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Nguyen Thi Ngoc Anh, a Hanoi resident from Thanh Xuan District, was among the frustrated visitors. "It’s the first time I’ve ever seen such a chaotic scene at a museum," she said, recalling her visit last Sunday, when the museum received a record 40,000 visitors.
Anh arrived at the museum at around 9:40 a.m., but it took her nearly an hour to travel just 3-4 km due to traffic congestion. Upon arriving at the museum, she found the entrance overwhelmed with large, uncoordinated crowds, including families with small children.
"There were many kids running around, jumping and even climbing on the relics," Anh said. "I didn’t see any parents telling them off." She added that due to the overwhelming crowd, she was forced to leave early.
Many of the museum’s relics, including tanks and mortars, were displayed in open areas with no barriers or warning signs to prevent visitors from touching or climbing on them. Despite efforts by staff to control the situation, such as a loudspeaker announcement near the plane exhibit, the scene remained chaotic. Some visitors even hung clothes to dry in the lobby, according to Anh.
A video captures chaotic scenes at Vietnam Military History Museum, Nov. 10, 2024. Video by Ngoc Anh
The situation quickly caught the attention of the online community. Photos of children climbing on relics went viral on social media, shared by users such as Facebook user Tr Van Nghia. In one viral image, a child was seen standing on a relic, while several other visitors posed for photos on tanks. The footage sparked a wave of criticism.
One social media user commented, "Maybe the kids don’t know better, but the parents don’t reprimand them either. Some even encouraged their children to climb on the relics for pictures."
Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, head of the museum's education communication department, said that by 11 a.m. on Sunday, the museum was receiving around 25,000 to 30,000 visitors. The parking lot, which accommodates over 1,000 vehicles, was full, and nearby roads were gridlocked.
Experts have weighed in on the root causes of the chaos. Tran Tuong Huy, vice head of the Institute of Social Tourism Research, suggested the museum’s management lacked experience in handling large crowds. There should have been better strategies in place for managing visitor numbers and ensuring the safety of the exhibits, Huy said, adding that popular museums around the world, like the Louvre in France, have strict crowd control measures, such as limiting entry and using barriers to separate exhibits.
Huy also emphasized the importance of providing more guides for visitors and reinforcing regulations to prevent similar incidents in the future. If the situation is not addressed, the museum’s reputation as a tourist destination could suffer, he warned.
The museum, built by the Ministry of National Defense, spans 386,600 square meters. It opened on Nov. 1, with free admission until the end of the year. The facility exhibits around 150,000 relics, including national treasures and military vehicles.
