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 General Nguyen Chi Thanh’s working shack was restored

The shack was reconstructed according to the prototype from General Nguyen Chi Thanh’s working shack at the Central Office for South Vietnam (COSVN). This shack is placed in a corner inside the courtyard space and in front of the museum's display area.

As for the representative of the Nguyen Chi Thanh Museum, when the COSVN moved from the Ma Da base (the war zone D, Dong Nai province) to the North Tay Ninh base, leaders of the COSVN initially worked at the Nui Dat base in the forest of Chang Riec - Rum Duon, Tan Bien district, Tay Ninh province.

During his first movement to the South from October 1964, General Nguyen Chi Thanh stayed at a stilt house in this base, next to an A-shaped bunker to avoid bombs. However, at the beginning of 1966, during the Dry Weather campaign to from 1965 to 1966, the US B-52 bombers bombed the Nui Dat base. The COSVN and General Nguyen Chi Thanh moved to the current position, 4km far from the former position.

General Nguyen Chi Thanh’s working shack was made from available wood in the secondary forest of Chang Riec - Rom Duon. The roof was covered with leaves of trung quan tree (Ancistrocladus tectorius). Under the house floor, there was a tunnel to avoid bombs. Working tables, chairs and facilities such as a globe, a radio for news, a hurricane lantern, a hammock for his rest were also arranged in the shack for the General.

Taking the prototype from the original shack at the COSVN, artisans restored the similar design and material with the ratio of 1/3 of the real one. This restoration is referenced from the image of the original document and the actual historical site of the General’s working house at the COSVN Special National Monument. This work was undertaken by the artisans of Tan Bien district who specialize in restoring relics for the Management Board of the COSVN Special National.

“The reconstruction and additional display of the General’s working shack at the Museum creates a highlight that enriches and enlivens the showcase system, helping visitors understand more about a figure attached with a heroic and tragic period of the nation’s history - General Nguyen Chi Thanh,” shared a representative of the Nguyen Chi Thanh Museum.

Having officially operated for a year, Nguyen Chi Thanh Museum is one of the private museums in Hue city that attracts a large number of visitors. Thereby, the museum, together with other cultural institutions in the province, better conducts the traditional history education for generations, especially the younger generation.

Currently, the museum displays hundreds of documents, artifacts, and pictures about the life and career of General Nguyen Chi Thanh, his important contributions to the revolution of Thua Thien Hue in particular and the whole country in general through the two resistance wars against the French and the American, and the construction of socialism in the North.

The main exhibition topics include the homeland, the family, the process of participating in the revolution of the outstanding politician and military leader, his important milestones and the gratitude of the family, the homeland and the country to him. In addition to the traditional display methodologies, the museum also applies technology for visitors to have interesting and new experiences.

Mr. Ho Xuan Dai, Deputy Director of Nguyen Chi Thanh Museum, said that in addition to the museum in Hue city, the Nguyen Chi Thanh Museum in Hanoi has recently been put into operation. In the coming time, the museum will continue to strengthen its facilities, collect artifacts, documents and images about the General to select and supplement the museum’s activities.

Story and photo: N.Minh