The Independence Palace (), also publicly and officially known as the Reunification Convention Hall or simply Reunification Hall (), is a landmark in

Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

(formerly known as Saigon),

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the president of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). It was the site of the

Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

on 30 April 1975 that ended the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, when a

North Vietnamese Army The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

tank crashed through its gates. After the reunification of Vietnam, the building continued to serve as a government and presidential office until 1976 when the capital of South Vietnam was officially moved to

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

, and the government’s functions were relocated. The palace is now preserved as a convention hall for state events, also museum that open to the public and being a popular tourist attraction in Ho Chi Minh City.

History

Republic of Vietnam

Construction of the current Independence Palace was ordered by President

Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Diệm ( , or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic of ...

in 1962 to replace the old palace, which was badly damaged due to being bombed by two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots. It was constructed according to a design by Ngô Viết Thụ, a Vietnamese architect who won the First Grand Prize of Rome ( Grand Prix de Rome) in 1955, the highest recognition of the Beaux-Arts school in Paris. He was also a

laureate In English, the word laureate has come to signify eminence or association with literary awards or Military awards and decorations, military glory. It is also used for recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Gandhi Peace Award, the Student Peace Pri ...

of the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

awarded by the French government. Vietnam Independence Palace 1967

The construction of the palace started on 1 July 1962. Meanwhile, Diệm and his ruling family moved to Gia Long Palace (today the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City). However, Diệm did not see the completed hall as he and his brother and chief adviser Ngô Đình Nhu were assassinated after a ''coup d'état'' led by General

Dương Văn Minh Dương Văn Minh (; 16 February 19166 August 2001), popularly known as Big Minh, was a South Vietnamese politician and a senior general in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and a politician during the presidency of Ngô Đình Diệm. ...

in November 1963. The completed hall was inaugurated on 31 October 1966 by the chairman of the National Leadership Committee, General

Nguyễn Văn Thiệu Nguyễn Văn Thiệu (; 5 April 1923 – 29 September 2001) was a South Vietnam, South Vietnamese military officer and politician who was the Leaders of South Vietnam, president of South Vietnam from 1967 to 1975. He was a general in the Repub ...

, who was then the head of a military junta. The Independence Hall served as Thiệu's home and office from October 1967 to 21 April 1975, when he fled the country as communist North Vietnamese forces swept southwards in the decisive Ho Chi Minh Campaign. On 8 April 1975, Nguyễn Thanh Trung, a pilot of the South Vietnamese air force and an undetected communist spy flew an

F-5E The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models: the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants, and th ...

aircraft from Biên Hòa Air Base to bomb the palace but caused no significant damage. At 10:45 on 30 April 1975, a tank of the

North Vietnamese army The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

bulldozed through the main gate, effectively ending the Vietnam War.

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

In November 1975, after the negotiation convention between the communist North Vietnam and their colleagues in South Vietnam was completed, the Provisional Revolutionary Government renamed the palace Reunification Hall (''Hội trường Thống Nhất''). The palace is depicted on the 200- đồng note of South Vietnam. File:FormerPresidentialOfficeReunificationPalace.jpg, President's Office in the Hall File:ReunificationPalaceWarroom.jpg, The old war room underneath the palace File:Roof of Reunification Palace.JPG, Roof of Reunification Palace File:HCMC Reunification Palace-Banquet Room.jpg, The Banquet Chamber in the Independence Hall File:Palacio de la Reunificación, Ciudad Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 2013-08-14, DD 35.JPG, Ministers' cabinet room File:Palacio de la Reunificación, Ciudad Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 2013-08-14, DD 32.JPG, Conference hall File:Palacio de la Reunificación, Ciudad Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 2013-08-14, DD 05.JPG, Vietnamese T-54 tank in the gardens at the entrance of the palace

References

External links

Official website
''The New York Times Magazine'', 12 January 2003 * ttps://www.deluxegrouptours.vn/the-renufication-palace/ Reunification Palace View 360br>Tourist attraction
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503015043/http://saigon-online.net/index.php/independence-palace-reunification-palace-must-destination-in-ho-chi-minh-city/ , date=3 May 2015 Government buildings completed in 1966 Buildings and structures in Ho Chi Minh City History of Ho Chi Minh City Presidential residences Office buildings in Vietnam Tourist attractions in Ho Chi Minh City Museums in Ho Chi Minh City Palaces in Vietnam