Parade marks Hanoi 1000th anniversary

Over 30,000 people packed Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square on October 10 for a lavish parade to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, with millions more watching the event on television nationwide.
The celebration began in solemnity with a torchlight procession at 7:57am from the Ho Chi Minh Museum to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. The torch flamed brightly on the grand staircase, seemingly kindling the strength of the Vietnamese nation.
The flag was raised, followed by the national anthem sung by 1,000 Hanoians, amidst the salvos of a 21-gun salute.
Amid the joyful atmosphere, President Nguyen Minh Triet offered his congratulations and greetings to the capital city’s citizens, to Vietnamese at home and abroad, and foreign friends, as well as sincere thanks for their fine sentiments during the grand anniversary of Thang Long – Ha Noi.
"Following the nation-building of the Hung Kings, King Ly Thai To, with a strategic vision, decided to move the capital from Hoa Lu to Thang Long," said Triet.
"The transfer, exactly one thousand years ago, ushered in a new era of splendid development for the Dai Viet. From that historic landmark to the era of Ho Chi Minh, Thang Long-Ha Noi, passing through 1,000 years of ups and downs, still stands firmly and uprightly and is fully worth being the nation’s heart.
"We always respect the contributions of the whole nation to Ha Noi as well as those of the capital to the whole nation, which intensifies the spirit ‘the whole nation for Ha Noi and Ha Noi for the whole nation’," Triet said to wild applause.
"We are proud that Ha Noi is the Heroic Capital – a noble title granted by the Party, State and Vietnamese people. We are here today to express our sincere, deep, and limitless gratitude to our predecessors, the late President Ho Chi Minh, and all those who were and are contributing to the capital’s construction and protection.
"The celebrations give us a chance to reaffirm the fine and noble traditional characters of Ha Noi in particular and of the Vietnamese nation as a whole: civilised, heroic, peaceful and friendly. This is the invaluable heritage passed down by our predecessors. We must take the responsibility to preserve these values and pass them down to our future generations.
"All Vietnamese people, at home and abroad, pledge to unite in a determined effort to make the capital more modern, civil and prosperous, and to build the Vietnamese nation into one of peace, independence, unity, democracy and prosperity."
Shortly after the President’s speech, a thousand voices joined in the song "Ha Noi --- Belief and Hope" and massive applause filled the square.
Ten helicopters carrying Party and national flags and banners being the slogan "Celebrate the 1,000th Anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi" signalled the beginning of the parade.
According to Sr Lt Col Nguyen Ngoc Vy, the pilots were excellent and had many years of flying experience.
"We performed on National Day in 2005, but this time we are entrusted with a more difficult assignment with many more helicopters than before," he said.
Following the performance of the helicopters came a car carrying the national coat-of-arms. Fifty-four young men and 54 young women marched alongside the car, representing the ethnic groups constituting the great solidarity of the Vietnamese community.
Then the car carried the picture of the late President Ho Chi Minh, surrounded by teenagers and children, representing his love for Vietnamese children and youth.
Cars passed carrying a Ly Dynasty dragon – the symbol of Ha Noi – and the UNESCO certificate recognising the Thang Long Citadel as a World Cultural Heritage site.
The parade then included members of the armed forces, civil servants, police, war veterans, intellectuals, officials, farmers, labourers, ethnic minority groups, and youth, demonstrating the strengths and achievements of the nation’s capital over the past 1,000 years of development, representing the national pride of the Vietnamese people, and bolstering Vietnamese faith in the Party.
Prior to today’s event, senior officials of the Party, State, National Assembly, Government and Viet Nam Fatherland Front paid floral tribute to the late President Ho at his mausoleum on Saturday morning.
Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, President Nguyen Minh Triet, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong and Viet Nam Fatherland Front president Huynh Dam were joined by former Party, State and Government leaders, as well as revolutionary beterans and others.
Later on Saturday, a delegation of Party, State and Viet Nam Fatherland Front officials led by Manh laid a wreath at the Martyrs’ Monument in commemoration of fallen combatants.