Introduction
The Mine Action Visitor Center tells the story of the war in Quang Tri, what it left behind, and how the people, the government and international organizations have worked to recover from loss, pain and poverty and to make the land safe. Exhibits, photographs and documents are updated regularly, and our tour guides speak English and Vietnamese.
The Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee approved the Center under Decision No. 647/QD-UBND of April 28, 2010. It was set up by the Quang Tri Department of Foreign Affairs, Project RENEW and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), with a founding donation from the Chino Cienega Foundation, and opened to the public in August 2011, on Project RENEW’s 10th anniversary.
The Center is also a place of learning for younger generations born after the war.
Inside the Center
A painted sky
A sky is painted across the whole ceiling, and models of the bombs dropped on Quang Tri hang beneath it: the same sky under which the bombs once fell, and under which families now farm and rebuild.
The glass painting
At the center of the room stands a glass painting, lit from below by spotlights, beam lights and laser lights set into the floor. The other exhibits are lit individually, as in a gallery.
Display panels and map
Large full-color panels (2.5 m × 1.2 m) present facts, figures and photographs on mine action in Quang Tri, and a 1.8 m × 1.3 m map shows where the province was contaminated and where it has been cleared.
What you will see
The war and its legacy
Information and artifacts portraying the war as experienced by the people of Quang Tri. Lifelike models of munitions used in U.S. bombing runs are displayed along with explosive remnants of war still found in the province.
Post-war clearance
Efforts made immediately after the war by the government, Vietnamese military units, and local residents.
Integrated survey and clearance
Today’s work clears explosive remnants of war using an integrated survey-and-clearance approach.
Victim assistance
Homemade limbs made by survivors of UXO accidents, prosthetic and orthotic devices from RENEW’s rehabilitation program, and income-generation work.
Victory over tragedy
Stories of ordinary people in Quang Tri who rebuilt their lives after the war and after UXO accidents.
A classroom and a training resource
Since it opened, the Center has welcomed school children from rural and mountain villages across Quang Tri for explosive ordnance risk education, organized by Project RENEW with district and commune Youth Unions.
Since 2019, the Center has also supplied UXO casings, certified free from explosive, to NPA Vietnam (Norwegian People’s Aid) for training Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians of the Vietnam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC). Real casings make the training closer to what deminers meet in the field.
Notable visitors
Most visitors are school groups, tour groups and backpackers. The Center has also received heads of state, ambassadors and the officials who fund mine action in Quang Tri.
9 November 2016. Irish President Michael D. Higgins and Sabina Higgins visited during Ireland’s first State Visit to Vietnam. He met Pham Quy Thi, a landmine survivor, and watched a Cluster Munition Remnant Survey team demonstrate its work. He told reporters: “Three times the total amount of bombs that was dropped on both Germany and Japan during World War Two was dropped on Vietnam.”
23 May 2022. Ethan Rinks, Program Manager for East Asia and the Pacific at the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA), toured the Center. PM/WRA funds demining operations in Quang Tri.
12 January 2023. U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper met three survivors of explosive ordnance accidents taking part in a USAID-funded disability support program. He was the eighth American ambassador to visit Quang Tri since the two countries normalized relations in 1995, and his father had served in the area during the war. “The work that all the organizations are doing here is tremendous,” he said.
29 May 2026. Edel Cribbin, Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Ireland in Vietnam, visited ten years after President Higgins. The Embassy of Ireland is one of the Center’s supporters.
What visitors say
The Center holds a 4.5-star rating from 109 reviews on Google Maps.
The exhibition illustrates very clearly and powerfully the impact of the war. We found it very informative and very moving. Being from the UK we had little real idea of the devastating impact of the war on the Vietnamese people and the countryside and the huge ongoing problem of dealing with the U.S bombs and land mines. This exhibition reminds everyone of what really happened and the ongoing issues which are still being addressed and still affecting Vietnam and its people. We would highly recommend a visit.
Ron & Tricia Berry, United Kingdom
It’s very informative and displays lots of information on the potential damage that unexploded ordnance can cause to the local population and livestock. I was shocked to learn that even decades after the war ended, there is still a very high number of UXOs lurking around. All in all, a must-do visit if you happen to be in Dong Ha!
Gautier Parfait, France
The museum isn’t very large, but it still provides a wealth of information about the work of the deminers in Central Vietnam. I found the visit very informative and highly recommend it.
Erik Bodenstein, Germany
Visiting this center exceeded my expectations. It’s a one-room exhibition, which turned out to be more informative than most of the museums that I went to. We were lucky enough to get first-hand information from Phu. He was extremely well spoken, informative and gave us a good representation of the extent of the consequences that have been left by the war. Would recommend!
Eva Poklar, Slovenia
Read more visitor reviews on Tripadvisor
Services for visitors
- Screening room showing Vietnamese and international documentaries and archive footage about the war and its consequences
- Free wi-fi and computers with Internet access
- Souvenir booth with books, DVDs and locally made handicrafts
- Clean restrooms with disability access, and a handwashing station
Plan your visit
Address: 18 Nguyen Co Thach Street, Nam Dong Ha Ward, Quang Tri Province
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. For weekend visits, please contact us in advance.
Admission: Free. We welcome a donation of USD 2 per visitor to help maintain the displays.
Group visits and bookings: please email Mr. Phu Thanh Nguyen, Manager of the Mine Action Visitor Center, at nguyenthanhphu@landmines.org.vn, or call +84 935 211 281. If he cannot be reached, send a WhatsApp message to Mr. Hien Xuan Ngo, Communications and Development Manager, at +84 915 352 565.
Thank you
The Center exists because of the Chino Cienega Foundation, whose founding donation made it possible. We thank Friends of Project RENEW, the Embassy of Ireland in Vietnam, and the other foundations and individuals who keep the Center open. We are grateful as well to the Quang Tri Provincial People’s Committee and the Department of Foreign Affairs for their support since 2011.
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