Man of the people: Photographer Nguyen Trong Nghi's photo of General Vo Nguyen Giap and veterans who participated in the Truong Son battlefield, one of 102 photos displayed to celebrate the General's 102nd birthday.

HA NOI — The close relationship between Gen Vo Nguyen Giap and veterans is portrayed by photographer Nguyen Trong Nghi in an exhibition which opened in the capital yesterday.

Entitled General Vo Nguyen Giap with Veterans, the exhibition of 102 photos selected from a collection of 500, captures handshakes, hugs, smiles and meetings between the general and members of the armed forces.

"I organised the exhibition as a gift to the General for his 102nd birthday which falls on August 25," said Nghi, also a veteran.

"The photos also help me express respect to my comrades throughout the country," he said.

After selecting the photos, Nghi spent more than three months visiting the people in the photos to record the circumstances of their meetings with Giap for the exhibition.

Nghi was born in 1943 in the northern province of Hung Yen. He joined the army in 1962 and fought on many battlefields across the country. After being wounded and infected by Agent Orange he gained skills in photography and became a photojournalist.

The exhibition will run until August 28 at Exhibition House, 93 Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Ha Noi. — VNS