At 6 a.m. on Thursday, a ceremony begins at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi where the national flag is flown at half-mast, marking the beginning of a two-day state funeral for Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
During the state funeral, institutions, offices in the country and Vietnamese representative units abroad also flew flags at half-mast, and public entertainment activities were suspended.
Photo by Giang Huy
Ngo Thi Man, wife of Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong, bursts into tears while holding onto her husband's casket as their son Nguyen Trong Truong tries to comfort her.
The General Secretary was lying in state at the National Funeral Home at 5 Tran Thanh Tong Street. His family entered to pay respect at 7 a.m. on Thursday, followed by government and international delegations.
Photo by VNA
Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen (front, R) bows to Ngo Thi Man as he leads a Cambodian delegation into the mourning ceremony.
Several international delegations, composed of country and organization leaders, came on Thursday to pay respect to the Vietnamese leader in Hanoi and HCMC.
Photo VNA
In the hometown of Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong at Dong Hoi Commune, Hanoi's Dong Anh District, people line up in rows spanning 2 km to pay respect to him at the Lai Da Village Cultural House on Thursday.
Photo by Nguyen Dong
Doan Tan Phu (C) gets help to enter the National Funeral Home in Hanoi to pay respect to Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong on Thursday.
The 67-year-old man traveled nearly 1,000 km from Quang Ngai Province in central Vietnam.
Photo by Vo Thanh
Thousands of people line up in front of the National Funeral Home, waiting to pay tribute on Thursday night.
Photo by Pham Du
Pham Ngoc Nam in Hanoi holds his painting of Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong as he waits to enter the National Funeral Home. The vest and tie in the painting were made of the leader's name stitched together.
"Today, 100 million Vietnamese hearts mourn him. Each letter represents each person's love," Nam said.
Photo by Vo Thanh
People cry and pray before the casket of Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong at the National Funeral Home in Hanoi.
Photo by Giang Huy
At the Reunification Palace in HCMC, thousands of people line up outside the gate on Thursday, waiting to pay tribute.
Due to the sheer number of people, the HCMC People's Committee decided to extend the end time for the mourning to 11 p.m., instead of 10 p.m. as planned.
Photo by Thanh Tung
Nguyen Trong Vinh, 91, a former high school teacher of Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong, arrives at the mourning ceremony in Hanoi's Dong Anh District on a wheelchair.
He flew from Germany to Hanoi upon hearing news of the Party leader's passing.
"I hope the Party leader will eternally rest in peace with his predecessors at the Mai Dich Cemetery. His teachings to us teachers will always be remembered," Vinh said.
Photo by Vo Hai
Historian Duong Trung Quoc arrives at the mourning ceremony in Hanoi on Friday morning.
"People's hearts are the fairest and most standard measure. We can see that folks from all over have clearly demonstrated that here," he said.
Photo by Viet An
Party, state leaders and international friends walk around the casket of Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong at the National Funeral Home in Hanoi to bid him farewell on Friday afternoon.
Photo by VNA
The honor guard prepares for the casket of Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong to leave the funeral home.
Photo by VNA
The vehicle carrying the casket leaves the funeral home, with Ngo Thi Man, President To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other people following behind.
Photo by Giang Huy
The entourage drives past Hanoi Opera House.
It drove around several Hanoi streets to reach the Mai Dich Cemetery.
Photo by VNA
Two police officers, Diep Linh and Kim Dung, cry as they watch the entourage moving towards the gates of the Mai Dich Cemetery at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Photo by Hoang Viet
Ngo Thi Man (front), and her family, along with Party, state leaders and international friends, bid farewell to Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong at the cemetery.
Photo by VNA
