeological artifacts from Lam Dong, including items from the Phu My archaeological site and the Cát Tiên archaeological site, illustrating the region's ancient human activities and societal development. | Source: dalatcitytours.com

Located near Xuan Huong Lake, this government-run museum houses key artifacts from Da Lat history, including wartime records and archaeological traces of indigenous life and ancient civilizations.

The “history of Da Lat” sector gives a nostalgic look into Da Lat now and then. The archive reveals the primitive life of indigenous people in 1893, when Alexander Yersin, a French doctor and his expedition team discovered the city. Elephant rides, tilt houses and freshwater wells were evident in this era.

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Langbiang plateau, where Da Lat was located in 1893, when Yersin and his expedition team arrived in 1893. | Source: Lam Dong Museum

The locals’ resistance against the American war is also carefully documented. Rare artifacts include handwritten letters and typewritten texts of local people, highlighted as a part of the strategic uprisings on the Langbiang plateau.

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Daily life of soldiers during the resistance war, recreated. | Source: Lam Dong Museum

On top of the hill where the main exhibition site is located sits the former house of Empress Nam Phuong, a typical French architecture surrounded by tall pine trees. Inside, visitors get to explore architectural features of the last imperial dynasty in Vietnam, which took great influences from its French colony.

The former house of Empress Nam Phuong the last empress of the Nguyen dynasty now located uphill from Lam Dong Museum Source Lam Dong Museum
The former house of Empress Nam Phuong, the last empress of the Nguyen dynasty, now located uphill from Lam Dong Museum. | Source: Lam Dong Museum

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Letters from Empress Nam Phuong to Emperor Bao Dai, sent from France. | Source: Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper
  • Address: 04 Hung Vuong, District 10, Da Lat, Lam Dong
  • Opening hours: 7:15–11:30 and 13:30–17:00 every day

Da Lat Youth Prison

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Da Lat Youth Prison in a long shot. | Source: lamdong.edu.vn

Da Lat Youth Prison is an underrated location amongst the historical sites in Vietnam. Mentions of political prisons are often attributed to more popular stops like Con Dao Prison in Con Dao, Hoa Lo Prison in Ho Chi Minh city, or Phu Quoc Prison in Kien Giang. Little does one know that this city of flowers is home to the first and only youth prison, constructed during the war in Vietnam.

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Children prisoners at Da Lat Youth Prison 50 years ago. | Source: vietnaminsiders.com

The prison used to bear the old name of “Da Lat children’s education center” - one created by the American - Thieu regime. The prison, under this cover title, served to tear apart the germ of revolution from children revolutionaries, who, during wartime, were an important part of Vietnam’s intelligence network.

In this place, “wars after wars took place consecutively between political children and American puppet troops”, according to the War Remnants Museum. This former “education center” embodied the defining features of an imperialist prison, detaining over 600 political youth prisoners aged 12 to 17, gathered from prisons across southern Vietnam at the time.

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Instruments used to torture prisoners. | Source: tcdulichtphcm.vn
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Recreating the scenario of tortured prisoners in the stone dungeon. | Source: vietnaminsiders.com
  • Address: 9A Ho Xuan Huong, District 9, Da Lat, Lam Dong
  • Opening hours: 7:15–11:30 and 13:30–17:00  every day

Madame De Da Lat

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The 13,000-square-meter estate served as the retreat for Madame Trần Lệ Xuân’s family whenever they visited Da Lat. | Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper

Madame De Da Lat, formerly known as the Tran Le Xuan Palace, also serves as Vietnam’s National Archives Center IV. Madame Nhu, or Tran Le Xuan, the owner of the palace, was a pioneering figure in revolutionizing the look of the Ao Dai.

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Madame Nhu in a public appearance in 1958. She later expressed regrets towards the political decision of endorsing the South Saigon government in a memoir. | Source: Madame De Da Lat

In 1958, the same year the palace was built, Madame Nhu made a bold public appearance wearing a form-fitting version of Ao Dai with a wide, open neckline. This daring take quickly set a new standard for Saigoneese women in the 1950s–70s, marking a shift towards modern Vietnamese femininity.

Beginning construction in 1958, the palace fell into disrepair afterwards due to a lack of maintenance, until 2024 when a complete reconstruction was undertaken.

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After the fall of the Republic of Vietnam government in 1975, the Tran Le Xuan Palace gradually faded into obscurity. In 2006, the entire palace complex was restored and renovated, becoming the headquarters of National Archives Center IV – under the State Records and Archives Department of Vietnam.

The present Madame De Da Lat takes on an elegant look, hosting a weekly Madame Show every Saturday, which recreates the becoming of Da Lat over 130 years within 60 minutes.

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“Da Lat, ao dai, and you” - Ao Dai show hosted at Madame De Da Lat | Source: Madame De Da Lat
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During the 60-minute performance, Trac Thuy Mieu and her team offered a glimpse into Da Lat’s 130-year history in a way that felt intimate and captivating: through love stories. | Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
  • Address: 02 Yet Kieu, District 5, Da Lat, Lam Dong
  • Opening hours: 9:00 – 21:00 every weekday

Da Lat, Beyond the pine trees

Some of these places, preserved in their raw form, may appear unappealing to some who crave modern aesthetics. But there is one thing one must do if they decide to pay a visit: read. Reading carefully about the past and the characteristics of this land makes you redefine what Da Lat is made of.

More than just a pleasant climate and scenic landscape, Da Lat is also a land of history, ethnic diversity, and quiet resilience.