VietNamNet Bridge – Tourists to HCMC may use their mobile phones to search for information about historical characters, natural creatures and phenomena, historical artifacts and photographs exhibited at all museums citywide. A mobile phone app for this purpose will be developed as part of the project “Intelligent interactive museum system” that was discussed at a meeting of the HCMC government on January 4.

The front yard of the Reunification Palace – Photo: Van Nam

This project will be first piloted at two locations, Southern Women’s Museum and the historic Cu Chi Tunnels, before it is expanded to other museums in the city, said HCMC vice chairman Tran Vinh Tuyen at the meeting.

There are currently 13 museums across the city, with seven of them managed by the HCMC Department of Culture and Sports, including War Remnants Museum, Ton Duc Thang Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Southern Women’s Museum, Museum of Vietnamese History, and Ho Chi Minh Museum. In addition, there are other destinations such as Cu Chi Tunnels, Reunification Palace, Ao Dai Museum, and private museums.

Tourists may use the mobile app to view images and videos, and listen to information in English, French or Vietnamese, accompanied by route and direction recommendations. They can also buy entrance tickets and souvenirs on this system, said Tran Minh Triet, deputy head of the Department of Software Technology at Vietnam National University-HCMC.

Vice chairman Tuyen said the deployment of the intelligent interactive museum system was also aimed at improving the quality of the city’s tourism products.

He asked the Department of Culture and Sports along with the Department of Tourism, the Department of Information and Communications and the research team to work with Southern Women’s Museum and Cu Chi Tunnels for the launch of this system. At the same time, the culture department is responsible for deploying this system at other museums in the city in the future.

SGT