Panorama of Ho Chi Minh Museum. Photo: BTHCM
The 55th anniversary of construction and development is an opportunity for generations of officials and employees of the Museum to look back on the past journey, from the early days full of difficulties to becoming a trusted, close, familiar cultural address, a place to preserve memories and widely spread values about President Ho Chi Minh to millions of compatriots at home and international friends.
Dr. Vu Manh Ha, Director of Ho Chi Minh Museum. Photo: BTHCM
1. Two decades of creating a foundation for development (1970 - 1990)
On November 25, 1970, the Central Secretariat of the Vietnam Workers' Party, Term III (now the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam ) issued Resolution No. 206-NQ/TW on the establishment of the Committee in charge of building the Ho Chi Minh Museum. At that time, the Ho Chi Minh Museum was named CQ 41 - the code name of President Ho Chi Minh's Office when he was alive, to commemorate the event in 1941, when he returned to the Fatherland after 30 years of leaving to find a way to save the country.
To suit the functions and tasks over time, the Museum has been renamed and transferred its governing body many times: In 1977, the Ho Chi Minh Museum under the Central Executive Committee of the Party and the Government Council was established under Resolution No. 04-NQ/TW dated September 12, 1977; in 1989, the Institute was transferred to the Institute of Marxism-Leninism and in 1990 it was renamed the Ho Chi Minh Museum, under the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Tourism (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).
The first two decades of laying the foundation were carried out in the context of war; and even when the country was unified and peace was restored, the economy fell into a serious crisis. In the late 1980s, the turmoil in the Soviet Union and socialist countries affected the process of building and completing the Museum. However, under the leadership and close attention of Party and State leaders, the efforts of generations of Museum staff and the help of international friends, especially the Government and people of the Soviet Union (now the Russian Federation), all preparations for the Museum's establishment were still carried out urgently and methodically: from building the organizational structure, training staff to key tasks such as collecting documents and artifacts; building content outlines; choosing technical and artistic solutions for display; designing and constructing the project.
Overcoming all difficulties, after 20 years of continuous efforts to race against time to complete the huge amount of work, on May 19, 1990, the inauguration ceremony of the Ho Chi Minh Museum was solemnly held in the joy of the entire Party and people, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday. The project is not only a priceless gift but also a symbol expressing the affection and respect of the people of the Soviet Union and Vietnam for President Ho Chi Minh.
The image of Ho Chi Minh Museum is like a simple, elegant white lotus in the middle of historic Ba Dinh, affirming the everlasting vitality of Ho Chi Minh's ideology. This is an important milestone in the journey of building and growing up of Ho Chi Minh Museum, at the same time acknowledging the contributions, efforts and bravery of the staff through generations. From here, the activities of Ho Chi Minh Museum entered a new phase: building the Museum into a cultural and educational institution of national and international stature.
2. Center for preserving and spreading Ho Chi Minh's heritage and supporting the country's development aspirations
Decree No. 375/CP dated October 15, 1979 of the Government Council specifically stipulated the functions and tasks of the Ho Chi Minh Museum as: "The center for researching documents, artifacts and historical relics related to the life and activities of the great President Ho Chi Minh during his revolutionary struggle and propagating and educating the masses about his career, ideology, morality and style through those documents, artifacts and historical relics". It can be seen that, right from the first legal documents, the Ho Chi Minh Museum was established as a special cultural institution, a place to preserve the legacy of President Ho Chi Minh, spread his ideology, thereby supporting the aspirations for national development in the new period. In more than 30 years since its official opening to visitors (in 1990), the Ho Chi Minh Museum has successfully fulfilled its historical mission.
Ho Chi Minh Museum - Center for preserving, conserving and disseminating the legacy of President Ho Chi Minh
Immediately after President Ho Chi Minh passed away on September 2, 1969, the Ho Chi Minh Museum's Base Warehouse was established to store and preserve on-site a mass of documents, artifacts, films... related to him. These are manuscript pages, articles that Uncle Ho read and left his handwriting on, souvenirs associated with his daily life; gifts filled with affection from the Vietnamese people and international friends to him; photos and films capturing the moments when he welcomed domestic and foreign guests... All are invaluable assets, vivid evidence of the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh.
After the Museum was established and received documents and artifacts transferred from the Office of the President's Palace, generations of Museum leaders always paid special attention to and invested in the collection work. The Museum has organized domestic and foreign working delegations to supplement important and valuable documents and artifacts in the research and study of the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh. In recent years, the Museum has promoted the work of mobilizing individuals and organizations to donate documents and artifacts about President Ho Chi Minh. Many original and rare artifacts from personal possession have become artifacts of the Museum such as: The gold coin that Uncle Ho gave to the Minister of Justice Vu Dinh Hoe, the garrison shirt and the sword that Uncle Ho gave to the Meo King Vuong Chi Sinh... At the same time, the Museum has proactively acquired valuable works of art such as the silk painting "Night of the Lantern Festival" by artist Nguyen Thu painted in 1990; the oil painting "Holding the Fatherland" by artist Van Giao painted in 1965...
With the efforts and dedication of many generations, up to now the Museum's Warehouse is preserving more than 170,000 documents and artifacts rich in content and diverse in genres, including many unique artifacts of special value for the study of the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh.
To successfully complete its mission as a center for preserving and conserving Ho Chi Minh heritage, the Museum has conducted a general inventory of the Base Warehouse, applied information technology in managing and exploiting documents; at the same time, arranged and classified artifacts according to each thematic collection such as activity photos, manuscript documents, domestic and international gifts, etc. Preservation work is strictly carried out according to domestic and international museum standards; documents and artifacts are stored in a specialized warehouse system with full air conditioning, ventilation, fire prevention, temperature control, humidity and lighting systems that meet standards, ensuring absolute safety.
In parallel with the Base Warehouse, the Museum also has a Document Warehouse and a Library Warehouse, preserving nearly 6,000 documents, more than 11,000 books and more than 26,000 articles and magazines about President Ho Chi Minh, the history of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Party leaders. The documents have been classified by time, topic, purpose of use and digitized, creating favorable conditions for management, search and scientific research.
It can be affirmed that, after 55 years of construction and development, Ho Chi Minh Museum has become the largest center for preserving and conserving President Ho Chi Minh's heritage in the country, playing a particularly important role in preserving his memory for today and tomorrow.
Ho Chi Minh Museum - A place to spread President Ho Chi Minh's legacy to the public at home and abroad
On the basis of exploiting the value of the system of documents and artifacts that are kept and preserved, and at the same time clearly defining the central political task, over the past 55 years, the Ho Chi Minh Museum has proactively implemented many diverse activities, making an important contribution to the research, propaganda and introduction of the life and great revolutionary career of President Ho Chi Minh, widely spreading his ideology, morality and style to the people in the country and international friends.
First, do a good job of welcoming, guiding and serving visitors.
Generations of cadres, civil servants and workers always keep in mind that they are honored to be the ones "keeping the house and welcoming guests for Uncle Ho", so the work of welcoming and guiding visitors is always done thoughtfully and enthusiastically. After 55 years of establishment and 35 years of opening to welcome visitors, the Museum has welcomed more than 40 million domestic and foreign visitors to learn about the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh.
To increase the attractiveness and scientific nature of the presentation activities, the staff regularly updates new research results; develops presentation content suitable for each target group, especially international visitors, helping them understand more deeply the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh as well as the friendship between Vietnam and other countries.
The Museum always pays special attention to the young generation. Every year, on average, about 500 groups with 25,000 students come to study and learn about Ho Chi Minh's ideology through vivid historical displays and stories. Thanks to that, the Museum has truly become an attractive "open lecture hall" in teaching and learning Ho Chi Minh's ideology, Party history and political knowledge.
Propaganda and education on Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style are also carried out through exhibitions and thematic displays, in which some recent exhibitions and thematic displays have integrated experiential education programs such as making rubber sandals, printing the Vietnam Independence newspaper, printing woodcuts, etc., combined with the application of QR code scanning technology and modern lighting to increase interaction and attractiveness for visitors.
To improve the quality of guidance for international visitors, since 2018, the Ho Chi Minh Museum has cooperated with the Hanoi Free Private Tourguide Club to select and train a team of English-speaking volunteer tour guides. These volunteers have become "ambassadors" carrying the Museum's message, contributing to introducing and widely spreading Ho Chi Minh's heritage to international friends.
With the desire to best carry out the task of spreading Ho Chi Minh's heritage to the public at home and abroad, Ho Chi Minh Museum always focuses on ensuring a clean, airy and hygienic landscape and environment; Ensuring absolute security and safety for the lives and property of visitors; Ensuring the operation of technical systems (sound, lighting, air conditioning, water supply and drainage systems...) so that visitors can comfortably access, feel and learn about his life, career, ideology, ethics and style throughout the visit.
Second, Edit and innovate the content and methods of display and exhibition.
The permanent exhibition of the Museum is the result of a meticulous, scientific and modern research process, highly appreciated by researchers and visitors for its content, quality and display solutions. However, the Museum is always proactive in adding new documents, artifacts and information to meet the increasing demands of the public.
Over the past 55 years, the Museum has organized and coordinated more than 500 exhibitions at home and abroad. Since 2017, the exhibition innovation has been promoted according to the principle of "no comments - only introductions and suggestions", creating conditions for the public to dialogue and feel for themselves. Exhibitions such as Going through the war, Ho Chi Minh - Portrait sketches, Each souvenir, a story, Independence autumn... have all made a strong impression and been highly appreciated by the public.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Museum has built 3D online exhibitions integrated on the website to help viewers from afar still access the exhibition space.
In recent years, within the framework of friendly visits and cooperation exchanges between Vietnam and countries around the world by Party and State leaders, a number of thematic exhibitions of the Ho Chi Minh Museum have been selected to be introduced in many countries such as Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay... This is an affirmation of the Party and State's trust in the professional activities of the Ho Chi Minh Museum, and at the same time a vivid demonstration of the expertise and position of the Ho Chi Minh Museum in the work of exhibitions.
Third, strengthen scientific research and publishing of publications about President Ho Chi Minh.
Based on the exploitation of documents and artifacts in the archives, the Ho Chi Minh Museum has effectively carried out scientific research and publishing on President Ho Chi Minh. The Museum has implemented 22 ministerial-level scientific topics, nearly 30 grassroots-level scientific topics, organized and coordinated the organization of nearly 100 scientific seminars and conferences, participated in writing hundreds of articles and presentations to newspapers, magazines and seminars in the country and internationally. These products have practical significance, contributing to supplementing and clarifying many aspects related to the life and revolutionary career of President Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese people.
To date, the Museum has published more than 60 books about President Ho Chi Minh, many of which have been translated into many languages, contributing to the propaganda, education, and dissemination of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality, and style to the world. The publications are all carefully compiled and have become reliable sources of documents, welcomed by readers at home and abroad, such as: Ho Chi Minh's biography (published in many languages such as Vietnamese, English, French, Russian, Chinese, Spanish), the book series Ho Chi Minh's Style (including four books on Ho Chi Minh's Lifestyle, Thinking, Working, and Behavior); Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) bilingual photo book; Uncle Ho with the youth; Uncle Ho with children...
Since 2003, the Museum has periodically published the Ho Chi Minh Museum Information and Documentation Special Issue. Up to now, after 70 issues, the Special Issue has become a regular forum for exchange between the system of museums and relics about President Ho Chi Minh and units operating in the field of cultural heritage.
The Museum also provides materials for many publishers, agencies, and television stations to compile books and documentaries about President Ho Chi Minh; at the same time, it supports the verification and correction of documents for relevant units. Many works use the Museum's materials such as Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works or the research and correction of documents for the book Ho Chi Minh - A Man and a Nation published by Kim Dong Publishing House in 2024.
Fourth, promote communication to effectively spread President Ho Chi Minh's legacy.
Realizing the role of the media in promoting the value of Ho Chi Minh heritage and promoting the image of the Museum, the Board of Directors of the Ho Chi Minh Museum has focused on communication activities from the beginning and implemented them in many different forms. In 2017, the Communication Department was established, marking an important step in the professionalization of the Museum's communication activities. Since then, communication activities have been organized in a more systematic, professional and effective manner.
In addition to building a professional and impressive brand identity for the Museum, the Museum has implemented many solutions to bring the Museum's professional activities closer to the public such as: Upgrading and effectively operating the electronic information page (website) of the Ho Chi Minh Museum in three languages: Vietnamese, English and Chinese, currently posting more than 3,000 Vietnamese articles, 800 English articles, 600 Chinese articles and 250 videos, attracting over 25 million visits. At the same time, the Museum's fanpage and YouTube channel have been effectively built and maintained, regularly introducing documents, artifacts, stories about President Ho Chi Minh, and promptly updating the Museum's activities.
Two years after the Media Department came into operation, the Ho Chi Minh Museum continues to open a souvenir shop, creating a space connecting the public with the legacy of President Ho Chi Minh. The cultural products introduced here are not only carefully crafted in terms of aesthetics, quality or design, but also carry the deep imprint of the Museum and the image of beloved Uncle Ho.
Many special edition products evoke meaningful historical stories, such as the coin that President Ho Chi Minh gave to Minister Vu Dinh Hoe or the version of the Uncle Ho Badge that the Hero of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Pham Tuan, brought into space in 1980... Through souvenir products, the Museum wishes to bring President Ho Chi Minh's legacy closer to the public with the wish that President Ho Chi Minh's legacy will not only be seen, researched or displayed, but also live in the hearts of the public, with cherishing, respect and sincere emotions.
In particular, on November 23, 2022, the Ho Chi Minh Museum officially released the Newsletter with pictures, marking a new step forward in applying digital technology to communication work. Nearly 80 issues of the Newsletter have been published, becoming an important information channel to help the public, especially the young generation, understand more deeply about the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh through selected documents and artifacts, as well as updated information about agencies and units in the System of museums and memorial sites of President Ho Chi Minh nationwide and the field of cultural heritage.
Fifth, promote professional guidance and foreign affairs to enhance the dissemination of Ho Chi Minh's heritage to the public at home and abroad.
Since the 70s of the 20th century, when the Ho Chi Minh Museum project began to take shape, the System of museums and memorial sites about President Ho Chi Minh has also been gradually built and developed. Since its inception, the museums and memorial sites in the System have welcomed tens of millions of domestic visitors, overseas Vietnamese and international visitors to learn about the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh; about the Party and State's guidelines and policies; about the great achievements that the Vietnamese people have achieved... During that process, the Ho Chi Minh Museum has always maintained its role as the leading museum, with the task of guiding and assisting units in the System to effectively carry out professional tasks such as: Research, collection, verification, planning, conservation, restoration and promotion of the effectiveness of museums and relics about President Ho Chi Minh; Appraising and evaluating the content of scientific works of museums and memorial sites... Up to now, units in the System have increasingly performed well the function of researching and propagating the ideology, ethics, style and revolutionary life of President Ho Chi Minh to a large number of people in the country and international friends.
In recent years, implementing the policy of streamlining the Party and State apparatus, a number of museums and relics in localities have been merged and transferred to suit actual conditions. However, promoting the tradition of solidarity and cohesion throughout the development process, the units in the System still maintain close professional and technical connections, regularly coordinate to organize exhibitions and thematic displays; Coordinate to implement scientific topics at the ministerial and grassroots levels; Research and edit displays to improve the effectiveness of preserving and disseminating the heritage of President Ho Chi Minh at home and abroad.
In particular, continuing the results built from the early years of its establishment, the Ho Chi Minh Museum always focuses on expanding foreign cooperation relations, while constantly consolidating and developing relationships with many museums around the world such as: Russia, China, Laos, France, Korea, Thailand, Israel... in coordinating research and preserving relics where President Ho Chi Minh lived and worked in the revolution; Introducing his life and career; Coordinating the organization of scientific seminars, displays and exhibitions about Ho Chi Minh, contributing to helping friends around the world better understand the life and career of one of the outstanding sons of Vietnam "who made the 20th century".
Implementing the open foreign policy of the Party and State of Vietnam, focusing on cultural diplomacy, Ho Chi Minh Museum has actively participated in the implementation of the Project "Honoring President Ho Chi Minh, Hero of Vietnamese National Liberation, Outstanding Cultural Man, Abroad". Up to now, there have been more than 30 locations, relics, memorial sites, works (statues, streets, reliefs...) about President Ho Chi Minh in many countries around the world that Ho Chi Minh Museum has chaired, coordinated, collaborated in building and constructing such as: Russia, China, Laos, Cuba, Mongolia, England, France, Chile, Sri Lanka... In particular, Ho Chi Minh Museum has signed cooperation agreements with a number of museums and memorial sites in Russia, China, Israel... contributing to further promoting the work of propaganda, introducing and spreading the values of Ho Chi Minh's heritage to the world.
3. Ho Chi Minh Museum - a place to fuel the country's development aspirations
In the 21st century, Vietnam, like other countries in the world, is facing a period of development with unprecedented rapid and profound changes, where globalization, digital economy and artificial intelligence are reshaping all value systems. In that context, from the aspiration for independence and freedom that President Ho Chi Minh put forth, Vietnam is moving forward on the path to realizing the aspiration of "rich people, strong country, democracy, equality and civilization". One of the invaluable spiritual assets and strength that helps the Vietnamese people to move forward is Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style - cultural values that are still being preserved and promoted every day, every hour at the Museum named after him. 20 years of building the foundation, 35 years of operation, a period of time long enough to affirm that, from the Ho Chi Minh Museum, Ho Chi Minh's life, career, ideology, morality and style have been spread and deeply influenced the awareness and actions of the Party, the Vietnamese people and international friends.
Through the documents and exhibits on display, through the articles and publications published, the Ho Chi Minh Museum is not only a place to simply tell history, but also a place to tell simple but profound stories about sacrifice, about the humble and simple lifestyle, about the thorny but heroic years of President Ho Chi Minh on the path to save the country and save the people. Thereby, awakening responsibility and urging every Vietnamese citizen, especially the young generation, to act to contribute their intelligence and ability to the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland.
In the context of the current world and region with many changes, when the values, standards and beliefs of society are constantly threatened by the negative impacts of globalization, information warfare and peaceful evolution strategies, preserving and spreading the legacy of President Ho Chi Minh is not only a cultural and educational need but also a strategic requirement in protecting the ideological foundation of the Party. Because Ho Chi Minh's thought is the crystallization of Marxism-Leninism and national tradition, the system of values that creates the identity, strength and development path of the Vietnamese revolution. Each document, artifact, and research work that the Ho Chi Minh Museum preserves and publishes is authentic evidence with strong persuasive power, contributing to dispelling all distortions and denials of the role of President Ho Chi Minh and the value of true patriotism of the Vietnamese people, while creating a solid spiritual support for the masses, especially the young generation, in the face of historical changes.
In particular, the spread of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, especially the ideology of peace, humanity and friendship among nations around the world, not only contributes to consolidating Vietnam's position and prestige in the international arena, but also actively contributes to building a peaceful, cooperative and developing environment for the country. In a world where many conflicts still exist, these values are even more relevant, encouraging humanity towards a future of peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and sustainable development.
After 55 years of construction, growth and affirmation of its position, we have the right to proudly affirm that: Ho Chi Minh Museum has truly become a great school, a cultural bridge connecting the past with the present, connecting Vietnam with the world, an attractive and trustworthy destination for compatriots, comrades and international friends every time they come to Vietnam, to the capital Hanoi. In particular, from this space, historical memories are not only preserved but also spread, transformed into actions and aspirations, so that each individual is more aware of their role and responsibility in contributing to "making Vietnam a powerful developed country in the future", "standing shoulder to shoulder with the world powers" as President Ho Chi Minh wished during his lifetime./.
Dr. Vu Manh Ha
Director of Ho Chi Minh Museum
Source: https://baotanghochiminh.vn/bao-tang-ho-chi-minh-55-nam-mot-chang-duong.htm
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh receives President of Cuba's Latin American News Agency](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvphoto.vietnam.vn%2Fthumb%2F1200x675%2Fvietnam%2Fresource%2FIMAGE%2F2025%2F12%2F01%2F1764569497815_dsc-2890-jpg.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Comment (0)