On the evening of January 28, the nationwide live broadcast Building the Nation with Our Own Hands was held to commemorate the 85th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s return to the homeland at Pac Bo (Cao Bang) to lead the Vietnamese revolution directly. The program was broadcast live from four locations: Cao Bang, Hanoi, Nghe An, and Ho Chi Minh City. The event was directed by the Central Commission for Propaganda and Mass Mobilization and produced by Vietnam Television (VTV).
Among the attendees at the Pac Bo Special National Historical Site in Truong Ha Commune, Cao Bang Province, were General Secretary To Lam, former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, and former Standing Members of the Party Secretariat, Phan Dien and Tran Quoc Vuong.
In Ho Chi Minh City, guests included President Luong Cuong, former President Nguyen Minh Triet, and former Standing Member of the Party Secretariat Le Hong Anh.
In Hanoi, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, along with Politburo members National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Standing Secretary Tran Cam Tu were in attendance.
The Nghe An sitehad Bui Thi Minh Hoai, Chairwoman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, in attendance.
Also present across all locations were current and former members of the Politburo, the Party Central Committee, and the Party Secretariat; leaders and former leaders of the Party, State, and Vietnam Fatherland Front; representatives of central ministries and local authorities; veteran revolutionaries, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, Party members, and large numbers of citizens nationwide.
From strategic decisions to decisive action - spanning history to the present
Eighty-five years ago, in the spring of 1941, Nguyen Ai Quoc set foot in his homeland for the first time in 30 years, having spent years abroad searching for a path to national salvation. At a critical moment for the Vietnamese revolution, he completed the revolutionary strategic line and directly led the movement, ushering in a decisive new phase of development.
The journey from Nha Rong Wharf, where he departed in 1911, to Cao Bang in the spring of 1941, where he returned, the journey became a crystallization of revolutionary vision and unwavering action.
The program was structured along the intellectual framework “from strategic decisions to action, from history to the present”, consisting of three chapters: Hands That Chart the Path, The Embrace of the People, and Raising the Flag High.
Emotional music spreads pride and Vietnamese cultural values
With 14 performances in its repertoire, music served as the emotional backbone of Building the Nation with Our Own Hands. Iconic songs from different historical periods were reimagined in a contemporary style, blending regional folk elements and traditional melodies to create diverse emotional layers across all four broadcast sites.
One particularly unforgettable moment transpired when delegates and audiences across all four locations fell silent, placed their hands over their hearts, and honored President Ho Chi Minh while “Uncle Ho A Boundless Love” played in the background. It became a quiet yet enduring vow to continue the path he chose, uphold the ideals he entrusted, and nurture the aspirations he left for the Vietnamese people. Many were moved to tears in this deeply emotional moment.
The nationwide broadcast concluded with a performance of Vietnam, Spring Has Come by artists from all four locations, including Do To Hoa, Meritorious Artist Lan Anh, Bao Tram, and the vocal group Oplus, spreading a powerful message of self-reliance and the nation’s aspiration to confidently rise into the future.
