The first place that we visited in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) was the War Remnants Museum which was opened to the public for the first time on September 4, 1975.

In its role as the unique Museum in Vietnam to systematically study, collect, preserve and display exhibits on war crafts and aftermaths foreign aggressive forces caused for Vietnamese people. The War Remnants Museum has unceasingly enlarged and diversified its activities, enriched its artifacts.

It is nowadays endowed with 8 permanent thematic exhibitions and various other special collections. During its 31-year-long history, the Museum has welcomed over 10 million domestic and foreign visitors. With about 400,000 visitors per year, the War Remnants Museum is one of Ho Chi Minn City's most enticing cultural and tourist site, enjoying great prestige among both local and foreign public.

The Principal Permanent Thematic Exhibitions are:

1. Historical truths: causes, origins and processes or aggressive wars. In this exhibition are pictures of tanks from American aid to French troops in Ha Dong.

2. "Requiem", collection of photos taken by 134 war reporters (from 11 nationalities) killed during the Vietnam war. YOu can see the picture of a Vietnamese mother crossing the river with her children to flee from American bombs.

3. Vestiges of war crimes aftermaths (in militarym economical, cultural, social, fields, consequences on men, nature, environment). During the Vietnam War, 3 million Vietnamese were killed (among them are 2 million civilians), 2 million injured, 300,000 people missed.

4. Imprisonment System showing typical detention camps and prisons as well as torturing methods used to exterminate prisoners physically and psychologically. You see here the pictures of the model of political prisoners in "Tiger Cages".

5. Photo collections of Japanese reporters Ishikawa Bunyo and Nakamura Goro in the exhibiton room "Vietnam- War and Peace". Some pictures are the Gls dragging a Vietnamese peasant from an underground shelter, a residential area destroyed by American aircrafts and Agent Orange Victims.

6. International support for the Vietnamese people in their Resistance War. YOu see some posters from international anti-war movements supporting the Vietnamese people.

7. Children's painting collection "War and Peace". Pupils painting pictures at the post war catastrophes.

8. U.S. State of the art weaponry used in the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, the USA used 14 million tons of bombs and shells (20 times as much as the quantity used during the Korean War, 7 times as much as the one used during the Second World War), more than 70 million liters of toxic chemicals, among them 44 million liters of Agent Orange.

Labels: Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Vietnam