Vietnam Women’s Museum interesting for all
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