On the days of Tết Nguyên đán (Lunar New Year), the museum is open; the officers and employees take turns on duty to welcome and serve visitors
On the early days of the new year, many families and tourists inside and outside the province race against time to visit and enjoy the artworks and artifacts displayed in the museums and art centers.
Hue is a typical city with many museums, art centers, exhibition areas…During the Lunar New Year days, these places must always be open, which means that many officers and employees hardly have a full holiday and must take turns to receive visitors.
On Le Loi Street, one of the streets known as "museum street" with many museums such as Ho Chi Minh Museum, Le Ba Dang Art Center, Diem Phung Thi Art Center (belonging to Hue Museum of Fine Arts)… on the early days of the new year, a host of visitors come here to visit and enjoy spring.
As recorded, aside from the provincial visitors, there are many domestic and international visitors, largely young and family visitors.
On the 3rd day of Tết, it was raining outside, but inside the exhibition space of Le Ba Dang Art Center was crowded with visitors buying tickets to visit the typical artworks by the world-famous painter, termed by the art circle as "the master of the two East and West worlds".
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Van, an officer of Hue Museum of Fine Arts, was on duty selling tickets and guiding visitors at Le Ba Dang Art Center. Hardly had she sold tickets to a group of young visitors when she guided a group of family visitors from the South.
She said, on the 1st day of Tết, the number of visitors to the museum was small because on the 1st day of the year, people went to pagodas and visit relatives. From the 2nd day onwards, the number of visitors started to rise. On average, the center received nearly one hundred visitors every day. Although the work at the start of the year was busy, Ms. Van said, "The job is specific, so I get used to it". This year, Ms. Van had 4 sessions on duty, which meant that she welcomed Tết at the office.
“Besides Tet, on the holidays when people take time off to travel far away, we have to go to work to serve visitors. The joy of going on duty over Tết is to witness an increase in visitors’ demand for cultural enjoyment; the rising number of visitors to the art center makes everyone happy," shared Van.
Talking about the time for the family during Tết, she said she still desires to savor the moments beside her loved ones on the first few days of the year, “but out of work, the family sympathizes, and I will spend time with them later as compensation.”
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Visitors to Hue, many youths of whom visit the museum, are from far and wide
Having worked at the Provincial Museum of History for 3 years, young man Duong Vinh Hau was on duty during the 3 Tết holidays to serve visitors.
Hau said, like many other museums, the Provincial History Museum was open throughout Tet to serve visitors. Especially during the Lunar New Year of the Cat in 2023, the museum held a thematic exhibition "Vietnam - Country, Spring" on the occasion of the 93rd anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3, 1930 - March 3, 2023), 55 years of the 1968 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, so the number of visitors was quite large.
“Working as a museum officer, it is normal to go to work during such Tet holidays. My joy in the days on duty is to welcome many visitors and introduce visitors to the culture, history, and the topics and artifacts the museum is exhibiting," confided Hau.
Meanwhile, Mr. Phi Hung, an officer of Hue Fine Arts Museum, also said that besides working through Tet, the days after Tet for him and many other colleagues will be terribly busy. “When doing duty during Tet at the exhibition space is over, there will be many festivals on the first days of January. A lot of things need to be done quite early in preparation for exhibitions, so there is barely Tet. Such is this job; I get used to it," said Hung.
Story and photos: N. MINH