War Remnants Museum Place guide

There are few museums that accurately depict the war experience from the Vietnamese point of view, and the War Remnants Museum is one of them. Formerly the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, the War Remnants Museum one of Ho Chi Minh City’s attractions, but one that is definitely not for the faint of heart.

The museum features exhibits that showcase a variety of objects and images that display the terrors of modern warfare. There are courtyards full of military vehicles, including a Huey and Chinook helicopter taken directly from the war era. There’s also a tank and fighter jet, and a few deactivated bombs on display that give you a clear picture of the explosives that were dropped during the time. 

There are also collections featuring a life-sized French POW camp, full of torture devices and barbed-wire tiger cages for the Viet Cong prisoners, complete with mannequin bodies for a life-sized diorama. There’s also a real guillotine that was used for executions up until the 1960s.

The museum also houses the Hall of Historical Truths, full of examples of propaganda denouncing the United States government. You can take a look at the Vietnamese People Room as well, full of artifacts from different countries opposing the American entry into the battlefield. 

In another room, you can find photographs that show support for the anti-war movement. There is also a special exhibit called the Requiem Exhibition that documents the work of different photographers that were killed while documenting the conflict on both sides.

Despite its rather grisly displays, the War Remnants Museum gets approximately half a million visitors every year, two-thirds of whom are foreigners. According to American anthropologist and author Christina Schwenkel, the museum endeavors to impart historical truths with ‘self-representation’, proffering images and objects without contextualizing them as other museums do.

Take note that while children are allowed entry to the museum, due to its highly graphic displays, it is not recommended to bring them along.

Want to experience the museum with a local guide? Try this scooter trip covering the War Remnants Museum, Reunification Palace and more over a half day tour.

How to get there

• The museum is in between Vo Van Tan St. and Le Quy Don St. 
  
  
• Take bus No. 28 at Ben Thanh Bus station. 
  
  
• It is also a short walk from the Reunification Palace. 

Address: 28 Võ Văn Tần, Phường 6, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam
Operating hours: 7:30am to 6:00pm
Entrance fee: VND 40,000 ($2)
Website: http://warremnantsmuseum.com