Museum of the Cultures of Vietnam's Ethnic Groups

The museum in Thai Nguyen was founded in 1960 and covers the fifty-four ethnic groups the Vietnamese state recognises, organised not by province but by language family - Viet-Muong, Tay-Thai, Mon-Khmer, Hmong-Dao, Kadai, Malayo-Polynesian, Han-Tibetan - which is a more useful arrangement than a geographical one and is the museum's distinguishing feature. Displays cover dress, tools, instruments, houses and ritual, with a good deal of textile. It sits in a large park in the middle of the city. The framing is official and the categories themselves are contested by some scholars and communities, which the museum does not much address.

What you actually see

• All fifty-four recognised groups - the state's official list.
• Arranged by language family - rather than by province.
• Dress, tools, instruments and houses - with substantial textile collections.
• Official categories - which some scholars and communities dispute.

When to go

Year round. Two hours.

Honest expectations

English labelling is limited. Displays are dated in places. The classification into fifty-four groups is a state framework rather than a settled fact, and the museum presents it as given. Thai Nguyen is off the tourist route.

Nearby

Tan Cuong tea region is west; Nui Coc lake is south-west.