Bach Thao Park

Bách Thảo Park is located right at the back of President Hồ Chí Minh’s Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace. It covers an area of twenty hectares of land which originally belonged to Khán Xuân ward. In 1890, the French displaced the people of this ward to build a large garden for planting trees and raising animals. The garden was called Jardin botanique but Hanoians used to call it Trại Hàng Hoa (Flower Garden) or Bách Thú Garden (Zoo).

During World War II (1939-1945) the animals grown there gradually died because of lack of care. Finally, the French administration moved the remaining animals to Saigon Zoo.

Bach Thao Park

After the liberation of Hà Nội on the 10th October 1954, the State rebuilt this area and renamed it Bach Thao (Botanical) Park. At the park’s northwest corner, there is an earth mound which is usually called Khán mound or Nùng mound. It is, in fact, Sưa mound because Khán and Nùng mounds no longer exist today. Sưa is a type of hardwood, similar to iron wood.

In the past, sưa trees grew in abundance on this mound. Also on this mound, there is an ancient temple dedicated to Huyền Thiên Hắc Đế, a boy who, according to legend, helped a King of the Lý Dynasty defeat foreign invaders.

Museum Of Revolution

In December 1954, two months after it took over Hà Nội from the French, the revolutionary Government decided to build the Museum of Revolution. Objects were collected throughout the North, and on 6th January 1959, Việt Nam’s Museum of Revolution was officially opened.

The museum used to be the Service of Trade whose front side is on Trần Quang Khải Street, and back side on Tông Đản Street. The former building was turned into 29 rooms for displaying over 40,000 objects. The first room is dedicated to a general introduction of the country and people of Việt Nam while the last room displays the evidence of the solidarity between Việt Nam and the world.

Vietnam Museum of Revolution

The rest of the museum is designed for displaying the objects related to the Vietnamese’s struggle against French colonialism, Japanese fascism, and American imperialism from the mid-19th century until 1975.

The collection includes the memorabilia on the revolutionary career of Uncle HỒ and other revolutionaries; the Communist Party’s magazines and newspapers, including the rare and valuable publications of the period between 1920 and 1945; the country’s different flags, including the Party’s flag in 1930, the red flag with a yellow star in 1941; weapons, including the knives used'by the Nghệ An Red Guard in 1930, the rifles used by the Bắc Sơn guerillas in 1941, the crossbows used by the people in Trà Bồng (Quảng Ngãi province) during their insurrection in 1958, and a rocket pad used to down US B52 bombers in Hà Nội in December 1972.

Hà Nội Past and Present Nguyen Vinh Phuc - The Gioi Publishers

President Hồ Chí Minh’s Mausoleum

The construction of this project was formally started on 2nd September 1973 and finished on 21st August 1978. The Mausoleum stands on the place of the former platform in the middle of the Ba Đình Square. It is the place at which, for decades, Uncle HỒ had chaired great meetings.

The Mausoleum is a three-storied structure with the total height of 21.6m. The lowest part, a three- tier structure, is designed for the Presidiums of meetings. The middle part, the center of the whole structure, is composed of a room where the

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

President’s body is kept, and corridors and stairs. Each of the four sides of the Mausoleum is decorated with a row of five square granite columns. It reminds us of the traditional five-compartment house of the Vietnamese people in the countryside. The top part is the Mausoleum’s roof which is also a three-tier structure.

On the front site, there are the words “Chủ Tịch Hồ Chí Minh” (President Ho Chi Minh) made of deep red ruby.

Entering the foyer, visitors can see on the front dark red granite wall the famous phrase of President Hổ Chí Minh “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom”. Below it is the author’s signature. One stair leads to the room where the glass coffin of the President is kept. There are, on the white stone wall, the Party’s and national flags. The entrances from three sides allow many people to pay homage to the President conveniently.

The Mausoleum manifests the boundless respect and gratitude of the Vietnamese people towards their great leader.

Hà Nội Past and Present Nguyen Vinh Phuc - The Gioi Publishers