
From early morning, crowds from across the country arrived at Ba Dinh Square to attend the ceremony.

Along Doc Lap Street in front of the square, thousands of residents and visitors gathered beside the lawns, facing the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum as they waited for the ceremony to begin.


In the early morning light, people of all ages, including many young people, queued from before dawn.

Hanoi residents and visitors from other provinces waited for the national flag to be raised over Ba Dinh Square on National Day.

At 5.50 am, accompanied by military music, soldiers from Unit 275 under the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Protection Command marched into Ba Dinh Square carrying the national flag.

The ceremonial formation comprised 34 honour guards, representing the 34 founding members of the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army, the predecessor of the Vietnam People's Army.

At 6 am, the flag-raising ceremony began, with three soldiers carrying the national flag towards the flagpole.

The flag was unfurled and slowly raised as the national anthem, Tien Quan Ca, was played.

Those gathered at Ba Dinh Square stood at attention as the national flag was raised.

Lam, second from right, said his family stayed in Hanoi for the holiday to attend the flag-raising ceremony together. The ceremony at Ba Dinh Square stirred pride and gratitude towards earlier generations for their sacrifices for the country's independence and freedom.