"Witnessing" hundreds of thousands of artifacts at the new Vietnam Military History Museum

Invested and built by the Ministry of National Defense since 2019, the new Vietnam Military History Museum is located on Thang Long Avenue, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi, replacing the old address in Dien Bien Phu which has stopped receiving visitors since September 30, 2024.

The new museum is built with a modern design, many functions, and unique architecture. Standing out in the front yard is the 45m high Victory Tower, along with the museum block consisting of 4 floors above ground and 1 ground floor, with a construction area of ​​23,198m2. The total floor area of ​​the main building is 64,640m2, with a total height of 35.8m.

The right and left wings are the display areas for weapons and equipment used by our Army and people and by the French colonialists and American imperialists in the two wars. Some of the items include the 85mm cannon; PT67 tank numbered 555; MiG 17 aircraft numbered 2047; SU22 aircraft...; A37, F5E, CH47, C130 aircraft and dozens of types of bombs used by the US army in the Vietnam War.

In the space on both sides of the building are symbolic blocks of the desire for peace with tree branches, green shoots and doves flying up from the plane wreck; as well as the image of a globe with mirrors reflecting the history of defending and building the nation.

Passing through the main hall is the display of the giant "Silver Swallow" MiG-21 with serial number 4324 hanging from cables attached to the roof, creating the feeling of taking off to protect the sky of the Fatherland. On the body of the MiG-21 are printed 14 red stars, symbolizing the 14 enemy planes shot down. This plane was recognized as a National Treasure by the Prime Minister on January 14, 2015.

The museum is preserving more than 150,000 artifacts, including 4 National Treasures. The exhibition rooms are divided into 6 themes according to the timeline. Theme 1: The early days of building and defending the country; Theme 2: Protecting independence from 939 to 1858; Theme 3: Fighting against French colonialism, gaining national independence from 1858 to 1945; Theme 4: Resistance against French colonialism, 1945 - 1954; Theme 5: Resistance against the US from 1954 to 1975; Theme 6: Building and defending the country from 1976 to the present day.

The large space of the new museum not only displays artifacts but also introduces many valuable documentary images of important meetings that decided the victory of the Vietnamese revolution; the process of organizing and fighting of units, providing visitors with an overall and detailed view of the events.

The topics are arranged in chronological order and have a reasonable layout. All artifacts are specifically annotated and accompanied by event information. There is also a variety of presentation formats, including text, information lookup screens, photo media, automatic audioguide narration, and QR codes for looking up information about artifacts and images.

Currently, the museum has completed phase 1 and is expected to open to visitors from November 1, 2024.