Visitors view objects on display at the Hồ Chí Minh – Sketches of Portrait exhibition. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Hoa

HÀ NỘI — Rare objects and documents associated with President Hồ Chí Minh have been put on public display for the first time at the Hồ Chí Minh Museum.

Entitled Hồ Chí Minh – Sketches of Portrait, the exhibition is being held to mark the 130th birthday of Việt Nam’s great leader on May 19. Võ Văn Thưởng, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of its Commission for Information and Education, cut the ribbon to open the event on May 7.

On display are over 200 photos, objects and posters selected from the Hồ Chí Minh Museum and the State Records and Archives Management Department under the Office of the Party Central Committee. The exhibition is divided into six sections, showcasing the evolution of President Hồ Chí Minh from an energetic boy to a young patriotic man and finally the great leader of the nation.

Among the exhibits are some that are on display for the first time, including a bust of the President that was secretly kept by Vietnamese soldiers imprisoned on Côn Đảo Island. The bust was handed over to the Embassy of Việt Nam in France by French warder Paul Atoine Miniconi.

This bust of the President was hidden by Vietnamese soldiers imprisoned on Côn Đảo Island, and is on public display for the first time. — Photo hanoimoi.com.vn

Hồ Chí Minh – Sketches of Portrait also features a sword and padded waistcoat presented by Uncle Hồ to Vương Chí Sình, the leader of the Mông ethnic people. The two objects were donated to the Hồ Chí Minh Museum by Vương Quỳnh Xuân, Sình’s grandson.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Director of the Hồ Chí Minh Museum Vũ Mạnh Hà said the objects and documents reflected the life of President Hồ Chí Minh – a talented leader of the Vietnamese Party and people, a great teacher of the Vietnamese revolution, a hero of national liberation and a cultural celebrity who dedicated his whole life to the cause of national liberation, and for the sake of freedom, democracy, peace and social progress.

“President Hồ Chí Minh represents the character and bravery of the Vietnamese people. His ideology, morality, and style are the crystallisation of the best values ​​of the national tradition combined with the quintessence of human culture, becoming examples for us to study and follow.

Hồ Chí Minh – Sketches of Portrait will run until October 18 before moving to museums and universities across the country.

An exhibition featuring 130 examples of good deeds nationwide as part of a campaign to study and follow President Hồ Chí Minh's thought, morality and lifestyle is also being held at the Hồ Chí Minh Museum.

Art programme

As part of celebrations for the 130th birthday of President Hồ Chí Minh, a special art performance will take place at the Hanoi Opera House on May 17 which will be broadcast live on VTV1.

The event is being jointly organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education, and the national TV broadcaster.

With popular local singers, it aims to highlight the late President’s life and career, and his substantial contributions to the country’s revolution.

It will form part of the events in response to the movement “Studying and following Hồ Chí Minh’s moral example”.

Hà Nội authorities will host a wide range of other activities paying tribute to the late President, including photo exhibitions telling stories about him, and the screening of a documentary entitled Bác Hồ Với Thủ Đô Hà Nội (Uncle Ho with Hanoi).

A series of shows will be organised across Hà Nội at Lý Thái Tổ Park and Mỹ Đình Stadium, while mobile outdoor cinemas will screen films in remote areas and in industrial parks.

Hà Nội will also launch a writing contest about President Hồ Chí Minh and accelerate the promotion of art, literary, and journalism pieces about him. — VNS