ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The National Museum of Vietnamese History, Hanoi, Vietnam: A Photo Tour

Updated on February 24, 2014

The National Museum of Vietnamese History is in an ochre-colored building which was once the museum of the Far East Research Institute. It was designed by Ernest Hebrad, who created a successful fusion of French and Vietnamese architecture.

Inside the museum are displays on several periods of Vietnamese history. Unfortunately, not all of them are well-labelled.

The National History Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam
The National History Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam | Source
A remnant of the Champa Kingdom, which is now central Vietnam.
A remnant of the Champa Kingdom, which is now central Vietnam. | Source
A peaceful looking Buddha from one of Vietnam's royal dynasties
A peaceful looking Buddha from one of Vietnam's royal dynasties

Sculptures from the Champa Kingdom and the Vietnamese Royal Dynasties

The National Museum of Vietnamese History has an array of sculptures from the Champa kingdom to the different dynasties that ruled Vietnam. Several impressive Dong Son drums from the Bronze Age can also be found in the museum.

The Champa Kingdom, which is now central and southern Vietnam and a portion of Cambodia, was once a flourishing kingdom in the 9th and 10th century. During it's decline, it suffered several attacks from the Khmer kingdom which the Vietnamese took advantage of to expand their small northern kingdom. One can now visit a huge site of Champa ruins by taking a tour from Hoi An.

Some of the sculptures found in these ruins are displayed in this museum. Unfortunately, most of them are outside, slowly deteriorating in Hanoi's acid rains.

Several pieces from the royal dynasties can also be found in this museum. Most of them come from the Nguyen Dynasty.

Doors from the Nguyen Dynasty
Doors from the Nguyen Dynasty
A
National Museum of Vietnamese History, Hanoi:
Pham Ngu Lao, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi, Vietnam

get directions

The Battle of Bach Dang, 938 A.D.
The Battle of Bach Dang, 938 A.D. | Source
Dioramas in The National History Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam
Dioramas in The National History Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam

Battle of Bach Dang 938

Another feature of this museum are the dioramas that show scenes in Vietnam's history. The most impressive one is the diorama that shows the victorious Battle of Bach Dang in 938 A.D. when the Vietnamese used knowledge of the land to beat the Chinese in an epic battle.

Anticipating that the Chinese will be moving along the Bach Dang River, Ngo Quyen commanded his men to plant sharp steel-tipped poles in the bed of the river. When the high tide concealed these sharp weapons, he asked some of his men to provoke the Chinese to lead them to charge in the direction of the poles. As the Chinese approached, the tide began to lower, revealing the concealed weapons and trapping and sinking their warships.

The Battle of Bach Dang River, 1288
The Battle of Bach Dang River, 1288 | Source

Battle of Bach Dang, 1288

The same tactic was used against the Mongols in 1288. This time, it was Tran Hung Dao who commanded the positioning of huge sharp poles along the river. Once again, the Vietnamese managed to gawd their enemies to charge into the sharp poles, wrecing their warships and losing the war.

A painting of this victorious moment can be found in the museum. They have also preserved the wooden poles used to deter the Mongols.

Old texts
Old texts | Source

Vietnamese Writing

The National Museum of Vietnamese History also shows the progression of Vietnamese writing from Chinese characters to their own complicated version of the Chinese characters to the present characters to the Latin alphabet version brought about by the French influence that is used today.

Above: The cards used by the French to collect taxes. Below: A whip that is made of animal bone.
Above: The cards used by the French to collect taxes. Below: A whip that is made of animal bone. | Source
A pagoda model on the National History Museum grounds in Hanoi, Vietnam
A pagoda model on the National History Museum grounds in Hanoi, Vietnam | Source

Which of these places did you enjoy visiting in Hanoi?

See results

The National Museum of History in Hanoi has a lot of interesting pieces on display. Unfortunately, the lack of labels and explanations can make a tourist less appreciative of the exhibits. So, it's not a bad idea to spend a bit more and get a tour guide.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)