Bao tang Y Hoc Co Truyen

Nestled on a small street in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, on Hoang Du Khương Street, the Vietnamese Traditional Medicine Museum is not just a place that houses thousands of artifacts related to traditional medicine in Vietnam, but it’s also a favorite stop for many visitors wanting to learn about the traditional healing practices of the Vietnamese people.

Mr. Le Khac Tam works in the pharmaceutical industry and has a passion for exploring and researching Vietnam’s traditional medicine. Since he was young, Mr. Tam has been enthusiastic, dedicated to his profession, and committed to traditional medicine. He recognized that this is not just a profession for healing but also encompasses many cultural values of the Vietnamese people, which inspired him to create a museum dedicated to traditional medicine. After many years of collecting, studying, and developing, the Vietnamese Traditional Medicine Museum officially opened its doors in 2007.

From the outside, the Vietnamese Traditional Medicine Museum doesn’t stand out too much, covering a modest area of about 600 square meters, but once you step inside, you’ll discover a wealth of cultural value that the owner has painstakingly curated. It is known that the interiors here were salvaged from an old house in Hanoi. Craftsmen dismantled the pillars, bricks, and stones to transfer them to Ho Chi Minh City and recreate the traditional interior of a classic Vietnamese house. Every brick, tile, and column has been carefully crafted, along with a rich collection of artifacts that bear deep cultural and historical significance.

The museum currently showcases over 3,000 valuable artifacts related to traditional Vietnamese medicine, dating from the Stone Age to the present day. This includes items like cutting knives, medicine boats used for chopping and grinding herbs, with some tools being about 2,500 years old. Notably, some of these knives were brought back from the homeland of the monk Tue Tinh and the renowned physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong - Le Huu Trac. The collection of mortars and pestles is quite impressive, featuring items such as traditional mortar and pestles, balance scales, Western scales, medicine planers, wooden boards, and wooden seals used for printing prescriptions. There's a stone mortar and pestle set used by ancient Vietnamese for herbal preparation.


At the museum, visitors can admire the work "Vietnamese Physicians Anthology," which is intricately carved from wood and lists the names of 100 renowned doctors and contributors to traditional Vietnamese medicine from the 12th to the 20th century. The most unique feature is the mother-of-pearl inlaid painting depicting traditional medicine in the lives of the Vietnamese people, showcasing locations like the North Medicine Street, Ben Thanh Market, Hue Imperial City, and Hoan Kiem Lake, which have been recognized in the Vietnamese Guinness records. The owner of this museum has also meticulously organized a collection of medicinal plants, animals, and minerals in a very systematic and scientific manner.

After a tour, you can even participate directly in the process of medicine preparation, such as cutting herbs, grinding them, tasting the medicinal flavors, and using the traditional medicine examination and treatment services available here.