Tourism and Nation Building at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Abstract

Using evidence from what is probably Vietnam's most visited tourism site, the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, this article explores the presentation of the “American War” in the construction of nationhood. The article has three objectives. First, I illustrate how nation-building in a postcolonial and postimperial context is generated through tourism, specifying how the Communist Party communicates Vietnam to lay international tourist audiences. Tourism's political instrumentality for the party is highlighted here. Second, I show how the United States is imaginatively constructed to shape Vietnam's identity. Finally, I use the conclusion to reflect on the implications for the “Asian Century” when considering Vietnam's multifaceted connections to the United States and the West.

本文运用来自于可能是游客至越南最常造访的旅游景点——胡志明市战争遗迹博物馆的证据, 探讨国族建构中 “美国战争” 的呈现。本文有以下三大目标: 首先, 我将描绘在后殖民和后帝国脉络中的国族打造, 如何透过旅游生产之, 并明确说明共产党如何使越南能够和一般的国际游客阅听众沟通。本文于此强调旅游之于共产党的政治工具性。再者, 我将展现 “美国” 如何透过想像建构之, 以形塑越南的身份认同。最后我将于结论中, 反思考量越南与美国和西方的多面向连结对 “亚洲世纪” 的意涵。

Mediante el uso de evidencia de lo que probablemente sea el sitio turístico más visitado de Vietnam, el Museo de Objetos de Guerra en Ciudad Ho Chi Minh, este artículo explora las presentaciones de la “Guerra Americana” para la construcción de la nacionalidad. El artículo tiene tres objetivos. Primero, yo ilustro cómo la construcción de nación en un contexto poscolonial y posimperial se genera por medio del turismo, especificando la manera como el Partido Comunista le indica a Vietnam cómo manejar las audiencias turísticas internacionales. El carácter instrumental de la política del turismo para el partido es destacada aquí. Segundo, muestro la manera imaginativa como los Estados Unidos son dibujados para dar forma a la identidad de Vietnam. Finalmente, utilizo la conclusión para reflexionar sobre las implicaciones que tiene para el “Siglo Asiático” la presentación examinada al considerar las conexiones multifacéticas que tiene Vietnam con Estados Unidos y con Occidente.

Key Words:

• Asian Century
• nationalism
• tourism
• Vietnam
• Vietnam War.

关键词:

• 亚洲世纪
• 国族主义
• 旅游
• 越南
• 越战。

Palabras clave:

• Siglo Asiático
• nacionalismo
• turismo
• Vietnam
• Guerra de Vietnam.

Notes

¹In contrast to many countries in the Global North, in southern Vietnam the ground floor is not called the first floor, but rather the ground or “0” floor. In this article I adopt the floor numbering system from southern Vietnam.

²The Party is notoriously reluctant to publicly release any sort of statistical data related to tourism and its reliability when it does is an open question (see Scott, Miller, and Lloyd 2006).

³The others are Ben Thanh Market, the Saigon Central Post Office, the Saigon-Notre Dame Basilica, and the Reunification Palace.

⁴Thanks to Tim Oakes for pointing this out to me.

⁵I am including here the recent wars against Iraq and Afghanistan. A possible exception is Second Lieutenant Frank Calley's war crimes conviction as a member of the U.S. Army for his role in the My Lai massacre.

⁶Examples include photos of people who are blind, deaf, physically disabled and deformed; who have breathing problems; who are fighting various strains of cancer; and who have other genetic diseases.