Hanoi (VNA) – Tien Phong (Vanguard) Newspaper on April 24 opened a photo exhibition featuring archival and press photographs that once resonated around the world, to mark the 51st anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 – 2026).
The exhibition is designed as an emotional journey, where iconic images guide visitors through defining moments in Vietnam’s modern history: from the division of the country following the Geneva Agreement, through years of intense conflict, to the Great Spring Victory of 1975 and a dynamic Ho Chi Minh City continuing to transform today.
The exhibition space showcases nearly 90 individual works and photo collections across five thematic chapters revolving around the Geneva Agreement, five military fronts advancing towards Saigon, the triumph with a nation united in joy, and today Ho Chi Minh City building a new stature.
The photographs have been carefully selected from official archives, including contributions from the Vietnam News Agency, the leading international news agency Associated Press (AP), Tien Phong Newspaper, and numerous Vietnamese and international photographers.
Each photograph serves not merely as documentation but as a living memory. Faces, footsteps and moments captured in silence carry the echoes of an entire era. Together, these images remind viewers that history is never distant – it lives in stories, in people and in the way they engage with the present.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, journalist Phung Cong Suong, Editor-in-Chief of Tien Phong Newspaper and Head of the Organising Committee, said that historical photographs are more than archival records; they are the nation’s living memory, preserving moments that can never be recreated.
Through the exhibition, Tien Phong aims to bring history closer to the public, particularly younger generations, encouraging them not only to reflect on the past but also to better understand, appreciate and protect the value of peace today, Suong noted.
“Rather than simply recounting history, the exhibition places history in dialogue with the present. Through the power of images and truth, journalism not only documents history but also helps preserve memory and connect generations. From these frames, we do not stop at remembrance, we continue writing the story of our country in a new era,” he said.
Beyond the exhibition itself, the programme also created a space for dialogue through a panel discussion on the 51 Years of a Reunification Epic.
The discussion brought together historical witnesses, journalists, photographers and representatives of the younger generation, including journalist and writer Tran Mai Huong, former Director General of the Vietnam News Agency; Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Soat, Hero of the People’s Armed Forces and former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army; photographer Vu Huyen, former Standing Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists; film director and Meritorious Artist Dang Thai Huyen, Deputy Director of the People's Army Cinema; and First Runner-up of Miss Vietnam 2024 Tran Ngoc Chau Anh. More than a conversation, the discussion created a multidimensional space where stories behind the photographs were shared by those who lived through them, while prompting reflection on how today’s generation receives, preserves and carries forward historical memory.
The exhibition runs until May 3 within the exhibition house at No. 45 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi./.
