During historic days, the Ba Dinh Square area and President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum welcomed a large number of people and tourists from all over the country to pay their respects to Uncle Ho. Early in the morning of May 19, many delegations expressed their happiness and luck at being in Hanoi on this occasion, not missing the opportunity to enter the Mausoleum to pay their respects to the great leader of the nation. That journey became even more meaningful when many people and tourists were given free gifts including drinks, milk and bread.
This is an annual program organized by the Hanoi Department of Tourism in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Command on major holidays of the year, including the holidays of April 30 and May 1, the anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday on May 19 and National Day on September 2. The total number of gifts expected in 2026 is about 110,000, with about 20,000 gifts for Uncle Ho’s birthday alone. Not only does it support people in the hot weather of early summer, the program is also a vivid expression of the Capital’s gratitude to compatriots and tourists from all over.
This activity takes place in the context that Hanoi tourism continues to grow strongly. In April 2026 alone, the Capital welcomed about 3.09 million visitors, an increase of 13.3% over the same period last year, with total revenue from tourism reaching about 12.65 trillion VND. In the first four months of the year, Hanoi has welcomed more than 12.14 million visitors, including 3.29 million international visitors.
Along with gratitude activities, Hanoi organizes many unique art programs to serve the people. From May 17 to 19, the city’s major theaters in turn brought art to the community in many localities: Hanoi Drama Theater performed in Hoa Phu commune, Hanoi Circus and Variety Arts Theater performed in Yen Bai commune; On the evening of May 19, Hanoi Cheo Theater was present in Duong Hoa commune, Hanoi Cai Luong Theater in Phu Dien ward, Thang Long Puppet Theater in Vinh Thanh commune and Thang Long Music and Dance Theater in Duong Noi ward. The programs bring performances praising the Party, country, people of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh – the genius leader of our Party and people, Hero of national liberation, World cultural celebrity.
The highlight of the series of activities is the political art program “Creating Your Name Forever” taking place on the evening of May 19 at Au Co Art Center, directed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, coordinated by Culture Newspaper and broadcast live on VTV2. The program is built as an emotional flow from the past to the present through three parts: “The man looking for the image of water”, “The guiding light” and “Vietnam engraves his words”, with the participation of many famous artists such as Quoc Hung, Tan Nhan, Phuong Nga, Anh Tho, Quang Ha, Hoang Bach and many young faces loved by the audience.
Through rich and emotional cultural and artistic activities, Hanoi not only expresses deep gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh but also contributes to educating revolutionary traditions, fostering the ideal of beautiful living and spreading the values of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style in social life today.
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