It is a beautiful museum that highlights Vietnamese women’s image.
Vietnam Women’s Museum is located on Ly Thuong Kiet street , 500m from Hanoi ’s Old Quarters. Founded in 1987, the museum is known as the Gender Museum , which researches, preserves and displays tangible and intangible cultural heritages of Vietnamese women as well as the Vietnam Women’s Union .
It is also a cultural centre for Vietnamese and foreign women to exchange cultural activities for equality, development and peace of women.
Covering 2000 square meters, the museum has nearly 25,000 documents and objects reflecting Vietnamese women’s contributions to history and contemporary life.
The museum in a 4-storey building is arranged like a history book, where visitors can enjoy the exhibits like turning pages of a history book.
Tran Thu Huyen, a guide of the museum said: “Each floor is a chapter of the book with vivid images, documents, and diverse objects, through which visitors can better understand Vietnamese women."
In the museum’s lobby on the first floor, visitors are memorized by the statue called "Vietnamese mother ". This statue won the first prize in a sculpture competition organised by the Museum and the Fine Arts Association of Ho Chi Minh City in 1995.
Huyen said: "The statue represents a Vietnamese mother carrying her son on her shoulders. The mother seems to be trying to protect her child from difficulties and dangers. Sculpted by Nguyen Phu Cuong, the statue shows the beauty and strength of Vietnamese women."
The second floor is devoted to permanent exhibitions featuring different topics: marriage, child birth, and family life, and female figures in history, fashion, cosmetics and jewelry.
Huyen says:“The first theme of the permanent exhibit here is women in the family. The exhibits are arranged in a story-telling way, which is about a Vietnamese woman’s life from her adulthood to marriage, becoming a wife and a mother. This part is divided into three main themes: marriage, child birth and family life”.
The 3rd floor reflects Vietnamese women’s contributions to and sacrifices for national independence. Moving images depicting the torture, interrogation and imprisonment that Vietnamese women suffered during the war show us their courage and indomitable spirit.
Huyen says that this is the most popular part of the museum, especially for foreigners. The visitors are also interested in the exhibition of activities of the Vietnam Women's Union , memories and gifts from our friends around the world.
On the top floor is an exhibit of traditional Vietnamese costumes throughout history. Tom Watt, an Austrian visitor said that he was captivated by the beauty of the traditional clothes presented, which are old and different from those of today.
There are also clothes of women from different ethnic minority groups in Vietnam . These costumes reflect the skill and sophistication of Vietnamese women in dressing.
To better entertain visitors, the museum has modern facilities allowing visitors to learn more about the lives of Vietnamese women. Audio guides are also available in some exhibit rooms.
Elected by the travel website TripAdvisor as the most exciting place in Hanoi from over 80 attractions in Hanoi for two consecutive years, 2012 and 2013, the Vietnam Women’s Museum is a good place for those who want to learn more about Vietnam, its culture and people.-VNA
