A place that preserves post-war artworks.

In Thai Binh province, although the number of private museums is not yet large, they have created a unique mark on the travel experience of tourists. Visiting the Minh Chuyen Post-War Works Museum in Tho Loc village, Minh Khai commune (Vu Thu district), visitors can not only view documents, images, and journalistic and literary works on the post-war theme, but also gain a deeper understanding of the life of a veteran, journalist, and writer who became a Labor Hero through his tireless dedication over more than 50 years of fighting with a gun and a pen.

Báo Thái Bình•23/06/2025

Visitors tour and share their thoughts about the artworks at the Minh Chuyên Post-War Art Museum.

A destination for learning about history.

The Minh Chuyen Post-War Works Museum is built on a picturesque ^1,550m² site with a waterfront. Besides the main exhibition building, the museum also features relief sculptures of the "Truong Son Road" and the "Ho Chi Minh Trail on the Sea." It is a frequent meeting place for former youth volunteers, soldiers who once endured the bombs, bullets, and bloodshed of war, and also a destination for students still wearing their red scarves, and young readers wishing to understand a historical period of their homeland. With its scientifically organized storage space by genre, the museum houses over 600 literary and cinematic works. Among them, writer Minh Chuyen has edited and authored nearly 100 books with over 300 works, including short stories, novels, essays, and over 200 documentary films about the post-war period. Many of his works have won prestigious awards both domestically and internationally.

To serve the needs of visitors, the museum is open every day. Despite being nearly 80 years old, writer Minh Chuyên remains sharp-minded and enthusiastic, welcoming visitors and sharing stories revolving around post-war themes and the lives of those who returned from the flames of war. Conversations are sometimes interrupted by handshakes and greetings from distant readers. Many express their emotion at meeting in person the author of famous essays and the long-running documentary series broadcast on Vietnam Television.

Writer Minh Chuyên was born in 1947 in Thọ Lộc village. Like many young men growing up during a time of national division, he enlisted and fought for nearly 10 years in the Southeast battlefield. After the country was reunified, he returned home and continued to pursue his dream of writing. During his time working at Thái Bình Newspaper and later at Vietnam Television, he had the opportunity to travel extensively for work and understood that his heart was always filled with an unceasing sorrow for his comrades who had fallen amidst the flames of war.

He shared: "From the moment I joined Thai Binh Newspaper, I constantly thought about and wrote about my comrades because, during the war, I was fortunate to survive, while most of my comrades perished on the battlefield. Many returned with severe injuries and were exposed to Agent Orange. That was an incredibly heroic sacrifice. For so many years, the image of my comrades has motivated me to write about the post-war period, about wounded soldiers and martyrs."

Education in revolutionary traditions

Returning from Hanoi, veteran Ha Ngoc Vui has been associated with the Minh Chuyen Post-War Works Museum for many years. He has personally led many groups of visitors to tour the museum and introduce the works of writer Minh Chuyen. He shared: "When people come to the museum, most are already familiar with works such as: 'The Wanderer Is Not Alone,' 'Meeting Again at the Temple,' 'Procedures to Remain Alive,' 'The Child with the Color of a Beast'... or acclaimed documentary films like 'The Advisor' (5 episodes), 'Legend of the Unnumbered Ship' (12 episodes), 'Memories of War Seen from Two Sides' (25 episodes), 'The Historical Message' (52 episodes)... However, I always introduce to people the books 'The Pain After the War' which are proudly displayed in the museum space, and which are still being published in subsequent volumes." This is a very special work, not only a creation by writer Minh Chuyên, but also includes writings on the post-war period in Vietnam by artists and writers both domestically and internationally, especially Vietnamese expatriates in France, the United States, Hungary, and other countries. The book will convey a message to future generations, letting them know that for the Vietnamese people to enjoy a peaceful and prosperous life today, there was a time when Vietnamese people, especially Vietnamese soldiers, had to shed blood and make sacrifices.

Last May, the Minh Chuyen Post-War Works Museum hosted a ceremony to receive the title of Hero of Labor, the Asian Record Certificate for literary and artistic creation, congratulations on the international Gold Cup award for the work "Father and Son of a Soldier," and congratulations on the State Award for Literature and Art for writer Minh Chuyen. These joyous occasions continued, enlivening the peaceful village atmosphere. This is not only a destination for writers and literary friends, a meeting place for literature and art, but it has also become a space that contributes to fostering patriotism and national pride for present and future generations.