Museums in Hanoi
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History, Art and the Military Cluster
Here is the list of 11 Museums in Hanoi
1. National Museum of Vietnamese History
Located in the Hoan Kiem district of Hanoi, the National Museum of Vietnamese History exhibits artefacts ranging from prehistoric times- about 400,000 years ago-upto the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Built in French colonial architecture with beautiful balconies, the museum has a collection of about 200,00 objects ranging from Axe heads to bright lacquer ware.
2. Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is a great place to explore the socio-cultural diversity of Vietnam. Built in 1995, the museum prides itself on housing and displaying relics of the South-East Asian culture. It exhibits artefacts from the daily lives of the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups, including photographs, audiotapes, antiques and everyday objects such as baskets and knives.
3. Vietnamese Women's Museum
Run by the Woman's Union Of Vietnam, the Vietnamese Women's Museum is well curated and with beautiful exhibits paying a tribute to women across Vietnam over the years. Women as rice paddy field workers, service workers, mothers, street vendors, business leaders are all presented with detailed information. There are photographs, videos and documents of women's role in the war too.
4. Vietnam Fine Arts Museum
The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi gives a visual representation of country caught in the throes of war. Located just across the Temple of Literature, the Museum houses a small collection of indigenous artwork of 20th and 21st centuries. The themes of patriotism and martyrdom abound in the artworks, while some of the effigies, lacquers and paintings provide a glimpse of Vietnamese heritage and folktales.
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5. Hoa Lo Prison Museum
Hoa Lo Museum is all that remains of the Hoa Lo Prison, used to capture Vietnamese and American political prisoners during the colonial period and the Vietnam war respectively. The interrogation room, guillotine and John McCain's suit all are on display, a silent reminder of the gruesome past Vietnam has had to witness.
6. Ho Chi Minh Museum
Opened in 1990 on the anniversary of Ho Chi Minh's birth, this Soviet-style museum is a mind-blowing museum depicting Vietnamese and Ho Chi Minh's history in a rather bizzare way. You can find lack and white photos, copies of speeches, letters, a huge statue of Ho Chi Minh himself, 1970-style art installations among many other exhibits.
7. Vietnam Military History Museum
The Vietnam Military History Museum, also known as the Army Museum, houses authentic war relics, collection of weaponry used during the Vietnam War, artefacts, and some detailed accounts of war soldiers. Some huge war evidences and notable attractions are an MiG21 jet fighter, M107 gun, a military tank and many others.
8. Hanoi Police Museum
The Hanoi Police Museum exhibits fascinating items like uniforms, weapons, motorbikes, station dioramas and many photographs and documents taking the visitor through a chronological history of the police force. From their efforts to expel the French in 1946 till today while they fight drugs and cyber crime, it's all on display for the public.
9. Museum of Vietnamese Revolution
The Museum of Vietnamese Revolution is nothing compared to the National Museum of Vietnamese History, but is still an interesting attraction. The rooms contain photographs, documents, maps, flags and other exhibits of Vietnam's revolutionary history. Some rooms showcase items like carpets and batteries that indicated Vietnam's blossoming into the modern era.
10. Vietnamese Air Force Museum
The Vietnamese Air Force Museum tells the story of the Vietnam People's Air Force from its formation in 1954 uptil today. It displays the history through documents, biographies, photographs, uniforms, weapons, engines and other exhibits. Outside the museum stand jet fighters, helicopters, tanks and other ground vehicles. It's worth visiting for anyone interested in Vietnam's Air Force history or aviation in general.
11. B52 Victory Museum
The B52 Victory Museum of Hanoi was established as a memorial for the 1972 campaign 'Hanoi-Dien Bien Phu In The Air' when the Vietnamese Air Defense Force shot down 81 aircrafts and forced US to pull out of Vietnam. There are many weapons, iamges, documents, wreckage and other exhibits praising the Hanoi troops.
Two of these are worth going out of your way for and the rest reward you only if the subject already interests you. The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, out in Cau Giay about eight kilometres from the Old Quarter, covers all fifty-four recognised ethnic groups and has full-size traditional houses rebuilt in its garden, and it is the best-presented museum in the country. Hoa Lo Prison, in the centre, occupies what remains of the French colonial prison later used for American pilots, and its account is pointed but the site itself is powerful. After that comes a cluster of military and state museums, the Military History Museum, the Air Force Museum, the B52 Victory Museum and the Museum of the Revolution, which together tell one version of the twentieth century and are best sampled rather than worked through. The practical thing to know is opening hours: most state museums in Hanoi close on Mondays and shut for around two hours in the middle of the day, so plan mornings or mid-afternoons. See also museums in Ho Chi Minh City, caves in Ha Long Bay and floating markets in Vietnam.
This post was published by Harshitha
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FAQs on Museums in Hanoi
Which museum in Hanoi is the best?
The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, in Cau Giay district. It covers the country's fifty-four ethnic groups with well-labelled displays and an outdoor section of reconstructed traditional houses you can walk into. It is about eight kilometres from the Old Quarter, so allow travel time.
What is Hoa Lo Prison?
A surviving fragment of the French colonial prison built in the 1890s, later used to hold captured American pilots, who nicknamed it the Hanoi Hilton. Most of the complex was demolished in the 1990s but the gatehouse and several cell blocks remain as a museum in the centre of the city.
When are Hanoi museums open?
Typically eight to eleven thirty and then one thirty to five, with a long midday closure, and most are shut on Mondays. Some also close on the first Monday of the month or for public holidays. Check the day before rather than turning up at noon.
Which museums cover the war?
The Vietnam Military History Museum, the Air Force Museum, the B52 Victory Museum and the Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution. The Military History Museum has moved to a large new site outside the centre, so confirm the current address before setting off.
Are there museums suitable for a short visit?
Yes. The Vietnamese Women's Museum near Hoan Kiem Lake is compact, well laid out and takes about an hour, and the Fine Arts Museum needs a similar amount of time. Both are walkable from the Old Quarter, unlike most of the others.
Do the museums have English labelling?
The Ethnology Museum, the Women's Museum and Hoa Lo Prison are well labelled in English. The military and state museums are more uneven, with English captions on major exhibits and Vietnamese only on much of the rest, so a guide or an audio guide adds a lot.
