Exhibition «Lực lượng vũ trang Thủ đô - 80 năm giữ trọn lời thề Quyết tử» (The Capital's Armed Forces: 80 Years True to the Oath to Fight to the Death)

   Right by Hoan Kiem Lake, in the garden of Bà Kiệu Temple, an anniversary exhibition opens during Liberation Day week on the Capital's armed forces and their oath «Quyết tử để Tổ quốc quyết sinh», «We die so that the Fatherland may live». An easy way to step into Hanoi's military history while you stroll around the lake.

   The title translates as «The Capital's Armed Forces – 80 Years True to the Oath to Fight to the Death». The exhibition is part of the programme for the 80th Capital Armed Forces Tradition Day (19 October 1946 – 19 October 2026) that the Hanoi Capital Command (Bộ Tư lệnh Thủ đô Hà Nội) announced on 2 October. According to Colonel Nguyen Van Huu (Nguyễn Văn Hữu), the Command's head of political affairs, the programme looks back on 80 years of building, fighting, victories and growth, and aims to foster patriotism and national pride, especially among young people.

   Milestones of the 80 years:
— 19 October 1946: the Capital Armed Forces Tradition Day
— the night of 19 December 1946: Hanoi opens fire to start the nationwide Resistance War and holds the enemy inside the city for 60 days and nights
— 10 October 1954: the Liberation of the Capital
— December 1972: the 12 days and nights of «Hanoi – Điện Biên Phủ in the Air»

   The motto comes from a letter President Ho Chi Minh (Hồ Chí Minh) wrote to the soldiers of the Capital Regiment. The monument bearing it in the grounds of the Bà Kiệu Temple national relic was put up in 1984 for the 30th anniversary of the Liberation of the Capital. In August the city agreed in principle to relocate it; the new site is still being studied, and the move will only take place after the zoning plan for the Hoan Kiem Lake area is published. So this year's exhibition opens in the very garden linked to that oath.

   Over 80 years the Capital's armed forces have been named Hero of the People's Armed Forces four times and received a Gold Star Order, three Ho Chi Minh Orders and many other honours. On the morning of 10 October the official anniversary ceremony takes place at the Command's hall, where the forces receive the Hero title again.

   The exhibition suits families with school-age children, veterans, anyone interested in Hanoi's history and visitors walking around the lake during the holiday.

   It is scheduled for 7–12 October; opening hours and the list of exhibits have not been published yet. The garden doubles as a festival stage these days: on the evenings of 9 and 10 October the city's performing troupes play here, and on 10 October it hosts the art programme «80 năm - Vang mãi bản hùng ca Hà Nội».

   Drop into the Bà Kiệu Temple garden on your walk around Hoan Kiem Lake this week.