Called a wharf, but Nha Rong, a name quite popular among locals, is not a gathering place for boats or vessels. It is considered a major icon of the city alongside Ben Thanh Market, Thong Nhat Reunification Palace and the likes.
Called a wharf, but Nha Rong, a name quite popular among locals, is not a gathering place for boats or vessels. It is considered a major icon of the city alongside Ben Thanh Market, Thong Nhat Reunification Palace and the likes. It is a place of history, not only because of a great volume of historical materials available there, but also because of its own history through ages. It is a worthwhile sight-seeing venue.
Nha Rong Wharf located at the former Saigon Commercial Port, known as Saigon Port now, used to be the headquarters of the Emperor Transport Corporation (Messageries Impériales), one of the first buildings built by the French after their capture of Saigon. It had even appeared before other famous buildings in Saigon like Ben Thanh Market, the City Hall or Notre-Dame Cathedral.
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| A view of Nha Rong Wharf |
The building, whose construction took one year and a half from the middle of 1862 to the end of 1863, was a combination of both western and oriental architectures with the special image of the moon being flanked by two sacred creatures on the roof, a typical decoration at temples and pagodas in Vietnam. That was the reason why the building was called Nha Rong, or Dragon House.
In 1955, the commercial port was transferred to the former regime of Saigon to manage and repair after the French colonists had been defeated. However, the old architecture of the headquarters is still kept intact to this day.
The building is associated with late President Ho Chi Minh. The young man Nguyen Tat Thanh, the late president’s name then, left the country on June 5, 1911 to get on board the French ship Admiral Latouche Treville, starting his 30-year journey around the world for national salvation. Since then, the 150-year-old famous destination has witnessed many events and historic changes.
In September 1979, on the occasion of the late president’s 10th death anniversary, Nha Rong Wharf welcomed visitors to an exhibition on “President Ho Chi Minh” and launched a new historical relic and memorial area dedicated to the Vietnamese leader. Then, the HCMC government decided to turn the President Ho Chi Minh Memorial into the Ho Chi Minh Museum on September 20, 1982.
After being repaired twice in 1990 and 1995, the museum now has nine galleries covering an area of nearly 1,500 square meters. Up to now, there are nearly 11,400 documents, items and around 3,300 books which have been collected, preserved and displayed about late President Ho Chi Minh’s life and revolutionary career.
Besides, the museum also keeps precious materials that marked important landmarks in the history of the nation.
For instance, national declarations of independence through the thousand-year history, such as the poem “Nam Quoc Son Ha” written General by Ly Thuong Kiet in 1077, “Binh Ngo Dai Cao” by Nguyen Trai in 1428, and the Declaration of Independence by President Ho Chi Minh in 1945 that proclaimed the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam are being kept there.
In addition, the museum is also the venue for many activities such as seminars, presentations and screenings. It is also a place for meeting, learning and entertainment for organizations and unions.
Nha Rong Wharf is frequented by many visitors, locals and foreigners alike.
Pham Thi Thuc, an elderly woman living in HCMC, says she often visits Nha Rong Wharf with her relatives and has witnessed many changes here.
“To me, Nha Rong Wharf is a special place which reflects great merits of our nation’s glorious history. I can tell my children and grandchildren about that,” she comments.
Jason Davidson, an Australian visitor to the venue, says he has been to HCMC twice, “but this is the first time I visit Nha Rong Wharf. This visit, I think, has helped me know more about one of the world famous leaders.”
After more than 30 years of operation, The Ho Chi Minh Museum at Nha Rong Wharf has welcomed over 20 million local and foreign visitors. Especially, many heads of state and other high-level diplomatic delegations from other countries have also paid visits to the museum.
On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Saigon-HCMC in 1998, Nha Rong Wharf was chosen as the city’s symbol. At the same time, the city government in collaboration with France’s LYON Association equipped the museum with a spectacular lighting system. The project, inaugurated on November 21, 1998, highlighted the beauty and liveliness of the wharf in the evening.
And more is to come. the museum management in cooperation with relevant units expects to carry out a project to recreate Saigon Port landscape in 1911 in the open air and the restoration of the French ship Admiral Latouch Trevill, with an aim to make Nha Rong Wharf an even more worthwhile sightseeing venue for locals and foreigners alike.
(Source:SGT)
