Thanh Chuong Viet Art Museum is no ordinary museum. Instead of displaying pieces of history from behind glass, here, only 40km from Ha Noi, visitors can experience some of the rich diversity of traditional Vietnamese culture with all five senses.
The museum is in Soc Son District, about 40km from Ha Noi City centre and was set up by painter Thanh Chuong in 2001. In the beginning, the artist simply wanted to share his collection of ancient artefacts, some over a century old, but the museum quickly grew into a 10,000 sq.m area which includes reconstructions of buildings typical of different groups of Vietnamese society.
Through the traditional wooden archway carved with two dragons, the gateway to the village reveals the Thanh Tinh House. It is the first stop, and the grandest. The house was reassembled from a 200-year-old building in Nam Dinh Province and is made from a rare Vietnamese dark wood called lim. Although originally owned by a Christian family, the house is now home to a Buddhist altar. Also on display are some antiques dating back 700-800 years to the Tran dynasty and to the century-old Ly dynasty. A delicately carved wooden screen, popular with rich families in the past, is also on display.
