A free photo exhibition is running at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi, and it doubles as a birthday party. 'From Heritage to Cultural Diplomacy' opened on November 11 at the Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám complex, timed to the 950th anniversary of Quốc Tử Giám, Vietnam's first national university, founded in 1076.

The Vietnam News Agency pulled more than 60 photographs from its archives for the show, staged at the Special National Relic Site itself. Rather than a dry history lesson, the collection focuses on the site's second life as a stage for diplomacy. On display: images of General Secretary Tô Lâm touring the complex with French President Emmanuel Macron and his spouse in May 2025, and President Lương Cường sharing tea with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni among the courtyards in November 2024. Other frames show foreign leaders stopping at the 82 stone steles that UNESCO lists as World Documentary Heritage — they record the names of doctoral laureates going back centuries.

There's everyday culture in the mix too: the Spring Calligraphy Festival, folk games, calligraphy sessions and heritage education programmes for young visitors. The overall message from organisers, including VNA General Director Vũ Việt Trang and senior culture ministry officials, is that a place built to train scholars now helps Vietnam introduce itself to the world.

For travellers, the numbers behind the site are worth knowing before you go. Văn Miếu was built in 1070 as a temple to Confucius; six years later Quốc Tử Giám opened as the national academy. Over roughly eight and a half centuries, 183 royal examinations were held here, producing 2,898 doctoral and deputy doctoral laureates. The five courtyards, tiled roofs and ancient trees make it one of the most atmospheric stops in Hanoi, and it's an easy add-on to a day that includes the Imperial Citadel or Hoan Kiem Lake nearby.

The exhibition also makes a case for the site as more than a photo backdrop. Officials at the opening, including a UNESCO representative to Vietnam, framed it as shared heritage — a place where Vietnam's long-standing reverence for teachers and learning gets explained to international guests in person. If you're visiting Hanoi in the coming months, seeing the archives show alongside the steles and courtyards is a richer visit than the usual quick walk-through, and it costs no more than your regular entry ticket.

Reported by Vietnam News Life.