Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

The President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum stands on Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, the place where Ho Chi Minh read Vietnam's Declaration of Independence on 2 September 1945. It holds the embalmed body of the revolutionary leader and first president, who died in 1969.

Construction began on 2 September 1973, and the mausoleum opened on 29 August 1975. Its design was inspired by Lenin's Mausoleum in Moscow, with Vietnamese touches such as the sloping roof. The building is 21.6 metres high and 41.2 metres wide, faced in grey granite, with columns along the front.

The gardens around the mausoleum hold nearly 250 plant species from across Vietnam. Seventy-nine cycad trees planted in front of and behind the building stand for Ho Chi Minh's age when he died. Soldiers in white or green uniforms guard the entrance, and a flag-raising ceremony takes place each morning and a flag-lowering ceremony each evening on the square.

More than 15,000 people visit each week, many of them Vietnamese families and school groups. Next to the mausoleum, the wider Ba Dinh complex includes the Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh's stilt house, the One Pillar Pagoda and the Ho Chi Minh Museum, which can be visited separately.

Entry to the mausoleum is free. It opens in the mornings on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and closes each year for a period of maintenance. From 1 April to 31 October it opens 7:30 to 10:30, and from 1 November to 31 March 8:00 to 11:00, with an extra 30 minutes on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Visitors must dress modestly with shoulders and knees covered, leave bags and cameras at the security check, switch off phones and remain silent and keep moving inside. Arrive early, as queues can be long.

Granite and marble from across Vietnam

The mausoleum was built with materials from across Vietnam, chosen as a symbol of national unity. The outer walls are grey granite. Inside, the walls use polished grey, black and red stone, and the front hall is lined with pink-veined marble. The inscription above the portico is set in dark red jade from Cao Bang province.

The main door is made of hardwood from the Central Highlands, and the chamber floor holds about 4,000 pieces of ruby stone from Thanh Hoa. Ho Chi Minh lies on a bronze bed decorated with lotus patterns. The portico inscription reads "Chu tich Ho Chi Minh", President Ho Chi Minh. The design is credited to the Soviet architect Garol Isakovich.