admin(No.6, Vol.6,Aug-Sep 2016 Vietnam Heritage Magazine)
The 26th of Septemper, 2011 has become an important milestone in the development of Vietnam historical record keeping. On this day, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1674/Q?-TTg to establish the Vietnam National Museum of History (VNMH), by merging Vietnam Museum of History and Vietnam Museum of Revolution.
During the last 5 years (2011-2016), the NMH had made important, commendable accomplishments in many aspects:
In scientific research: Successfully completed 5 ministry level and over 20 Institute level research projects; organized dozens of domestic and international conferences, semninars and forums; authored hundreds of specialized studies for domestic and international scientific conferences and journals; compiled and published over 20 works of high theoretical and practical value such as ‘Vietnam’s paper curency,’ ‘Museums and relics – inspiring and motivating pupils to study history,’ Dong Son culture – materials and artefacts collected at VNMH,’ ‘Traditional Vietnamese boats’ (in collaboration with South Korean Sea Research Institute), ‘Flying dragons – Royal art of Vietnam’ (in conjunction with the French Guimet museum of Asian Art), ‘Ancient Vietnamese jewelery’, ‘Dawn over Red river,’ ‘Japanese culture’, ‘Vietnam the great story’ etc. and the Museum’s Scientific communication.
In Research and Collection: Excavated shipwrecks at Binh Chau, Quang Ngai; explored, investigated and excavated Champa relic sites in Quang Ngai and Danang (Cam Mit vestige site), some prehistoric archeological sites in Dak Lak and Gia Lai, Ba Tam temple group in Gia Lam, Hanoi, Vinh Nghiem pagoda in Bac Giang, Sam Mun ancient fortress in Dien Bien, Luy Lau fortress in Thuan Thanh, Bac Ninh; organized series of collecting work oriented at urgent targets such as Dong Son, Sa Huynh, Champa, Oc Eo cultures, Vietnam’s maritime souvereignty, the Renovation … Over the past 5 years, the Museum has added almost 5,000 documents and artefacts for exhibition.
In collection conservation and management: VNMH is one of the top centres for conservation and one of the first museums in the country to digitize its collection management work. The musem conducted inventory and evaluation of over 200 thousand documents and artefacts, collaborated with Japan, South Korea, Belgium, and Austria to conduct technical training programs in relics preservation to highten qualification for the staff of VNMH and other museums in the country.
In exhibition work: Corrected and made additions to the permanent exhibition system and invested in modern equipment; completed new ‘Oc Eo – Phnom cultures’ exhibition; organized 21 inhouse topical exhibitions, for example ‘Vietnam’s maritime heritage’, ‘Vietnam’s buddhist heritage’, ‘Dong Son culture’, ‘Vietnam’s sacred objects’, ‘Vietnam’s treasure – The Nguyen Dynasty’s Golden Book,’ ‘Viet Minh Front – Nation’s Great Solidarity’; cooporate with other agencies to organize 17 topical exhibitions in diferent localities and 7 ones abroad such as ‘Vietnam – a great story’ at Kyushu Museum (Japan), ‘Dong Son culture’ at National Museum of Malaysia, ‘The dawn of Vietnam’s ancient culture’ in South Korea, ‘Flying dragons – Royal art of Vietnam’ at Guimet Museum of Asian Art (France), ‘Vietnam’s archeological treasures’ in Germany; created 12 topics for mobile exhibitions in over 50 places in the country.
By Dr. Nguyen Van Cuong, VNMH Director
Vietnam National Museum of History
1 Trang Tien St, Hanoi25 Tong Dan St, HanoiTel: (04)?3824-1384
www.baotanglichsu.vn