The Pearl of the Orient, Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam and is its economic and cultural capital. The city boasts of many picturesque pagodas and impressive official buildings of the colonial era. That the city takes pride in its culture and history is conveyed by the numerous museums that dot every corner in this city. Out of these innumerable museums, one that stands out is the History Museum of Ho Chi Minh City.

The History Museum of Ho Chi Min City is also known as the Museum of Vietnamese History. It was built in 1929 and was originally called the Blanchard de la Brosse Museum. In the span of years between 1929 and 1956 it mainly exhibited ancient art collections of a few Asian countries. The Museum was renamed Saigon National Museum after 1956 and was called so till 1975. Post 1975 the museum was expanded and has been called the Museum of Vietnamese History since then. The museum exhibits its collection in two parts:-

Part One exhibits the history of Vietnam from the times when the area was first settled (about 300,000 years ago) to 1930 – i.e. when the Vietnamese Communist Party was born. This part consists of the following halls:

–  The primitive period in Vietnam
–  The founding of King Hung’s Dynasty
–  The periods of struggle to gain independence (Centuries I – X)
–  Ly Dynasty (Centuries XI – XIII)
–  Tran Dynasty (Centuries XIII – XIV)
–  Le Dynasty (Centuries XV – XVII)
–  Tay Son Dynasty (Centuries XVIII – early XIX)
–  Nguyen Dynasty (Centuries XIX – mid XX).

Part Two: Displays showcase various themes like that of historical characteristics of southern Vietnam such as Oc Eo culture, ancient culture of the Mekong Delta, Cham art, Ben Nghe – Saigon, ethnic minority groups in Vietnam etc. Ancient pottery of a few Asian countries is also housed in this area. The museums also stores a number of important relics in a separate storage are.

Address: 02 Nguyen Binh Khiem St., District 1, HCMC

The History Museum is aptly named. In addition to preserveing history it will also probably go down in history as one of the most interesting museums in Ho Chi Minh City. Do visit!