BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÙNG VƯƠNG TPHCM

MIDTERM

Topic: Independence Palace

Group member 2
1.Nguyễn Quốc Hưng MSSV: 2105DL0044

2. Ông Gia Kỳ MSSV: 2105DL0008

3. Đặng Xuân Đôn MSSV: 2105DL0018

4. Nguyễn Phan Kỳ Anh MSSV: 2105DL0009

5. Văn Thị Huỳnh Như MSSV: 2105DL0035

Lecturer: Nguyễn Thị Việt Nga

HCMC, 28/6/2023
 Reasons for choosing the topic

Independence Palace
The reason why my group chose the topic of narration is the Independence Palace
because it has a long and heroic history of the Vietnamese army and people in our
country. It has exquisite French architecture. This is also a place to help us better
understand the regime at that time at the main palace of the Republic of Vietnam.
When tourists come to Vietnam and visit in Ho Chi Minh City, it is probably
impossible not to visit the Independence Palace. A place to visit that proves the
unification of North and South, bringing a beautiful and growing Vietnam as it is
today. I think this will be a good topic for us to understand and know more about the
history of Vietnam.

Part 1 :

1. Overview of Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City, a young and vibrant city but equally calm with a long history
and cultural relics, works that have gone through many years. Independence
Palace is also such a work, having both the modern features of the prosperous
area but also immersed in the historical days of the nation. The Independence
Palace, also known as the Reunification Palace, is a historical architectural work
built in Saigon in the years from 1867 to 1871. In 2007, the Independence Palace
was ranked as one of ten special national monuments of the country.

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 2. About the history of the Independence Palace

During the years of our country's resistance against the French, this palace
belonged to the governor of Cochinchina, then became the working place of the
Governor-General of Indochina. In March 1945, the palace became the Japanese
workplace, but in September the palace returned to France and was the working
place of the French High Commissioner in Indochina. During this time, the palace
was known as the Norodom Palace. In 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem changed the name
of the palace to Independence Palace, this place became the working place of the
president. On February 27, 1962, the palace was bombed, causing the entire left
wing to collapse completely, unable to restore the original state, and Ngo Dinh
Diem had to rebuild a new palace on the old ground according to Ngo Viet Thu.
After that, Ngo Dinh Diem was assassinated, and the Independence Palace
became the residence and working place of Nguyen Van Thieu - Chairman of the
National Leadership Committee. Since then, the Palace has been the working
place of the President of the Republic of Vietnam.

Part 2:
1. Architecture of Independence Palace

Independence Palace is a unique architectural work of Architect Ngo Viet Thu.

The palace was started construction on July 1, 1962, and inaugurated on October
31, 1966. When designing the Independence Palace, because he wanted to find a
special cultural meaning for the work, architect Ngo Viet Thu took ideas from the
traditional Eastern philosophy and the cultural identity of the nation to design.

The front yard of the palace is an oval lawn with a diameter of 102m. In front of
the Independence Palace is a semicircular lake. In the lotus pond, it evokes the
image of peaceful lakes in ancient temples and pagodas in the countryside of
Vietnam. Around the Palace are green lawns and an ancient garden.
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 The whole aspect of the Independence Palace is made into the shape of the
word CAT ( 吉) which means auspicious, lucky:

The upper floor is shaped like KHAU (口) to promote education and freedom of
speech. The shape of the word KHAU ( 口 ) has a flagpole in the middle of the
vertical window forming the shape of TRUNG (中) as a reminder that if you want
to have democracy, you must be loyal.

The word TAM (三) means that to wish for a prosperous country, there must be
people who meet the 3 elements of Virtuous, Intelligent and Strong. These three
dashes are connected by a vertical stroke to form the letter VUONG ( 王 ) , on top
of which there is a flagpole made of dotted strokes to form the letter CHU
(主 )symbolizing the country's sovereignty. The front of the mansion, the entire
2nd and 3rd floor balconies, combined with the main entrance porch and 2

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wooden columns below the eaves, form the shape of the letter HUNG ( 興 )
wishing for the country to prosper forever.

The architectural beauty of the Palace is also shown by the stone flower curtain in
the shape of elegant bamboo burning surrounding the 2nd floor. The stone flower
curtain is transformed from the scientific door of the imperial palaces of Hue, not
only increase the beauty of the Palace but also have the effect of getting sunlight.

The palace has an area of 120,000m² , limited by 4 main roads, which are:

• Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street in the Northeast (main side of the Palace)

• Huyen Tran Cong Chua Street in the Southwest (back of the Palace)

• Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in the Northwest (left side of the Palace)

• Nguyen Du Street in the Southeast (right side of the Palace)

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The T-shaped main house has an area of 4,500m², 26m high, located in the center
of the land. This used to be the residence and working place of the President of
the Republic of Vietnam. This area has 03 floors, 02 mezzanines, 01 terrace, 01
ground floor and basement. Total usable area is 20,000m² divided into 95 rooms.
Each room has its own function, architecture and decoration in accordance with
the intended use of each room.

Some rooms in the independence Palace:

(The area displays photos and items of the period of the anti-American resistance
war, especially historical documents about the General Offensive and
Uprising in the spring of 1975.)

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 ( The President's living room consists of two connecting rooms.)

(Cabinet room, where the meetings of the Council of Ministers and the Cabinet of
the Republic of Vietnam take place.)

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 (Kitchen inside the Independence Palace. This is a cooking place for formal
receptions, equipped with modern equipment like the kitchen of a 5-star hotel at
that time. The equipment is made of stainless steel, made in Japan in 1966, uses
gas and electricity, has a separate cold storage to preserve food, has an air intake
system and an elevator to transport 100kg to the upper floors.)

There are also some precious artifacts such as:

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 ( The AK rifle of the tank unit that entered the Independence Palace on April 30,
1975 is also displayed here.)

(The German Mercedes Benz 200 W110 produced in the 1960s is one of the cars that
President Nguyen Van Thieu used.)

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( Hat of Lieutenant Bui Quang Than, who planted the flag on the roof of the
Independence Palace at 11:30 am on April 30, 1975)

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 2. The process of regaining the independence of the Independence Palace

By the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign, at 10:45 am on April 30, 1975, the tank
number 843 of the Liberation Army of Company 4, Battalion 1, Tank Brigade
203, Army Corps 2 led the team rammed the side gate of the Independence
Palace, then the tank number 390 rammed the main gate straight into the Palace.

At 11:30 a.m. on the same day, Lieutenant Bui Quang Than – Company
commander of tank 843 lowered the 3-Striped flag and raised the flag of the
National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam. The flag fluttered on the
roof of the Palace, ending 30 years of arduous and heroic war of the Vietnamese
people.

3. Is it a destination for domestic or international tourists?

Independence Palace is a favorite destination of many domestic and international

tourists. The number of tourists to the Independence Palace is increasing year by
year. Especially, on the holidays of 30/4-1/5, tourists come here very crowded.

4. Is it a place for students to come to study and learn?

Independence Palace is also a place where students come to study and learn.
Because here, students not only come to learn about art and architecture, but also
learn about our country's historical knowledge, the meaning of the liberation of
the South, to know how to build and develop. rich national culture, to understand
the tradition of solidarity of the Vietnamese people. When coming to the
Independence Palace, we can also capture specific information such as means of
transportation, opening and closing hours, ticket prices and regulations here.

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Part 3
1. Is it dangerous for tourists and locals?

This goes in two directions:

a. Advantages:
- There is a security guard on duty 24 hours a day
- It is a very formal place so many high-ranking officials will work and
important meetings take place, so the possibility of unfortunate events is very
low.
- Located near the police headquarters of Ben Thanh ward, District 1.
b. Disadvantage:
- When entering the gate, no identification is checked.
- The number of visitors is very large; it is impossible to control all.
- Fraudsters can easily infiltrate and affect the property of tourists.

2. Did it start to get worse or grow?

Currently, the Independence Palace is an extremely important place because:

A. It is a place where large meetings and events of high-ranking officials
regularly take place.
B. As a tourist attraction for domestic and international visitors.
C. As a special national relic for the above reasons, the Palace is regularly
inspected, repaired, decorated, and cleaned to serve the needs. From there, we
will see that the Palace is gradually developing, more majestic, and always has a
national heroic beauty.

3. Does it contribute to the local tourism industry in particular or

Vietnam’s tourism industry in general?

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A. Contribution to the local tourism industry (in particular) When mentioning
Ho Chi Minh City, everyone will surely remember the Independence
Palace. Each year, the Independence Palace welcomes about 500,000
domestic and foreign tourists to admire the architecture and learn about the
historical values associated with it. Half of the visitors are Vietnamese, and
the rest come from many countries around the world, enough to see the
special meaning of the palace. Most recently, from 9 a.m. on April 30,
2023, hundreds of people and tourists from different provinces flocked to
the Independence Palace to wait in long lines to buy tickets to visit.

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 Source: Vnexpress

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B. Contributing to Vietnam's tourism industry

Independence Palace is a historical relic that preserves the proud milestones of

our nation in the struggle to defend the country. With that great meaning, this
place always attracts a lot of tourists from all over the world to visit. Tourists
come here to visit, take souvenir photos and learn more about the country's heroic
history.

4. What artifacts are there? What are the benefits of these?

A. Inside the Independence Palace, there are many exhibits of historical

significance such as:

- Topics such as the Paris Agreement, Ho Chi Minh campaign; Ho Chi Minh
Road through documents of the Saigon government; Photo exhibitions…

- Vivid pictures of the past period but also learn more about the hidden history
behind it that is not available in books.

- Especially, the exhibition area "from Norodom Palace to Independence Palace

1868 - 1966 is also a place to simulate the process of formation, construction, and
important milestones taking place in the Palace.

- On the roof of the Palace, there is a UH-1 helicopter belonging to Nguyen Van
Thieu, next to it are two bombs dropped by pilot Nguyen Thanh Trung.

- A Mercedes Benz 200 with a German number plate, a Jeep used to carry the last
President of the Republic of Vietnam regime.

- Other artifacts such as 390 tanks, 843 tanks, F5E fighters… The UH-1
helicopter of President Nguyen Van Thieu.

- Visitors can admire artworks such as: An oil painting depicting the Vietnamese
village scene by Ngo Viet Thu, a picture of sisters Thuy Kieu, Thuy Van meeting
Kim Trong on the day of the Qingming New Year...

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B. What are the benefits?

These artifacts help domestic and international visitors better understand the
history of the Republic of Vietnam period. And also, a place for students and
students to do research on information that is not available online. Visitors can
visit the unique architecture and design of the Independence Palace.

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