Located about 25 miles 40 km northwest of ho chi minh city the cu chi tunnels consist of a vast network of 155 miles 250 km of tunnels connecting underground living and cooking areas storage facilities weapons factories field hospitals command center but also hundreds of trap doors initially dug with simple tools and bare hands for the fight against the french in the 1940s the tunnels were then extended by vietnamese revolutionary soldiers during the american war in the 1960s and 19