Ngoc Lu bronze drum

The items were recognised as national treasures due to their special cultural and historical value following an appraisal report of the National Council for Cultural Heritage.

The exhibits include a Ngoc Lu bronze drum related to the Dong Son culture dating back up to 2,500 years ago. It is the most beautiful and intact drum of its type yet discovered and was recognised as a national treasure in 2012.

Other exhibited items include a Dao Thinh bronze jar from the Dong Son culture that dates back 2,500 years, a Dong Son statue depicting two men playing pan pipes dating to around 700 BC, and a large Dong Son bronze lamp in the form of a kneeling person, dating back to around 200 AD.

Dao Thinh bronze jar

A Viet Khe boat tomb, a bell from Van Ban Pagoda, an 11th century Le Dynasty stele from Nam Giao Temple and a bronze royal stamp from the 12th century Tran Dynasty are also on display.

Other national treasures include the Prison Diary, a 1927 book entitled Revolutionary Road by Ho Chi Minh, and the handwritten draft of President Ho Chi Minh’s appeal to the nation for a resistance war written in late 1946.