VIETNAM MUSEUM OF ETHNOLOGY

         Vietnam Museum Of  Ethnology  is the most recent yet probably the largest and undoubtedly the most interesting Museums in Hanoi and Vietnam. Vietnam Eco Travel will introduces you some information about this museum before you decide to visit it.

Vietnam Museum Of  Ethnology focuses on the 54 officially recognized ethnic groups in Vietnam. It is located on a 3.27-acre (13,200 m2) property in the Cầu Giấy District, about 8 km from the city center. This fabulous collection relating to Vietnam's ethnic minorities features well-presented tribal art, artefacts and everyday objects gathered from across the nation, and examples of traditional village houses. The museum is packed full of information detailing traditional Vietnamese ways of life, from religious events to the symbolic rituals of all the Vietnamese ethnic groups, providing a rich tapestry of the culture melting pot existing in Vietnam. The exhibition hall features everyday objects representing each group, a research centre, library and auditorium.

The Museum Department received 3000 objects from the National Museum of History, most of them costumes. In 1986, the Viet Nam Government approved a 3.27 ha area on which to build the museum. In 1990, the construction of the museum started and the office buildings were finished in 1995. In 1997, the exhibition building was completed with a total of 2,480 m2, including 700 m2 for collection storage. From 1978 to 1995 the Museum Department collected only some 100 objects. Since 1995 more objects could be collected and the museum now has over 25,000 objects and 30,000 films and videos. On November 12th 1997, the permanent exhibition was inaugurated.
Virtual indoor tour. The indoor permanent collection occupies the majority of the exhibition space. However, there is a separate area for the temporary exhibits. The permanent collection is divided into 9 main sections, each of which includes objects displayed in glass cases and dioramas:
• Introduction
• Introduction of the Viet group (Kinh)
• Introduction of Muong, Tho, Chut ethnic groups
• The ethnic groups belonging to the Tay, Thai, and Ka Dai group
• The ethnic groups belonging to the H’Mong-Dao group, Tang Group, and San Diu, Ngai ethnic groups
• The ethnic groups belonging to the Mon-Khmer group
• The ethnic groups belonging to the Nam Dao
• The ethnic groups of Cham, Hoa, Khmer
• The exchange and mingle among different ethnic groups
Virtual outdoor tour. An open-air exhibition in the museum’s spacious and peaceful ground features ethnic houses from all over Vietnam. The outdoor exhibition area is only large enough for the most popular architectural styles to be presented. Already presented are the Ede long house, the Tay stilt house, the Yao house half on stilts and half on earth, the Hmong house whose roof is made of pomu wood, the Viet house with tile roof, etc. Between the houses, there are trees indigenous to the area of each house, zigzagging paths and a meandering stream crossed by small bridges. The outdoor museum is of much captivation to most tourists not only for the cultural values but also for a natural landscape. Some even said: “Walking around here makes me feel like I were in a beautiful park, very relaxing!”

One of the main features of the museum is to present the artefacts in a simple manner so that visitors can enjoy them without being overwhelmed by detail.
It opens from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM every day except Monday.
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