Ao Dai Museum

Located at a distance from the city centre in District 9, Ao Dai museum celebrates the national dress of Vietnam in a picturesque landscape. Surrounded by coconut trees and canals, the museum traces the evolution of the Ao Dai through the years. On display are several beautiful pieces owned by royals and celebrities, and you can even try one on and get a photo clicked.

Vietnam has a rich cultural and traditional history and thus, the museums here, narrate the stories of all the significant events that occurred at some point in the country's journey to development and glory. When we talk about museums, the famous Ao Dai Museum is impossible to miss which is a tribute to the traditional Vietnamese attire called Ao Dai. The designer and artist Si Hoang is the genius behind the museum. If you are in Ho Chi Minh City, you should visit this place to know how the national dress of Vietnam played a crucial role in its history.

A day-long visit to the Ao Dai Museum will give you a chance to see the Ao Dai in making which includes several steps in between such as designing, cutting, stitching and embroidering. The museum has two large exhibition houses where you will find the Ao Dais and the transformation the national dress has gone through, starting from the 17th century to the present day. The Ao Dai museum has also a dedicated section which showcases Ao Dais worn by women who have a played a major role in shaping up of the nation. Some of these female pioneers are Nguyen Thi Dinh, designer Minh Hanh, doctor Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, diplomat Ton Nu Thi Ninh, people’s artist Bach Tuyet, diplomat Nguyen Thi Binh and actress Tra Giang, professor.

Read more about Vietnamese National Dress

The location of the Ao Dai Museum, far away from the downtown renders a scenic charm where you will see the coconut trees and canals in the vicinity. The architecture of the Long Thuan garden house resembles that of a traditional Vietnamese set-up which also has rice fields, bamboo bridges, rivers, lotus ponds – making it look like a picturesque countryside, far away from the urban chaos.

How to Reach Ao Dai Museum

The Ao Dai Museum is located in the Long Thuan Garden House, Long Phuoc ward of District 9 in Ho Chi Minh City. If you are looking for a cheap mode of transportation, then travelling on a bus is ideal. You can board a bus from the Ham Nghi bus station. Once you reach District 9, you can board the bus no. 88 which will drop you at the Trai Nhim bus stop, from where you can easily walk to the Ao Dai Museum, 400 meters away. The cost of the bus ride comes around VND 6,000. If you do not want to go by taxi then you must know that the museum is 1 hr away from Saigon. For a distance of 23 km from the city, the cab fare will be in the range of VND 350,000 to VND 400,000.

The Ao Dai museum is also where you can get to see the remarkable prize-winning collection curated by Si Hoang and over 3000 photos of the Ao Dais created by the iconic designer. Do not miss to visit the section which demonstrates the influence of the Ao Dai on Vietnamese art, culture, literature, music and cinema. History buffs, make sure you include Ao Dai museum in your itinerary when you plan to visit Vietnam.