The Ao dai Museum in Ho Chi Minh City: shrine of the Vietnamese dress

If there is something that makes Vietnamese women shine delicately that transcends time and borders, without distinction of the age and the social environment, it is the Ao dai. This Vietnamese traditional tunic has seen its shape and influence evolve over the centuries. A timeless symbol of national feminine beauty, the Vietnamese dress is for the first time honoured in a dedicated sanctuary of its own, the Ao dai Museum in Ho Chi Minh City. It’s a place of choice so you can enjoy the pleasant surprise of the old friend Ao dai. You can experience a little history, some greeneries and a lot of elegance.

Located in a lush setting where tranquillity reigns in remarkable traditional architecture, this place is ideal for getting lost in the world of the most beautiful traditional Vietnamese clothing.

Ao dai has been inseparable from Vietnamese women for a long time. It is also very popular with brides on the most important day of their lives. From the Tangerine era to contemporary times and colonial times, the traditional Vietnamese dress saw new adaptations but was always brimmed with charm.

With a special love for this historical outfit, the great designer Sy Hoang has spent ten years designing and building the Ao Dai Museum, the first of its kind in Vietnam. This is the second private museum in Saigon, with the Fito Museum for Traditional Medicine located in district 10.

The Ao Dai Museum is a great idea to complete your visit in the city centre, taking advantage of a big breath of fresh air because of its frame in perfect communion with nature. On an area of some two hectares, the place welcomes you to a small Vietnamese village typical of the Mekong Delta with a garden house, lotus pond, bamboo bridge... And you can be lulled by peaceful rice fields.

While wandering in its sumptuous garden, you will find nice stops that are reminiscent of a part of the yesteryear of Hoi An City.

The interior impresses with an equally relaxing atmosphere where you can admire hundreds of clothes that are more beautiful than others. Many beautiful collections are exhibited in different themes to trace the chronicles and trends of this famous dress through the ages since its birth.

The spaces of the museum are mainly based on precious woods of Quang Nam origin and worked on with great care by the artisans of Kim Bong carpentry village. The main sector dedicated to the collections is denoted by a refined architecture that integrates the Ao dai dress in daily life and the long history of the country.

The tunic with four layers, one of the first versions of the dress Ao dai, created around 1645.

The tunic with five layers, 1884.

The modernised Ao dai in 1958 was inspired by that worn by Tran Le Xuan, wife of the councillor Ngo Dinh Nhu under the State of South Vietnam.

The Non la or conical hat reinforces the traditional beauty of delicacy and elegance of the Ao dai.

The Ao dai dress addressed to the initiation to certain religions: in the image, for Caodaism, Buddhism and Catholicism.

Ao dai at the time of international integration: in the image, the styles Vietnamese-African (2011), Vietnamese-American (2008), Vietnamese-Chinese (2011), Vietnamese-Japanese (2009).

Since its creation, the museum has hosted many cultural and artistic events dedicated to honouring the Ao dai. In the space for the practical experience of visitors, you can have the opportunity to attend different stages of the design and decoration of a typical dress.

It is in the Ao Dai Museum that you can appreciate the aesthetic beauty of our world famous traditional dress and also famous women in different fields. Through the original models of which those worn by the great personalities, visitors can immerse themselves in the stories of women through more than 3,000 images that showcase the Vietnamese dress. Try some of the elegant costumes that are the pride of the Vietnamese in its sanctuary; it is definitely worth seeing.

This space allows us to understand the place of the Ao dai in life from a wider angle through documents, objects, reports, paintings, and sculptures that tell you everything about the Ao dai. It’s a place to see without hesitation for those who are passionate about traditional Vietnamese values, especially the Vietnamese tunic. If you want to make a visit combining discovery and relaxation, this place is a great choice.

Address

206/19/30 Long Thuan, Long Phuoc District, District 9, Ho Chi Minh City, about 30 minutes driving from the city centre.

Opening

Every day except Monday, from 8:30 to 17:30

Entrance fee: VND 100,000

How to get there?

Bus 88 runs from Ben Thanh Market to Long Phuoc Market and passes the Ao Dai Museum.

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