Kim Lien Commune in Nghe An province is the childhood home of Vietnam's leading revoluntionary and first president. While the outside appears to be a modern Vietnamese town, an ancient village still remains perfectly intact. The simple wooden walls and a thatched roof once housed Nguyen Sinh Cung, the boy who grew up to become Ho Chi Minh and liberate his nation.
Ho Chi Minh's childhood home. Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Walking in the footsteps of Uncle Ho. Photo by Glen MacDonald.
As the son of a Confucian scholar, young Uncle Ho quickly realized the value of education and was instilled with worldly wonder. In addition to his education, Ho Chi Minh's father, Nguyen Sinh Sac, introduced him to national pride and revolutionary activity against the occupying French colonial forces. Freedom-fighting villagers would hide their weapons in the well nearby his home.
Nowadays, as Vietnam enjoys peacetime, Ho Chi Minh's village has been blessed with a bounty of lotus gardens. The lotus flower is emblematic of the struggles and triumphs of the Vietnamese people. Like the flower that grows above muddy areas, the Vietnamese people seem to blossom far above the hardships of the past.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Photo of Glen MacDonald.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Photo by Glen MacDonald.
Dozens of Vietnamese people visit the site to pay homage to their beloved leader. In the lush, natural spot, the words of Ho Chi Minh ring true; “To reap a return in ten years, plant trees. To reap a return in 100, cultivate the people.”
On June 23, a meeting between Quang Ninh Provincial Party Secretary and Head of the National Assembly Delegation Quan Minh Cuong and Special Advisor to the Japan-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance and Special Advisor to Ha Long University Takebe Tsutomu was held in Quang Ninh.
A meeting between Vietnamese Ambassador to Bulgaria Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet and Bulgarian Minister of Justice Nikolay Naydenov was recently held. The two sides discussed measures to strengthen legal and judicial cooperation between the two countries in the new phase.
Localities across Vietnam are accelerating the review, registration, and collection of DNA samples from relatives of fallen soldiers whose identities have yet to be confirmed, in preparation for a nationwide campaign. The establishment of a DNA database is expected to create new opportunities to identify hundreds of thousands of fallen soldiers whose information remains incomplete.
On June 22, the Steering Committee 515 of An Giang Province held an online conference to implement the “500-Day and Night Campaign to Accelerate the Search, Recovery, and Identification of Martyrs’ Remains” and to carry out the collection and handover of martyrs’ remains samples in the province. Under the plan, the locality aims to complete the collection of 15,747 samples from unidentified martyrs’ remains for DNA testing, contributing to speeding up the process of identifying fallen soldiers.
A total of 102,243 students across Hanoi have been admitted to public high schools, equivalent to more than 80% of all candidates who sat the entrance examination. Notably, one student was admitted to as many as five different admission choices.
As part of its working visit to Finland on June 17, a delegation from Da Nang visited and held discussions with the authorities of Turku, Finland. This important external relations activity aimed to further consolidate and strengthen the friendly cooperative relationship between Da Nang and Turku, established in 2018, while also exchanging views and proposing directions for future cooperation.
On June 18, 2026, Good Neighbors Vietnam (GNI) and the Hai Phong City Union of Friendship Organizations signed a cooperation agreement to implement a program providing aid shipments to disadvantaged people and vulnerable groups in Hai Phong City from 2026 to 2030.
The 14th National Congress of Vietnamese Women concluded with a high degree of consensus on the goals, orientations, and key tasks for the 2026-2031 term. Building on the achievements of the previous term, the Congress identified the promotion of the resilience, intellect, and aspirations of Vietnamese women as a pathway toward becoming a vital driving force for the country's development in the new era.