In the morning of November 18, 2020, the opening ceremony of the Special Exhibition ‘Bai Coi-The rendezvous of different cultures’ took place at the Viet Nam National Museum of History at No. 1, Trang Tien Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. The exhibition was organized by cooperating between the VNMH, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Tinh province and the Ha Tinh Provincial Museum.
Panorama of the Opening Ceremony of the ExhibitionThe Party Congress of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism;
Attending the Ceremony with present of Mr. Hoang Dao Cuong - Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr. Pham Dinh Phong, Deputy Director of Cultural Heritage Department; Dr. Nguyen Van Doan - Director of the VNMH, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Linh – Deputy Permanent Secretary of For the Ha Tinh province were: Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dong - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Deputy Head of the provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department; Mr. Bui Viet Hung - Vice Chairman of Nghi Xuan district People's Committee, Mr. Dau Khoa Toan - Director of Ha Tinh Provincial Museum; For the sciences were: Prof. Dr. Luu Tran Tieu - Chairman of the National Cultural Heritage Council; Dr. Do Van Tru, General Secretary of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association; Prof. Dr. Pham Mai Hung - Vice President of Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences. Attending the ceremony were also have the Director of Chinese Cultural Center in Vietnam; Director of the Indian Cultural Center in Vietnam; Representatives of museums, relics and collaborators, retired officials with VNMH’s employees and the press agencies.
Delegates cutting opening ribbons
The Exhibition is one of activities aimed to summarize the research results on the Bai Coi site and to acknowledge the success of the international collaboration between Vietnam and Korea in the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, as well as to celebrate the Vietnam’s Cultural Heritage Day, 23rd November, 2020.
The Special Exhibition ‘Bai Coi-The rendezvous of different cultures’ presents to the public nearly 150 typical artifacts, documents with materials as: stone, ceramic, metal, glass… The Exhibition includes three main parts: Part 1: Bai Coi - A journey of discover; Part 2: Bai Coi-The rendezvous of different cultures; Part 3: International cooperation between the VNMH and the National Museum of Koreawhich introduced general and condensation about the history of discovering, researching and excavating and research results the archaeological site of Bai Coi, with particular emphasis on 3 excavations by the VNMH.
A bronze jar from Dong Son period, intentionally broken on one side, in particular, this jar contains a pottery pot of Sa Huynh culture placed in a bronze bowl dated to the Han period inside. This object constituting the clearest proof shows that the site of Bai Coi was a meeting point of the residents of cultures in the Proto-history in Vietnam.
The leader of Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Ha Tinh province People's Committee visiting the exhibition
Delegates visiting the exhibition
The archaeological site of Bai Coi actually includes a group of site such as Bai Coi, Bai Loi and Bai Phoi Phoi, located in Xuan Vien commune, Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh province. The archaeological site of Bai Coi were discovered from 1974 to now, this site were excavated many times, especials most attention is particular emphasis on 3 excavations by the VNMH. The excavation results indicated that Bai Coi was a special archaeological site, thanks to the features and artefacts of which have the characteristics of both main cultures: The Dong Son culture and the Sa Huynh culture. This proves that Bai Coi with its special position was a meeting point of the residents of Dong Son and Sa Huynh cultures. This place has a significant position in studying the Proto-history of Vietnam from 2.000 years ago.
The archaeological site of Bai Coi actually includes a population of burial were distributed over a large area. The Bai Coi site with 2 main types of burial such as the inhumation burials and the jar burials. In particular, researchers have found that burials jar (Sa Huynh) has artifacts of the Dong Son culture, and the inhumation burials of Dong Son culture has characteristics artifacts of Sa Huynh culture and the Chinese iron culture. Due to its special location and cultural contents, the archaeological complex of Bai Phoi Phoi-Bai Coi was recognized as National Relic in 2014 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Dr. Nguyen Van Doan, VNMH’s Director giving a speech at the Opening
Giving his speech at the opening ceremony, Dr. Nguyen Van Doan emphasized: The exhibition offers the national and international visitors the oppoturnity to better understand the position of the Bai Coi site in the historical and cultural process of Vietnam, as well as to acknowledged the efforts of archaeologists in contributing to the preservation and enhancement of the cultural heritage values of the nation”
The Special Exhibition ‘Bai Coi-The rendezvous of different cultures’ will open to the public from now until the December, 2021.
Editorial board Vietnam National Museum of History English by Le Lien