Jointly held by the National Archives Centre 1, Hanoi Opera House and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the event showcases 70 official documents, photos and drafts of outstanding French architecture.
These are the works designed and built by French architects in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Opera House, the Louis Finot Museum (now the National History Museum), the Hanoi Post Office, the Indochina University (now managed and used by the Vietnam National University-Hanoi and the Hanoi University of Pharmacy), the Indochina Finance Office (now the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry) and the Doumer Bridge (now Long Bien Bridge).
The exhibited is expected to provide visitors with a more comprehensive view of Hanoi's architecture during the French colonial era and facilitate access to archives that are particularly significant to research on the capital's history and culture.
During their nearly a decade in Vietnam, with a dream of a “French-style administrative capital in the Indochina”, the French constructed many works, notably offices and cultural works in the Western style. French architecture has since become a heritage symbol with cultural, architectural and functional values in Hanoi as well as in many other cities in Vietnam.
Over time, most of the buildings constructed by French people in Hanoi are still in use and have become the outstanding architectural highlights of the capital.
The exhibition, jointly held by the National Archives Centre 1, Hanoi Opera House and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will run until October 27.
