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DNO - The Dong Dinh Museum, tucked into the green hills of the renowned Son Tra Peninsula, offers a journey into the past that is best experienced slowly, on foot and without a fixed itinerary.
Located on Hoang Sa Street, Son Tra Ward, Da Nang, next to the Linh Ung Pagoda, this tourist attraction is a green architectural complex where the natural beauty of the forest blends seamlessly with distinctive cultural and artistic values. This helps to create a captivating, tranquil and characterful destination.
Unlike many popular attractions designed around photo opportunities in the city, Dong Dinh shows off a distinctly contemplative atmosphere. Its narrow paths, moss-covered stones, old houses and secluded corners seem to preserve fragments of another time.
Surrounded by green mountains, trees and clouds, the museum evokes memories of rural life in Central Vietnam, creating what feels like a garden of memories rather than a conventional museum.
The impressive name “Dong Dinh” comes from the local “dung dinh” palm, a native species that grows naturally across the Son Tra Peninsula. The museum was created by Vietnamese artist Doan Huy Giao, who carefully integrated its buildings, collections and natural surroundings into the existing landscape.
Houses and stone structures follow the contours of the hillside, allowing the forest to remain an essential part of the experience. Inside the museum, history emerges quietly from beneath moss-covered roofs.
Hundreds of artifacts tell stories spanning centuries of Vietnamese culture, from ancient Sa Huynh-era stone earrings and anklets to Cham pottery from Tra Kieu and collections of Dai Viet ceramics from different historical periods.
Nearby, an art exhibition space creates an unusual dialogue between contemporary creativity and the forest. Large natural granite boulders remain in their original forms inside the gallery, becoming part of the exhibition environment alongside other works.
One of the museum’s most distinctive spaces is the Fishing Village Memory House. This place resembles an old wooden boat quietly listening to the stories of its own past, ingeniously pieced together from salvaged boat hulls, bamboo boats and worn basket boats.
Inside, everyday objects tell a remarkably intimate story with jars of fish sauce hanging from rafters, worn fishing nets and weathered floats marked by years of exposure to seawater.
Together, they recreate the atmosphere of Nam Tho, a former fishing village whose way of life was closely tied to the sea. Further into the forest, visitors encounter natural landmarks shaped by thousands of years of weathering.
The massive “Da Ong”, or “Stone Eye,” is among the museum’s most striking formations. Meanwhile, an ancient banyan tree spreads its roots firmly around the rocks, standing like a guardian of the forest.
After wandering through old windows, quiet galleries and weathered stones, visitors can slow down at the museum’s tranquil tea spaces, including Thach Quy Tea House and Ngu Lam Tea Pavilion.
For a more casual pause, Café Du Musée offers coffee and refreshments in a setting surrounded by the forest. Dong Dinh is not a place to rush through. Its appeal lies in the details, including a weathered object, a stone shaped by time, a wooden wall bearing traces of another life or a patch of sunlight falling through the canopy.
For visitors exploring Da Nang, a trip to Dong Dinh offers something different, providing an opportunity to slow down, reconnect with the past and experience the quieter side of the Son Tra Peninsula.
Tea, art and nature come together at Dong Dinh
The Dong Dinh Museum has hosted a special morning bringing together tea, art, nature and meaningful connections in the tranquil setting of Son Tra Peninsula.
The workshop, themed “Tea in Son Tra,” invited visitors to explore the delicate fragrance of lotus tea and the Vietnamese tradition of slow, mindful tea drinking.
Using familiar ingredients, participants had the opportunity to learn about the tea-making process and create their own personalised tea box as a keepsake of the experience.
The morning also featured an informal gathering with architect and artist Noah Bui (Bui Van Hoan).
The event offered an opportunity to pause, sit together, share a conversation over a cup of tea and allow the natural surroundings of Son Tra to become part of the experience.