Quảng trường Ba Đình

Quảng trường Ba Đình occupies central Ba Đình District in Hanoi, surrounded by Vietnam’s principal government buildings. Government buildings border the broad open square on every side. Here, Ho Chi Minh read the Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on 2 September 1945. That declaration fixed this place in Vietnam’s national history.

The square takes its name from the Ba Đình Uprising, an anti-French rebellion fought from 1886 to 1887. Later, a granite mausoleum rose here after Ho Chi Minh’s death. Nearby, the Ho Chi Minh Stilt House recalls his residence from 1958 until 1969, while the Ho Chi Minh Museum presents artifacts, photographs, and documents. One Pillar Pagoda rises like a lotus from a pond.

At sunrise, uniformed guards raise the Vietnamese flag as the national anthem sounds across the grounds. National ceremonies, parades, and gatherings continue here. The square covers approximately 320,000 square metres, making it Vietnam’s largest. Around it, the Presidential Palace, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Assembly Building give the open space a distinctly civic setting.