After being relocated to the former headquarters of the municipal People’s Committee on 42-44 Bach Dang Street, the Museum of Da Nang will feature six main display areas with diverse themes in a space of more than 3,500m².

In addition to recreating the history of Da Nang from time to time with modern technologies, this is the first time artifacts stored in the museum have been shown to the public.

The "Nature and people of Da Nang" thematic area at the permanent display area in the Museum of Da Nang. Photo: DVCC

Diverse exhibition spaces

According to the Da Nang Department of Culture and Sports, the new Museum of Da Nang will have 6 specific display areas, namely a permanent exhibition area, a thematic display area, an open warehouse display area, a limited time display area, a research and development area and an outdoor display area.

These areas will be also divided into many exhibition sections corresponding to different topics in order to maximise the value of documents and artifacts, and strengthen the connection between the display content and the social life of the local community.

According to the outline, the museum tour will start from the permanent display area on the 3^rd floor of the museum.

At this area, visitors will be introduced to an overview of Da Nang in the historical context of Central Viet Nam and the whole country from the past to the present. Specially mentioned will be about 20 typical images of important historical milestones such as the important event in 1306 when Da Nang became the land of Dai Viet Kingdom of the Tran Dynasty, the establishment of Viet Nam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa Archipelago, and Da Nang's fight against French-Spanish coalition forces during 1858-1860.

Next, the public will have the opportunity to learn about the beauty of the land and the people of Da Nang, and the construction and development of the city through about 1,500 artifacts on the following topics in turn: "Nature and people of Da Nang", "History of urban development in Da Nang before 1975", "Da Nang and its struggle for independence", "War Remnants" and "Da Nang in the periods of construction, integration and development".

In addition, the museum will earmark nearly 400m² for limited-time exhibition area, and research and development areas.

In which, the limited-term exhibition area is the place to organise short-term thematic exhibitions for 3-6 months. Thematic exhibitions in this area will be periodically changed and maintained regularly to contribute to increasing the value of visitors' visit.

Meanwhile, the research and development exhibition area will be used to introduce new researches, projects and applications as well as academic activities in the field of museology to update visitors on research activities in the museum.

This is also a space for professional officials and researchers in the field of museums and cultural preservation in the city to introduce new research, and exchange academics to improve their qualifications, and update new trends of museum activities and cultural heritage.

Expected to become an impressive destination

Director of the Museum of Da Nang Huynh Dinh Quoc Thien said that the thematic exhibition area will feature three parts: culture and history of City Hall, and a collection of antiques.

In which, culture is identified as an important topic with rich sources of documents and artifacts. The most typical features of the community culture of ethnic groups living in Da Nang and Quang Nam such as Kinh, Co Tu, Xo Dang, Gie Chieng and the Chinese community in Da Nang will be vividly introduced. Visitors can learn about traditional festivals, music, traditional costumes, community cultural activities, marine culture, craft villages, and more.

In the thematic exhibition area, the theme that promises to make many people interesting is the history of the City Hall. Accordingly, about 100 photos of construction design drawings, and activities of politicians and important figures in this building through the historical periods which show the changes of the City Hall over the past years will be on display.

“The City Hall is not only an urban architectural highlight of the French colonial period, but also a mark of the government that ruled this period. Building in 1898, the building serves as a historical witness, witnessing the ups and downs, changes and development of the city. Therefore, the Museum of Da Nang decided to arrange a separate space for people and visitors to have the opportunity to learn about this historic work" emphasized Mr. Thien.

According to Mr. Thien, with the new and spacious space, the new Da Nang Museum has devoted a fairly large area to display open warehouses following the trend of many museums around the world in order to increase public accessibility. In this area, the museum introduces artifacts from the perspective of both a storage warehouse and a display space. This is also considered a channel to connect the public with the museum, helping visitors get closer to professional activities such as warehouse work and preservation of artifacts.

Most notably, there will be an outdoor area to introduce large-sized artifacts. This area is expected to be an ideal space for visitors to relax, mingle with nature, admire the value of artifacts and take souvenir photos with unique works such as: Guol house of Cotu people, tree Water piano of the Xo Dang people, Non Nuoc fine art stone sculptures…

Mr. Huynh Dinh Quoc Thien said in an effort to make the new Danang Museum an impressive destination for visitors, top priority will be given to a suitable and logic exhibition solutions with a focus on taking cultural values, history and stories related to the collection of documents and artifacts as the basis throughout.

Along with that, heed will be paid to using technological solutions and modern display means to increase the value of artifacts and aesthetics and create attractiveness for viewers, as well as developing some recreated spaces to create highlights in the display of Danang Museum.

Reporting by XUAN DUNG – Translating by M.DUNG