Come to Ho Chi Minh City to attend the ceremony

The first parade in history

In recent days, people in Ho Chi Minh City have continuously shared images of fighter jets and military helicopters flying low in the sky of the city. From surprise and strangeness, emotions gradually turned to excitement and anticipation when they learned that this was a rehearsal activity of the Air Defense - Air Force, Ministry of National Defense to prepare for the parade and march to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025).

Helicopters practice flying over Ho Chi Minh City. This year's April 30th celebration, the parade and march are among the highlights serving the people and tourists at home and abroad.

PHOTO: NGOC DUONG

Ms. Nguyen My Chi (living in Binh Thanh District) said that every morning these past few days, she always looked forward to the time when the helicopters would appear to take pictures, film, and share impressive moments with family and friends. "This is the first time I've seen helicopters flying at such a low altitude. Sometimes, when I was walking on the street, I could clearly hear the sound of helicopter engines and fighter jets roaring, as if they were right above my head. At first, I felt strange and surprised. I remember when I was little, my grandmother used to say that during the war, when she heard the sound of airplanes, she was scared, and she carried her child to find shelter. Now, sitting here, hearing the sound of airplanes right above my head, but happily calling each other to go see them, and then waiting for April 30 to come quickly so she could watch the parade. The same sound of airplanes, but after 50 years, has brought two different emotional extremes. I suddenly feel so happy to be born and raised in peacetime, grateful to our ancestors who used their blood and bones to gain independence and freedom for the nation," Ms. My Chi emotionally shared.

Originally from Phu Yen , after 11 years of living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, instead of rushing to "hunt" for tickets to return home like every year, this holiday "no one can drag me away from the city because I cannot miss the parade. In 50 years, I may not be here to attend that meaningful moment. I plan to take the metro to Ba Son, then walk to Le Duan street to watch the fireworks, sharing the joy and emotion of welcoming the big holiday with everyone, very excited", Ms. My Chi continued.

Helicopters practice flying in the sky of Ho Chi Minh City in preparation for the April 30th celebration

PHOTO: NGOC DUONG

For those born and raised in Ho Chi Minh City, it is even more emotional. Hai Anh (Cu Chi District), a family member of three generations of Saigon origin, said her grandmother is nearly 90 years old this year. In the past few days, she has been "asking" Hai Anh to open Facebook so she can see pictures of helicopters. When she learned that there would be a parade, she said she had to take her to see it. Hai Anh said: "Just seeing the pictures of the helicopters, my grandmother was already in tears, because my grandfather was one of the navy soldiers mobilized to Saigon to participate in the resistance war and died before witnessing the moment of liberating the South. Therefore, she was very emotional. During the recent metro opening, I also took her to experience it, she also cried because the city has changed so much. Therefore, this year, my whole family will not travel on April 30, but will stay in the city to watch the parade and celebrate this historic occasion together."

According to the plan approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, the National Commemoration Ceremony including the parade in Ho Chi Minh City is scheduled to take place from 6:30 am on April 30 on Le Duan Street, in front of the Reunification Hall. The parade is scheduled to start at 8 am. The program includes 21 cannon salutes to the National Anthem; air force salute; parade of model cars of the National Emblem, Party flags, and National flags; cars carrying portraits of President Ho Chi Minh, model cars symbolizing the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification; parade of military, militia and self-defense forces; parade of police; parade of masses. The leaders of the Party Committee and the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee agreed to pay attention to studying the parade to highlight the image of the 5 armies advancing to Saigon 50 years ago. The implementing units were assigned to make the most of technology, arrange locations for people to watch aircraft shows and celebrations, parades, and install LED screens for people to watch the program no matter where the aircraft is.

Tourists visit Ho Chi Minh City on the days leading up to April 30 holiday

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Record-breaking series of art programs combined with attractive tourism

Besides the most anticipated parades and marches, on the occasion of April 30 - May 1 this year, Ho Chi Minh City also brought to the people and tourists the most magnificent art and cultural "parties" ever.

According to the plan from the Department of Culture and Sports of the City, the fireworks display will take place from 9:00 to 9:15 p.m. at about 30 locations on the Saigon River, District 1 and Thu Duc City. At the same time, 10,500 drones will be mobilized to create an impressive performance. The organizers also filed a request to set a Vietnamese record for the number of drones flying at the same time, far exceeding the level of more than 4,000 that has been done in some localities. In addition, the "National Reunification Day" event will take place on Nguyen Hue walking street, the Saigon River area from Ba Son Bridge to Nha Rong Wharf, starting at 7:00 p.m. with a series of art performances and water sports.

In addition to the main programs, the Department of Culture and Sports proposed to organize many accompanying events such as "Ho Chi Minh City Photography Road", Olympic Running Day for the Health of the People with a scale of 4,000 people, along with sports performances with the participation of 1,400 people. In April and May, Ho Chi Minh City also organized a color festival on the evenings of April 19, 26 and May 3, 10, 17, 24, 31. The event took place from 7-9:30 pm at the square in front of the City People's Committee headquarters, Nguyen Hue walking street and Saigon River. Activities include performances of 1,000-2,000 drones, and fireworks displays with socialized funding. The festival also features symphony performances, 3D light mapping, music and dance performances on the walking street, traditional music performances on the river, flower lantern and sailboat parades, and water jet performances, Flyboard surfing, paddleboarding and paragliding, creating a vibrant festival atmosphere.

Tourists visit Ho Chi Minh City on the days leading up to April 30 holiday

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

Previously, in response to the celebration activities, the City Department of Tourism organized a contest "Designing a tourism program to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification" and recorded many impressively designed tour products and routes, highlighting the unique features of Ho Chi Minh City associated with this important national event.

Some of the highly awarded products include: "From Mau Than to the Great Spring Victory" Tour of Penguin Travel Service Joint Stock Company, which takes visitors back in time through prominent relics, recreating the development journey of Ho Chi Minh City. The program "50-year train trip: Journey connecting cultural regions" of Vietravel Company, takes visitors to different destinations with a multi-modal journey with the 5 most beautiful trains in Vietnam, cruises on Ha Long Bay and Nha Trang, and enjoys the quintessence of Vietnamese cuisine while passing through regions of the country. In particular, in the important event of the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification, at 11:30 a.m. on April 30, visitors will be present at the Independence Palace historical site at the proud historical moment of the entire Vietnamese nation...

The tour program "Legend of the heroic commandos of Sac Forest - Land of Steel and Bronze Citadel - Ho Chi Minh City" of Vietluxtour Travel Joint Stock Company will take tourists back to history with destinations such as Sac Forest Historical Site, the base of Sac Forest Group 10, associated with the battles of special forces from 1966 to April 30, 1975; Can Gio Monkey Island; Sac Forest Martyrs Cemetery; Cu Chi Tunnels... Or the tour "Saigon Special Forces - Legendary Tunnels" of Penguins Team group takes tourists back to history, exploring sophisticated underground structures in the heart of the city. Step by step through the tunnels, listening to the heroic stories of the special forces soldiers, tourists will better understand a glorious period of the nation and the brave people who created legends right in the heart of the enemy...

Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Promotion Center Nguyen Cam Tu shared that the city is a place where every landmark, every street corner, every moment can become an impression in the hearts of people and tourists. Therefore, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification, marking the continuous development of the city's tourism, the Department of Tourism and related units honored 50 typical symbols - the imprints that contribute to creating an integrated, culturally diverse, vibrant but also very affectionate and affectionate Ho Chi Minh City. Among them are the group of relics including the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, Thu Ngu flagpole, the City People's Committee headquarters, the Saigon Special Forces relic system, and Nha Rong Wharf. The group of spiritual culture includes Ong Ba Chieu Mausoleum, water puppetry, and folk music. The culinary group includes sidewalk coffee, Saigon bread, broken rice, etc.

These symbols are not only modern buildings or famous landmarks, but also historical relics, traditional cultural values or familiar dishes that have accompanied many generations of people and tourists.

"Hot" air tickets to Ho Chi Minh City

According to travel companies, this year Ho Chi Minh City has many promotional activities for the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification, so many groups of tourists from other provinces and cities have joined in registering for inner-city tours quite actively. The main target is customers from companies organizing events such as Party admissions, returning to the source... and especially inbound customers (international visitors to Vietnam) registering to experience tours of Saigon past and present (including metro visits). The trend is also clearly shown through the aviation exploitation plan, when only counting the flights to and from Ho Chi Minh City during the April 30 and May 1 holidays, airlines have planned to operate more than 5,000 flights with an average of 462 flights/day, providing 1.03 million seats. This is the route with the largest proportion during the holiday, an increase of 21% compared to last year.

Ho Chi Minh City will organize an artistic fireworks display at about 30 locations on the Saigon River on the occasion of April 30 - May 1.

PHOTO: NHAT THINH

High demand, "sizzling" airfares. If in previous years, flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi were much more expensive, this year, the return flight is equally "hot". For example, if a family of 3 from Hanoi wants to go to Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate April 30, flying on April 29 will cost at least nearly 8 million VND for a one-way ticket. That means having to accept Vietjet's 4:30 am flight, because if the same airline chooses a better flight time at noon or in the afternoon, the ticket price will be from 2.9 - 3.7 million VND/way, equivalent to the price of a Tet ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to the North.

On the same day, Bamboo Airways had no flights from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with fares under VND3.1 million/way, equivalent to the fares of Vietravel Airlines. Some Bamboo Airways flights were still sold out of economy class tickets, leaving only business class seats at over VND5.6 million/way. Vietnam Airlines mobilized Boeing 787 aircraft to serve this route, covering all time slots, with plenty of empty seats but no seats priced under VND3.8 million/way. Many flights also only had business class seats, priced at nearly VND9 million/way.

From Hai Phong, flights to Ho Chi Minh City during the holidays also cost no less than 2 million VND/way, that is early morning or late night flights. The rest, most of the flights during the day of Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines are over 2.6 million VND/way.

A survey by Thanh Nien reporters at this time shows that flights from other localities such as Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc to Ho Chi Minh City on the occasion of April 30 have not changed much, still fluctuating around more than 1 million VND/one-way ticket depending on the flight route.

To prepare for the huge number of passengers during the peak holiday season, the domestic passenger terminal T3 of Tan Son Nhat airport is rushing to open on April 30. It is expected that the modern terminal T3 with its synchronous system of roads and overpasses will serve nearly 80% of domestic flights to and from Tan Son Nhat airport, corresponding to the market share of domestic flights operated by Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet according to the plan from the airport operator. The majority of people traveling through Tan Son Nhat airport during this holiday season will use the new terminal infrastructure.

A report from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism said that in the first 3 months of the year, international visitors to Ho Chi Minh City are estimated at 1.635 million, an increase of 18.2% over the same period in 2024, reaching 19.2% of the 2025 plan; domestic visitors are estimated at 8.574 million, an increase of 6.3%, reaching 19.1% of the yearly plan. Total revenue of the city's tourism industry after 3 months is estimated at 56,662 billion VND, an increase of 26.7% over the same period in 2024, reaching 21.8% of the 2025 plan. The city's tourism industry aims to welcome 8.5 million international visitors this year, an increase of more than 40% compared to 2024 and revenue also increased by nearly 37%, towards the figure of 260,000 billion VND.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/den-tphcm-du-dai-le-185250329222603745.htm