Ba Dinh Square: A Place of Great Emotion
At the heart of Hanoi’s thousand-year-old culture, Ba Dinh Square marks the moment of the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. As autumn’s historic atmosphere returns, an emotional feeling floods over people returning to this "red address" that bears the deep imprint of 80 years of nation-building.
On a glorious autumn day at Ba Dinh Square, we met veteran Phan Minh Tien, a 96-year-old from Hanoi’s Tay Ho Ward. Earlier this summer, he was confined to his sickbed. But at the start of autumn, he suddenly felt his strength return. On this cool day, Tien asked his children to help him visit Ba Dinh Square. Although his steps are slow and his eyes are dim, he clearly remembers the moment on September 2, 1945, when President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
“That autumn, I was only 16 years old. I joined a torrent of people flowing toward Ba Dinh Square,” he reminisced. “I stood quite close to the grandstand and could see everything so clearly! I could see Uncle Ho reading the Declaration of Independence. The very first words of the Declaration - 'All men are created equal...’- still echo in my mind to this day”.
His son, Phan Dai Hong, said that from the moment his father heard Uncle Ho read the Declaration of Independence, his heart beat in rhythm with the revolution and the struggle for national liberation. He joined the national defense troops, fighting in battles across the northeast and northwest, participating in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, and proudly marching into Hanoi in 1954.
“My father still carries shrapnel from a cannonball in his body. When the weather changes, he feels agonizing pain, but today, here, he seemed like a different person. He left his wheelchair and walked for a dozen steps. It was as if he were a 16-year-old again,” Phan Dai Hong beamed.
We can not forget the image of a young student, Diep Anh from grade 4E at Viet Lap Primary School in Bac Ninh, reciting the poetry of Vien Phuong, “Day after day the sun passes above the mausoleum / To find another red sun within / Day after day, a stream of people walks in loving remembrance” at Ba Dinh Square before she entered to pay respects to and report her achievements to Uncle Ho.
“I’ve heard many poems and songs about Uncle Ho,” she said. “I am grad my school organized this trip to visit the mausoleum. I secretly promised myself that I will study and train hard to be worthy of ‘…stepping onto the glorious pedestal to stand shoulder to shoulder with the great powers of the five continents…’ just as Uncle Ho wished”.
We brought our friend, photographer Pham Trong Hiep from Ho Chi Minh City, to Ba Dinh Square more than a dozen times to take photos. Pham Trong Hiep is deeply impressed by photographer Tran Lam’s work, “The Sun Shines in the Mausoleum,” and dreams of capturing a similar work to print and hang in his living room and give to his friends.
“Every time I hold my camera at Ba Dinh Square during the national flag-raising ceremony, with the song ‘Uncle Ho still marches with us’ playing in the background, it fills me with an overwhelming feeling of pride,” he said. Pham Trong Hiep is now preparing to fly to Hanoi with us to witness the upcoming historic parade and march celebrating the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day./.
Story: Cong Dat Photos: Cong Dat, Thanh Giang/VNP Translated by Hong Hanh