An exhibition titled Indochina – People and Territories 1856-1956 is showcasing 100 years of French history in Indochina at Paris's Army Museum.— Photo musee-armee.fr

PARIS (VNS)— An exhibition titled Indochina – People and Territories 1856-1956 is showcasing 100 years of French history in Indochina at Paris's Army Museum.

Nearly 400 objects, costumes, documents, weapons and celluloid films, which have been kept at the Army Museum, Museum of Quai Branly and archives in overseas French territories, are being displayed at the museum.

Visitors can see images of French soldiers from the early 19th century, French ethnologists and geographers from the French occupation of Indochina.

The 600sq.m exhibition will also feature images of Indochinese soldiers who fought against the French and Vietnamese resistance soldiers who won the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

General Christian Baptiste, director of the Paris Army Museum, said the museum wanted to provide explanations and illustrations on the history of French colonies.

The exhibition will allow visitors to see the first maps of the Mekong River delta where the French occupied, as well as weapons and costumes used by thousands of soldiers from around the region, who fought in France and Europe during the two world wars.

Two royal costumes from the Nguyen dynasty's Mandarin Nguyen Tri Phuong (1800-1873); who directed royal troops to fight against the French invasion at Da Nang (1858), Gia Dinh (1861) and Ha Noi (1873); will also be on display.

The museum's collection of celluloid films will also give visitors an insight into the loss by the French army at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu.

The exhibition will run until January 26 and kicks off the Indochina Season, which will gather participants from the Guimet Museum in Paris and the Museum of 1930s in Boulogne-Billancourt. — VNS