The Vietnam Military History Museum located in Hanoi is a popular tourist destination for those who love history and are interested in the glorious history of the Vietnamese people. Join Hanoi Green Tour to save some notes for your upcoming trip to Vietnam.
The Vietnam Military History Museum is the largest museum in the system of historical museums displaying artifacts from more than 4,000 years of history of building and defending the country of the Vietnamese people. The old address of the Vietnam Military History Museum is associated with the Hanoi Flag Tower – a place associated with the resistance wars against French colonialism and American imperialism, famous wars in the world.
The new address of the museum has been moved to Km 6+500 Thang Long Avenue, Tay Mo, Dai Mo, Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi. The move to the new location is due to the old location being in the center of Hanoi capital, traffic is increasingly congested due to the expanding population. In addition, the large number of tourists coming here also makes the reception and experience space increasingly inadequate.
The new museum is built on an area of 386,600m2, with a scale of 4 floors above ground, 1 basement, modern design. The highlight of the project is the Victory Tower, 45 meters high, with the shape of 5-pointed stars stacked on top of each other with the meaning of Vietnam gaining independence in 1945. The museum currently preserves more than 150,000 artifacts, including 4 national treasures and many valuable artifacts.
Also in the new museum, many artifacts and information that have not been made public are clearly displayed, with evidence and historical stories through videos and voices such as the 1988 Gach Ma naval battle, the 1979 Northern Border Defense War, the 1979 Southwestern Border Defense War against the Polpot genocidal regime.
The museum is divided into two indoor and outdoor exhibition areas.
In the outdoor exhibition area of the Vietnam Military History Museum, visitors will have the opportunity to explore many types of weapons and military vehicles originating from the Soviet Union, China, France, the United States, etc.
The indoor exhibition area depicts six important historical themes:
Theme 1: “The beginning of building and defending the country” introduces the first stages in Vietnamese history, when the Hung Kings built the foundation for the nation.
Theme 2: “Defending independence from 939 to 1858” recreates the fight against invasions from the North, protecting the nation’s independence.
Theme 3: “Fighting against French colonialism, gaining national independence from 1858 to 1945” marks the heroic resistance wars, starting with the war against France, ending with the independence day of September 2, the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
Theme 4: “Resistance against French colonialism, 1945-1954” describes the resounding feats, associated with historic victories such as the Dien Bien Phu campaign “famous in five continents, shaking the earth”.
Theme 5: “The resistance war against America from 1954 to 1975” recreates the difficult period, with the glorious victory of our army and people in the war against American imperialism.
Topic 6: “Building and defending the country from 1976 to the present” reflects the reconstruction and development of the country after peace was restored, while facing new challenges.
Experience of visiting the Vietnam Military History Museum
The best time to explore the Vietnam Military History Museum is from September to October or from February to April, when Hanoi enters autumn and spring with cool weather, light sunshine and fresh air. On major Vietnamese holidays such as Independence Day September 2, Liberation Day of the South and National Reunification Day April 30, the number of visitors to the museum will be very large, if you plan to visit during this time, you should prepare a hat and a hand-held fan to avoid the heat.
The ideal time to visit the Vietnam Military History Museum is on weekday mornings, from 8:00 – 10:00, when the space is still quiet and not too crowded, giving you more time to learn about the artifacts.
Regarding clothing, you should choose polite, comfortable clothes and wear low shoes for easy movement.
How to get to the Vietnam Military History Museum
Located not far from the center of the capital, the Vietnam Military History Museum can be easily found via an online map (Google Map) and you can get there by any means:
Taxi, technology motorbike taxi: You can choose to take a taxi or technology motorbike taxi (Grab, Be, Xanh SM) to move quickly.
Motorbike, bicycle: If you love the outdoors and want to move freely, bicycles and motorbikes are also popular choices.
Cyclo: For those who want to experience a unique style of transportation, cyclo is an ideal choice to feel the ancient beauty of the capital through the bustling streets. I do not recommend you to travel by cyclo or bicycle because it will be a bit polluted due to dust from the surrounding construction sites.
Bus: Public bus routes cover from the center to the suburbs, an economical means of transportation for tourists and residents.
