The History Museum of Ho Chi Minh City is known for preserving national cultural heritage from the reign of Hung Kings to the present. Many domestic and international visitors love it. Not only is this tourist spot a place to admire artifacts and learn more about history, but it also offers meaningful moments of contemplation and a fun activity in Ho Chi Minh City.
General information of Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History
Located at 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem, Sai Gon Ward. The museum was formerly the Blanchard de la Brosse Museum (name of the governor of Cochinchina), built by the French in 1927 in the area of the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens and the first museum in South Vietnam.
The front Building was formerly the Blanchard de la Brosse Museum, designed by architect Auguste Delaval in the typical Indochinese style. The overall plan consists of the octagonal tower block in the center and a symmetric axis for two rows on two sides. The museum expanded its footprint by adding a U-shaped extension at the rear, following the design of architect Nguyen Ba Lang. On August 26, 1979, the museum was renamed the History Museum of Ho Chi Minh City.
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., 13:00 p.m. – 17:00 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday every week.
Sightseeing ticket prices and rules at the museum
Entrance ticket for Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History
- Regular entrance ticket price: 30,000 VND/person.
- Children under 6 years old, people with special disabilities: Free tickets.
- Children under 16 years old, students, and elderly people 60 years of age: 50% off tickets.
Entrance tickets for students to visit the History Museum of Ho Chi Minh City.
Rules when coming to visit the museum
- Please dress neatly and politely.
- Do not bring food or drinks inside, maintain hygiene, and do not make loud noise.
- Do not touch artifacts or historical equipment, and do not arbitrarily enter rooms you are not authorized to visit.
Displays at the History Museum of Ho Chi Minh City
Currently, the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History has preserved more than 40,000 unique and precious artifacts through two exhibits with the following contents:
Map of History Museum of Ho Chi Minh City
Part 1: introducing artifacts and antiques related to Vietnamese history from the Prehistory to Nguyen Dynasty
Room 1: Prehistoric period – The period of Hung King (about 500,000 years ago – 2,879 BC): Displaying archaeological findings of human teeth in caves in Tham Khuyen, Tham Hai (Lang Son), rudimentary stone tools with Traces of primitive man’s creations at Nuong Mountain (Thanh Hoa), Dat Mountain (Dong Nai)… all prove the habitation of humans throughout the country 500,000 years ago.
Room 2: The first period of founding and struggling for Independence (2,879 BC – 938): This is the period of forming the cultural foundation of the country. From the end of the Bronze Age – the end of the Iron Age (VIII century BC – II century), the country had three cultures with early states: Van Lang – Au Lac (Dong Son culture), Lam Ap country – predecessor of Champa (Sa Huynh culture), and Funan kingdom (Oc Eo culture).
Room 3: Ngo – Dinh – Early Le Dynasties (939 – 1009): After the battle on Bach Dang River in 938, Ngo Quyen ascended the throne and established the Ngo Dynasty. After Ngo Quyen lost the country, Vietnam fell into chaos with 12 warlords, and was reunited by Dinh Bo Linh in 968.
Room 4: Ly Dynasty (1009 – 1225): The exhibition space at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History recreates a prosperous dynasty with numerous imprints across culture, religion, law, politics, and the economy. Items such as plates, kettles, lotus blocks, and tureens carry bold details of the Ly Dynasty, which existed for 200 years.
Room 5: Tran – Ho Dynasty (1226 – 1407): The room explains how the Tran Dynasty developed strongly and absorbed values from the Ly Dynasty, developed strong art, and the Nom script began to be used in literature.
Room 9: Later Le – Mac – Later Le restoration Dynasties (1428 – 1788): Dai Viet fell into the hands of Northern domination after the defeat of Ho Quy Ly before the Ming army. However, the power of the Lam Son uprising, led by Le Loi, restored national sovereignty. During the Le Dynasty, numerous reforms were implemented, and new economic and social policies were promulgated… In 1527, Mac Dang Dung seized power, triggering a crisis and division across the country. This time marked the birth of the National Language.
Room 10: Tay Son dynasty (1771 – 1802): The Tay Son uprising in 1771 mobilized a large number of people, overthrowing Lord Nguyen, expelling the Siamese army, destroying culture, and reforming the country. There are some old coins from this period, and you can view them in this exhibition space.
Room 12: Nguyen Dynasty (1802 – 1945): the exhibition space of the Nguyen Dynasty explains a dynasty that made efforts to consolidate a unified government, reclaiming wasteland, and develop culture to expel foreign invaders, overthrowing the feudal colonial government, and establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945.
Part 2: Culture of the ethnic groups in Southern Vietnam and some Asian countries
Room 6: Champa Culture (2nd – 17th Century): The Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History currently preserves one of the world’s largest collections of Champa art. The most prominent is the statue of Devi Huong Que.
Room 7: Oc Eo Culture (1st – 7th Centuries): The art of the Oc Eo culture reached a sophisticated level with many jewelry made of gold, copper, tin, precious stones, and glass beads.
Room 8: Cambodian Stone Sculptures (9th – 13th Centuries): The 10th to 13th centuries were a prosperous period for Cambodia. At the Ho Chi Minh City History Museum, you will see a blend of Buddhism and Brahmanism in its stone sculptures.
Room 13: Duong Ha Collection: A Large collection painstakingly collected by a couple of professors. Duong Minh Thoi and Mrs. Ha Thi Ngoc in the 30s-40s of the 20th century. The gilded wooden altar box appeared in the early 20th century.
Room 14: Ceramics from selected Asian countries. Ceramic artifacts from the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History on display include pieces from China, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
Room 16: Collection of Vuong Hong Sen: Researcher Vuong Hong Sen (1902 – 1996) is very famous in the South with more than 800 antiques discovered under his hands. The gallery at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History will present artifacts made of various materials from Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Japan, Thailand, and France, produced between the 10th and 14th centuries.
Not only at the display system, but the museum also manages a system for artifact preservation, including many wooden Guanyin statues from Vietnam, as well as materials such as terracotta, glazed ceramic, stone, metal, and ivory, from the cultural backgrounds of Vietnam and many other countries in Asia.
The cannon, dating to the 18th and 19th centuries, is located on the outdoor campus of the History Museum of Ho Chi Minh City. This type of gun is large in size, cast in bronze, iron, or cast iron, and uses bullets that are solid balls made of cast iron or iron, with high damage efficiency.
In 2012, the History Museum of Ho Chi Minh City was designated a national architectural monument by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This is one of the best places to learn about and explore Vietnam’s history and culture.
Source: collected by An
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