Hundreds of black-and-white photos featuring long-standing Vietnamese rituals and relic sites are being put on show at an exhibition in the Cernuschi Museum in Paris from March 13 to June 29, as part of the Vietnam-France Exchange Year.

The photos date from the late 19th century and have been preserved by the French School of the Far East (EFEO), giving the French community an insight into locations and ways of life, many of which can no longer be found in Vietnam today.

The exhibition also highlights the contributions by French archaeologists and scientists to preserving Vietnamese cultural heritage by establishing the first museums in the Southeast Asian country.

Isabelle Poujol, an EFEO expert, said that the on-show documentary photos are scientifically meaningful as they illustrate how the old temples were discovered and restored hundreds of years ago.

Director of the Vietnam Cultural Centre in France Nguyen Hong Chuong said it’s necessary to conduct more research on the rich cultural heritage between Vietnam and France, as both countries share a lot of common features through their long-standing relationship.

France is now preserving many useful documents on Vietnam’s culture and history, Chuong said.

The event follows the 2012 “From the Red River to the Mekong, Visions of Vietnam” exhibition held in Paris last year.

VNA