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Call to arms: Barricades against French forces on a Ha Noi street in January 1947 in a photo taken by Nguyen Ba Khoan on show at an exhibition in Ha Noi. |
HA NOI — An exhibition at the Ho Chi Minh Museum celebrates Ha Noi's heroic struggle for independence, peace and reunification last century.
On display are more than 200 documents, pictures and objects, many of them for the first time, designed to give visitors an insight into the country's struggles during President Ho Chi Minh's life and the subsequent years that saw military victory against the US and the reunification of the country.
The exhibition is divided into three parts.
The first features famous quotations, and maps and pictures of old Ha Noi that strive to capture the ancient city's elegance, refinement and beauty during its struggle for independence from colonial France.
Many documents and pictures celebrate the fearless determination of the people of Ha Noi to overcome their colonial oppressors.
The second part of the exhibition covers the period during the American war of destruction against North Viet Nam. It bids to depict Ha Noi as the spiritual capital of the country.
Ha Noi established itself as a centre of socialist construction while helping the rest of the country fight US forces.
The last part of the exhibition portrays Ha Noi as the City for Peace, the titled bestowed by UNESCO.
In 1975, Viet Nam gained total independence. Ha Noi then set about healing the wounds of war. Pictures reflect the capital's socio-economic development and urban renewal.
A visitor from Germany said the exhibition had helped him see the war from a different perspective.
"I often see documents and pictures of the war in Viet Nam through information sources of the US, but this is the first time I have seen the country and its capital through documents in Viet Nam," he said.
The National Archives Centre, the Ho Chi Minh Museum, the Party Central Committee's Archival Office and the Ha Noi Central Archives have organised the exhibition to mark Ha Noi's 1,000th year.
The exhibition will run until October. — VNS