People's Council Headquarters

Headquarters of the People's Council - People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City - National architectural and artistic relic. (Photo: Ho Chi Minh City Information Portal)

According to information from the Office of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on August 17, the Office of the People's Committee of the City and the City Department of Tourism have recently agreed on a plan to organize for tourists and organizations in the political system to visit the headquarters of the People's Council - People's Committee in the coming time.

Accordingly, on September 1 and 2, 2023, the headquarters of the People's Council - People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City will open to visitors and will remain open on the last Saturday and Sunday of each month.

The tour program is organized starting at 8:00 and 14:00. Each tour group will be 15 minutes apart.

A group of tourists visited the headquarters of the People's Council and People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on the occasion of April 30 - May 1.
(Photo: LINH BAO)

Previously, on April 30 and May 1, 2023, this national architectural and artistic relic opened for the first time and welcomed 51 groups with nearly 1,500 domestic and international tourists to visit. This is a tour introducing architectural relics with artistic and historical values in the process of formation and development of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City, helping visitors learn more about the urban architectural values of the City.

Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Building is a large-scale project, located at the intersection of three street frontages: Dong Khoi, Le Thanh Ton, Pasteur, and is an architectural highlight of the city center.

(Photo: Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City)

Information from the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City clearly states: Over more than 120 years of formation and development, the building has changed its name through each period and stage, witnessing the historical, political, administrative and geographical changes of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City.

The building was designed by architect Paul Gardès and started construction in 1898 on a high ground at the end of Charner Street (now Nguyen Hue Street). The building was completed and inaugurated in 1909. The building is the headquarters of the Saigon City Council, named Hôtel de ville (roughly translated as City Hall).

After April 30, 1975, the building was taken over by the Saigon - Gia Dinh Military Management Committee and used as its headquarters. On July 2, 1976, the Vietnamese National Assembly decided to change the name of Saigon - Gia Dinh to Ho Chi Minh City, and the building is still used as the headquarters of the Ho Chi Minh City government.

Currently, the building is the headquarters of the People's Council and People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City. This is the place where important meetings and special conferences of the city's leaders regularly take place, and where international delegations come to visit and work in Vietnam.

The headquarters is located on a campus of about 7,500 square meters. When it was first built, the building consisted of only one lobby block with a high clock tower in the middle and two one-story buildings on either side of the lobby block. Around the 1940s, these two one-story buildings were added with additional floors.

On top of the tower hangs the national flag, below is a round clock. The facade design of the building has a blend of Baroque architectural style, Rococo decoration, art-nouveau iron doors...

(Photo: Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City).

The main arched gate with five wide, consecutive gates is also quite elaborately decorated with flower and leaf vines… The gates are all made of iron and have beautiful curved patterns. From the main gate leads to the large hall in the middle of the ground floor, straight to the stairs leading to the first floor.

In 1966, three four-story buildings were added behind the old building, which is now the workplace of the departments and offices of the City People's Committee and the headquarters of the Department of Home Affairs.

In the trend of development and integration, the building has been renovated, upgraded, landscaped and expanded facilities many times. In 2005, lighting experts from Lyon City (France) designed and installed an artistic lighting system to make the building even more brilliant.

The City People's Committee Headquarters not only preserves its ancient and elegant features, but also preserves and promotes the patriotic tradition, marking the introduction ceremony to the people of Saigon, Cho Lon, Gia Dinh of the Southern Provisional Administrative Committee on August 25, 1945, the day the people carried out the August Revolution, overthrew the colonial and feudal regime, and took power into the hands of the people. A memorial stele for this important historical event was erected in the flower garden in front of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Headquarters.

With its existing values, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Headquarters has been ranked as a national architectural and artistic relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Decision No. 3244/QD-BVHTTDL dated November 4, 2020.

Source