HANOI, Vietnam (Jan. 22, 2021) – Yesterday, Google Arts & Culture launched Wonders of Vietnam—an online project featuring multiple highlights of Vietnam’s UNESCO heritage sites for the first time, including natural sites and tangible and intangible heritage. Completed in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism,  local tourism boards of Da Nang, Quang Nam, Thua Thien Hue and Quang Binh, National Geographic award-winning photographer Tran Tuan Viet and Oxalis Adventure, the new project aims to capture and preserve the beauty of Vietnam for audiences all over the world. 

The online project features 35 exhibitions and 1,369 stunning pictures, bringing together a rich perspective of Vietnam for people to connect with during and beyond the pandemic. Highlights include exhibits about Son Doong Cave, the Hoi An Lantern Festival and Nha Nhac as well as interactive features that allow visitors to experience the wonders of Vietnam in a new way. People can explore highlights of the exhibit by colour, watch videos of sites set to traditional Vietnamese music or take a bird’s-eye view of famous sites through panoramic pictures. This project is an important part of Google’s overall support of the local tourism industry, which has been badly affected with travel restrictions because of the pandemic. By showcasing the wonders of Vietnam, specifically from the Central region, we hope to also raise awareness on preserving the sites affected by the recent floods. 

“Given how severely the tourism industry all over the world, and particularly in Vietnam, has been affected by the pandemic, we knew it was even more important to make Wonders of Vietnam accessible for the world, so more people can experience what Vietnam is all about,” said  Amit Sood, Director, Google Arts & Culture. “I am grateful to our partners for working with us to showcase such a rich view of the sites and culture of Vietnam.” 

Deputy Director of Tourism Ha Van Sieu said: “Promoting digital transformation, accelerating the application of technology in advertising promotion is an important direction of the Vietnam tourism industry to proactively approach and effectively take part in the 4th Industrial Revolution. The General Department of Tourism highly appreciates Google's initiative in implementing Wonders of Vietnam online exhibition project, showcasing outstanding features of Vietnam's Heritage, Culture and Cuisine. As a global online platform, Google Arts & Culture would become a bridge to help promote Vietnam's beauty more widely, reaching all audiences and visitors around the world. I hope this project will be widely spread and be expanded further in the next phases.”

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About Google Arts & Culture 

Google Arts & Culture puts the collections of more than 2,000 museums at your fingertips. It’s an immersive way to explore art, history and the wonders of the world, from Van Gogh’s bedroom paintings to the women’s rights movement and the Taj Mahal.  The Google Arts & Culture app is free and available online for iOS and Android.  The team have been innovation partners for cultural institutions since 2011. They develop technologies that help preserve and share culture and allow curators to create engaging exhibitions online and offline, inside museums. 

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