Vietnam Literature Museum: Explore literature and more

The Vietnam Literature Museum presents a panoramic view of the national literary history and the exchange between Vietnamese literature and that of the world countries.

Panoramic view of Vietnamese literature

Vietnam Literature Museum opened to visitors on June 26, 2015.

Located 6.2 km from downtown Hanoi to the north at 275 Au Co, Quang An ward, Tay Ho District, where it once housed the former Quang Ba School of Literature of the Vietnam Writers Association in 1960-1970, the place preserves many memories of famous writers and poets. By coming to the Vietnam Literature Museum, visitors can learn more about the lives of famous writers.

Students learn about literature history at the museum.

As one of the few literary museums in Southeast Asia, it plays an important role in researching, collecting, preserving, exhibiting and educating the nation's literature.

The Vietnam Literature Museum has two main exhibits. The outdoor exhibition gives an introduction to Vietnamese folklore, which is told through decorative ceramic reliefs around the museum and 20 statues of literary celebrities in ancient and medieval times.

The indoor exhibition houses thousands of artifacts and covers an area of more than 2,000 square meters. Here, the historical process of Vietnamese literature from the Ly Dynasty (10th century) to the present day is presented, where a wealth of materials and artifacts about Vietnamese and world illustrious writers such as poet Nguyen Du, eminent culturalist, national liberation hero Nguyen Trai, poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu, writer Nam Cao, and writer To Hoai are kept. Each artifact tells emotional and fascinating stories about the writers' lives and creative processes.

The indoor exhibition space covers three floors. Upon entering the museum, visitors will immediately see a pen-shaped stone in the middle of the first floor. This stone was brought from Hung Temple in the northern province of Phu Tho, and the inscription on the wall reads, "Therefore, the heart is worth thrice the talent" from the Tale of Kieu by the great poet Nguyen Du.

The first floor is devoted to Vietnamese literature of the ancient and medieval periods (from the 10th to the 19th century). In addition, the museum also introduces the 19th-century exam study.

The second floor presents the careers of prominent writers who were awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize, the most prestigious award for writers by the Vietnamese State.

The museum is seen from above. Photo courtesy of the museum

The third floor honors the activities of the Vietnam Writers Association. Here, the exhibition area with the theme "Cooperation and Exchange with International Literature" includes photos, artifacts, works of Vietnamese literary works translated into foreign languages, and works of international writers who are friends of Vietnam.

The exhibition represents the exchange and cooperation, showing the integration process of Vietnamese literature with the world.

Night tour to explore literature

Aiming to bring literary beauty to the public with a new approach, the Vietnam Literature Museum has launched the Literature Night Tour every Saturday and Sunday night. This tour will make visitors feel the uniqueness of Vietnamese literature from ancient and medieval literary periods to the present.

Sharing information about the tour, writer Nguyen Thi Thu Hue, director of the Museum of Vietnam Literature, said: "With its mission, the museum is a place to store very special and precious mementos, works and stories of many generations of great writers and cultural workers of the Vietnamese nation. We are trying to make this cultural and literary value widely known to the public, especially young people. Through this new tour, we want to get closer to the visitors and make this place a familiar address for literature lovers and tourists".

Hue revealed that the Vietnam Literature Museum will organize thematic tour programs related to the authors' hometowns in the future.

It's an interesting place for literature lovers and tourists.

Literary critic Pham Xuan Nguyen said that the museum does not give boring lectures but tells literary and historical stories in a different way. The new literary tour will have an important meaning, contribute to preserving and promoting the value of Vietnamese literature, and introduce this literary beauty to international tourists and friends.

Participating in the tour, Tran Lan Anh from Giang Vo Secondary School said the tour was enjoyable because she knows more about the literary works and authors she's studying at school.

"After the tour, we can participate in a number of experiential activities, such as crossword puzzles, calligraphy writing, and tea ceremony, which help visitors remember the journey of discovering literature at the museum," she said.

As one of the initiators of this tour, Phung Quang Thang, Director of Vietnam Sustainable Tourism Company, Vice Chairman of Vietnam Travel Association, shared that the Museum of Literature is the first in Hanoi to launch a night tour, diversifying the options for tourists when night falls.

"This new tourism product takes advantage of Vietnam's literary quintessence. It not only creates a cultural space for the people of Hanoi, but is also expected to be an attractive tourist destination for literature lovers, domestic and foreign tourists," Thang said.

Tran Trung Hieu, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Tourism Department, highly appreciated the tour as Hanoi always focuses on developing tourism products with cultural and educational values.

"Hopefully, the new tourism product of the Literature Museum will help shape Hanoi's tourism. In the coming time, this tour is expected to be more lively and attractive with the efforts of the museum staff," he said.