Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine (FITO Museum)

Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine (or FITO Museum) is located at 41 Hoang Du Khuong, Ward 12, District 10, HCMC. The museum is one of the first private museums in Vietnam. Coming to Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine, Tourists have the opportunity to contemplate ancient medicine artifacts. Besides tourists can join live processing medicine or have the doctor examine live and buy medicine here. The Fito Museum is one of the Top 12 museums in Ho Chi Minh City and worth a visit.

General information

Opening hours: 8:30 – 17:00 daily

Address: 41 Hoang Du Khuong, Ward 12, District 10, Ho Chi Minh City. The museum is about 3.6 km from Ham Nghi Bus Station, the nearest bus station from Ben Thanh Market. Visitors can take taxi to the place or book a city tour including this museum.

Admission fee: 120,000 VND (adult); 60,000 VND (child)

Website: http://fitomuseum.com.vn

Tel/Fax: +84 2838642430 or +84 2838627812

E-mail: museum@fito.vn

Read more about Top 12 museums in Ho Chi Minh City

History

The museum was born from the idea, passion and collection process for 20 years of Mr. Le Khac Tam, a pharmaceutical industry employee. He has a desire to preserve precious medical assets, honor Vietnamese traditional medicine, and help those who are interested in Vietnamese traditional medicine history to visit, learn and research. The museum was built in 2003 and has been open for publish since 2007.

Architecture

The museum has 6 floors with 18 rooms on a total area of 600 m2. The museum is built entirely of wood. This wood is transferred from the Northern Delta. The motifs and patterns carved on the wood are very sophisticated with the shape in the northern plain. All create an ancient space in the middle of the bustling flashy city.

6-story building of FITO Museum

Displayed artifacts

The museum has about 1,112 medicine names and nearly 4,000 precious artifacts related to traditional medicine in Vietnam from the Stone Age to date such as the knives used to cut drugs and the boats used to crush drugs with the age of about 2,500 years, including some knives brought from the hometown of Zen master Tue Tinh and the famous doctors of Hai Thuong Lan Ong and Le Huu Trac.

When visiting the museum, visitors should use the elevator or walk to 4th and 5th floor to visit Room 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Then they go downstairs to the 3rd floor to see Room 8, 9, 10, 11. On the second floor there will be Room 12, 13, 14, 15. Room 16 is on the first floor.

4th floor

Room 1: Evolution of Vietnamese traditional medicine from 2nd century before BC.

Chronology of Vietnamese traditional medicine and Diagram of structure of Traditional Vietnamese medicine in Room 1

Room 2: the ancestors of Vietnamese traditional medicine

In this room, visitors can see an altar on which 2 greatest physicians, known as the ancestors of Vietnamese traditional medicine: Tue Tinh Zen Buddhist (14th century) and Hai Thuong Lazy Man Le Huu Trac (18th century)

Tue Tinh Zen Buddhist and Hai Thuong Lazy Man Le Huu Trac are worshipped on the ancestral altar. 4 couple of couplets have the content to praise the merits of 2 popular physicians in Vietnam.

Old Vietnamese traditional medicine books

Room 3: Items from Stone and bronze age

Items from Stone and bronze age, the remarkable is the boat-shaped grinder

Room 7: Giant wood carved painting named Viet Nam Bach Gia Y

500 kg Wood carved painting with the name of Viet Nam Bach Gia Y – a tree relating to 100 famous royal physicians and Vietnamese traditional medicine author from 12th to 20th century

Foot detox service at the cost of 70,000 VND/person

Carved wood painting of Royal Health Department

On this Ho Chi Minh Sightseeing Tour by Motorbike, Tracy’s team will show you lots of tourist attractions and brilliant gems in back alleys.

5th floor

Room 4: 15 pictures of famous physicians and authors of Vietnam traditional medicine

15 pictures of famous physicians and authors of Vietnam traditional medicine from 13th to 18th centuries. The paintings were hand made on yellow vermilion paper

Room 5: Artifacts in Cham culture

Linga and other deities’ statues in Cham tower

Room 6: Artifacts about Korean, Japanese and Chinese traditional medicine

Artifacts about Korean, Japanese and Chinese traditional medicine

3rd floor

Room 8: collection of medical trees and painting collection “Vietnam ban thao”

Over 1800 species of medical tree of 238 kinds of vegetation, nearly 8000 specimens of 1300 kinds

Painting collection “Vietnam ban thao” included 20 pages that are 1.2 m high and images of nearly 300 medicine trees

Room 9: Tools to prepare traditional medicine

Tools to prepare traditional medicine, lancets are used to slice herbs, apothecary’s mortars are used to grind dried herbs.

Room 10: Model of an oriental drugstore

Model of an oriental drugstore

Tourists just pose for photos, Tracy’s team will ride guests around the city to see great sights and enjoy great foods.

Room 11: Collection of jars to keep medicine and wine

Jars to keep medicine and wine

2nd floor

Room 12: Collections of bowls to drink medicine, teapots, lime holes and pots

Collections of bowls to drink medicine

Collections of teapots

Collection of lime hole (Ống ngoáy trầu)

Collection of lime pots

Room 13: Collection of balances, mortars, pestles, Planes, plywood

Collection of Roman balance and French kilogram

Mortars and pestles

Planes, plywood to write prescriptions and medical glass jars

Nice ladies in Ao Dai will take you around Ho Chi Minh City and enjoy the Saigon nightlife at its best. The highlights of the tour include amazing street foods at local restaurants which are missed by most of the tourists. You will not regret spending your night with the energetic Tracy’s team.

Room 14: Ground pots to simmer medicine

Ground pots to simmer medicine with a strict rule “3 bowls rest one centimeter, big fire, small fire”

Jars of medicinal liquor from snakes, ginseng, medicine

Room 15: Collections of ancient wine jars, wine pots, bowls to drink wine

Collections of ancient wine jars, wine pots, bowls to drink wine

On the stair wall from 2nd floor to 1st floor

Medicine advertisement in the past

1st floor

Royal physician institute

Royal physician institute to take care of King and his family

Painting describes “Traditional medicine in Vietnamese life” in 3 cities Hanoi, Hue, Saigon

Services

Visiting the museum, visitors are guided to see by the friendly and knowledgeable about the museum guides. After buying a ticket, visitors receive paper tickets and electronic cards so that they can go through the access control. Visitors can directly participate in the process of drug preparation such as cutting drugs, crushing drugs. If you are sick, you can have the doctor examine live and buy medicine here. At the end of the journey, visitors can watch a documentary film, enjoy free tea in the area selling medicine, tea and medicinal alcohol right on the ground floor produced by Fito Pharma Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company.

Reception area and ticket desk, only cash is accepted

Entrance ticket to Fito museum

Documentary film about Vietnamse traditional medicine

Drugstore to buy medicine, tea, wine made from natural plants