Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh wrote in his will that he wanted his body to be cremated and the ashes strewn all over Vietnam because it was hygienic and valuable land would not be wasted. The people of Vietnam willed otherwise. They wanted their leader to remain a living symbol of their many struggles against foreign powers. The result was this imposing mausoleum where his body lies embalmed.

The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum built with the help of the USSR is modeled on the mausoleum of Lenin in Moscow. It is a large granite square structure, 21.6 meters high and 41.2 meters wide. Ho Chi Minh’s embalmed body lies in the cooled central hall of the mausoleum. An armed guard protects the body enclosed in a glass case with dim lights. There is an impressive change of guard every day. In autumn, every year, the body is flown to Moscow for maintenance.

The gardens surrounding the mausoleum are in the form of 240 squares with specific boundaries. There are 250 species of plants and flowers from the different regions of Vietnam and bonsais of indigenous trees. The words, ‘nothing is more precious that independence and freedom are engraved on the stone façade of the mausoleum.’

The mausoleum is a place of reverence for the Vietnamese people and strict disciplinary codes are enforced. Visitors are required to cover their legs, maintain silence and their hands cannot be crossed or in their pockets. Photography and smoking are not allowed.