At nearly 3am, the areas were almost stable. Young people also started their "April 30th journey" by beautifying each other, sticking stickers, adjusting their clothes and especially reviving their spirits after a rather tiring night in the "sea of people" to watch the parade, march as well as participate in other activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification.

Stick stickers, celebrate!

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

Brightly waiting for the 50th anniversary of national reunification

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

Beautify each other to welcome the holiday

PHOTO: PHAM HUU

The sky was gradually getting brighter, after a few hours of rest, the young people at Ben Thanh market "woke up", starting to stir up this area with their cheerful laughter.

A group of friends greet the new day of April 30 in the area in front of Ben Thanh market

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

Celebrating the holiday with her parents all night, the baby still smiled brightly at the camera lens

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

At nearly 2am, the Bach Dang wharf park area was still a "sea of people". People were standing and waiting in an orderly manner, everyone was hoping for the morning to come quickly so they could watch the cannon firing at 7am.

Life

Ho Chi Minh City shines brightly on April 30: Let's beautify ourselves, smile brightly, and wait for the festival dawn!

Duong Lan - Phan Diep - Pham Huu and 2 others

04/30/2025 00:50 GMT+7

The new day has passed, April 30, 2025, which people in Ho Chi Minh City and from many other places are eagerly waiting for, counting the hours to join in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification. Let's follow the touching images and emotional stories today!

Stick stickers, celebrate!

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

Brightly waiting for the 50th anniversary of national reunification

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

Beautify each other to welcome the holiday

PHOTO: PHAM HUU

Clip: Dao Ngoc Thach

The sky was gradually getting brighter, after a few hours of rest, the young people at Ben Thanh market "woke up", starting to stir up this area with their cheerful laughter.

A group of friends greet the new day of April 30 in the area in front of Ben Thanh market

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

Celebrating the holiday with her parents all night, the baby still smiled brightly at the camera lens

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

Special route before the parade: “Green fence” keeps people safe

Students of People's Police University support people

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

The baby wants to take a photo with the policeman.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

Mr. Ly Thai Hoang (PC08) reminded people to stand in the designated lane.

PHOTO: DAO NGOC THACH

At this moment, 1:30 am, Le Loi street is jammed with people and vehicles. There is almost no space left to move.

Photo taken on Le Loi Street at 1:30 a.m. on May 30.

PHOTO: PHAM HUU

"As a girl, the first time swinging from a tree..."

For Kim An (living in Hoc Mon District), this is the first time she has been to the city center to celebrate the April 30 holiday. An left home at 9pm on April 29, followed Google Maps, arrived at the center at 11pm, parked her car, walked inside and is now "standing still" on Le Loi Street. After a while of struggling, An finally found a tree to lean on and climbed up. An has been clinging to the tree for more than an hour now.

“I have never been stuck like this before. Even though I am a girl, it was my first time hanging from a tree and standing for hours but I was still happy and not tired,” An said.

"but still happy and not tired..."

PHOTO: PHAM HUU

At 1:20 a.m. on April 30, in the square in front of Ben Thanh market, many people found a place to lay down on a tarp to lie down.

On the night of April 29 and early morning of April 30, the air in the center of Ho Chi Minh City was very "hot"... had to "actively" fan to take care of the sleep of loved ones

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

A girl is putting on makeup in front of Ben Thanh market at 1:20 am

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

Meanwhile, on the street in front of the main gate of Ben Thanh market, more and more people continued to flock to find a place to watch the parade.

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

"Once in 50 years!"

After 1 a.m., Thanh Nien reporters stopped by a 24-hour coffee shop on Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, where the parade would pass by in a few hours. The shop was full and no more customers were accepted.

Along Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street at 1am April 30

PHOTO: CAO AN BIEN

The ground floor and first floor of the restaurant were packed with people, chatting, eating, and laughing happily. I was lucky to get a seat on the first floor, looking down Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street and seeing groups of people spreading tarps and sitting all over this stretch of street.

The cafe was full, but the doors were still open for everyone to line up for the restroom. As a regular customer of this cafe, I have probably never seen the line of people lining up to enter the cafe at night so long, all the way out to the street.

In the shop, I met an old lady with gray hair, wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress and a scarf, typical of a Southern woman. She sat in a corner, talking to her children and grandchildren, while watching live clips of the atmosphere before the parade in Ho Chi Minh City on newspapers and entertainment videos . When I asked, I found out that her name was Phan Thi Be Chin (66 years old), from the West. Her family was in business, rarely going to Ho Chi Minh City, but on this occasion of the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification, she had to go. "It only happens once every 50 years!", said Mrs. Chin.

Mrs. Chin is excited.

PHOTO: CAO AN BIEN

One sleepless night, she was so nervous that she couldn’t sleep, not knowing how grand the April 30th parade would be. Living in the special atmosphere these days, seeing the young people around her staying up all night waiting, she felt touched and proud.

"I just left, my family told me that my husband was sick at home. I was so worried! I will attend the April 30 ceremony and then return home immediately. This is a special memory that I will never forget," she added.

"HCMC never sleeps"

Tuan Anh (19 years old) and his friends sat at this coffee shop from 10 pm to find a good spot. Just like the rehearsal night, the young people chose this location because… "it has a restroom" and they can eat, drink and chat until morning. In addition, this area is not as crowded as the center.

"People say Ho Chi Minh City never sleeps, but it wasn't until today that I truly saw this more clearly. Everyone and I are in a very strange state of mind, both nervous and excited. I will stay up all night to wait!", the young man added.

Outside the coffee shop, a crowd sat along Nguyen Dinh Chieu - Pham Ngoc Thach Street. Of course, I rarely saw anyone sleeping. They sat on the canvas, staying up chatting all night long just waiting for a special moment: The parade passing by.

No sleep on the street

PHOTO: CAO AN BIEN

In the coffee shop also not sleeping in the early morning of April 30

PHOTO: CAO AN BIEN

A woman wearing a red shirt with a yellow star found a good spot at the corner of a street and said she had been standing there since 12:30. She smiled and said that normally she would sleep at 10:00 p.m. But today, despite having spent the whole day in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, she still wasn’t sleepy.

"I'm from Phan Thiet, going with relatives in Saigon. Why sleep now, why stay awake! Stay awake to watch the city, to wait until morning for the parade to pass. It's so much fun, the whole family has prepared enough food and drinks. We'll watch the fireworks again tomorrow night," she said.

Ho Chi Minh City is not sleeping tonight, in a very strange way. All of them are connected by an invisible red thread, which is patriotism and boundless national pride. Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City is strangely beautiful tonight!

At 1 a.m. on April 30, the front gate of Ben Thanh Market was packed with people. Most of the people here had settled down, sitting or lying down to rest and wait for dawn.

The area in front of Ben Thanh Market is bustling as a new day begins.

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

A family sat in front of the tent they brought, everyone happily chatting away even though it was 1am.

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

Xuan Trong's group of friends (red flag shirt with yellow star) were present at Ben Thanh market from 4pm on April 29. "Although the weather is quite hot, I feel very happy, eagerly waiting for the morning of April 30. The atmosphere here is very exciting, everyone is having fun, eating and drinking together..."

PHOTO: PHAN DIEP

At midnight on April 30, Nguyen Hue walking street was "full", the number of people was so large that no one could move or budge. At that moment, songs expressing the spirit of patriotism resounded among the sea of people.

According to Thanh Nien , at midnight on April 30, people on Nguyen Hue walking street (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City) could not move because of the "unimaginable crowd". Many people spread out tarps carrying food and drinks all night to wait to watch the parade celebrating the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification . Some people had no place to sit so they had to stand in the middle of the walking street, unable to move or move anywhere else.

Many people "can neither advance nor retreat" among the "sea of people" on Nguyen Hue walking street.

PHOTO: DUONG LAN

When the clock signals the start of a new day, everyone waves the national flag, holds hands and sings songs about love for the country and solidarity such as " As if Uncle Ho were here on the day of great victory " , "Joining hands together "...

Singing dispels fatigue, waiting for the morning to enjoy a special day

PHOTO: LONG HIEU

Many people said that all the tiredness of waiting seemed to disappear when the song started. Nguyen Thanh Bang (24 years old) from Binh Duong came to Ho Chi Minh City with bread, drinks, raincoat... waiting all night on Nguyen Hue walking street.

Because it was so crowded, some people couldn't sit.

PHOTO: DUONG LAN

"I didn't expect there to be so many people, I couldn't move anywhere else at this time. Tonight, I sang many songs praising the love of the Fatherland with everyone. Today is the first time I've participated in activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country's reunification," Bang shared.

The impromptu but powerful medleys made everyone say they were willing to wait until morning to watch the parades, marches and other programs.

Mr. Nguyen Minh (38 years old, in Dong Nai ) said: "The whole family has been here since noon and waited all night to wait for the official parade on the morning of April 30. In fact, it is very tiring because we sleep on the street, it is inconvenient for eating and traveling, but it is okay, it only happens once in 50 years, I accept the wait", said Mr. Minh.