Nguyen Thi An's home was the first place that President Ho Chi Minh stayed after he returned to Hanoi from Viet Bac, which served as the base of support for Viet Minh, a national independence coalition led by Ho Chi Minh during the First Indochina War. The area now covers several northeastern provinces.
He stayed at the house from August 23 to August 25, 1945.
Here, he worked with major national figures like Truong Chinh, Vo Nguyen Giap and Tran Dang Ninh on issues regarding the revolution and preparing the Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
The brick house, built in 1931, has a five-section structure. Inscriptions with Chinese characters are engraved on the building.
A black-and-white photo taken on January 21, 1979, shows former General Party Secretary Truong Chinh (second left) visiting the house's owner Nguyen Thi An (left).
An is the daughter-in-law of Cong Van Truong, who received and supported Ho Chi Minh and his comrades when they returned from Tan Trao to Hanoi.
Tan Trao is the name of a historical site in Tuyen Quang Province, which is part of what was Viet Bac. It was where the Communist Party of Vietnam had a national congress in August 1945 to launch a major revolution against the French, thus called the August Revolution.
With 14 relics and dozens of documents and pictures about Ho Chi Minh in the house, it has been named the "Uncle Ho Memorial House" and is open to the public since 1996.
Cong Ngoc Dung, An's grandson, has been taking care of the house for over three decades. In 1945, a team of 10 people from the Viet Bac area came by this house. Ho Chi Minh would work sitting on a wooden couch, Dung said, recalling stories his father used to tell.
"During his days in this house, Uncle Ho was very weak. He could only eat porridge, not rice. My grandmother Nguyen Thi An was the one who cooked meals for him and his entire team," Dung said.
A typewriter that Ho Chi Minh brought with him from the Viet Bac area to Hanoi. It is preserved in the house as a relic.
A water tank used by Ho Chi Minh in 1945 and 1946 during his stay at the house.
Following his visit in 1945, Ho Chi Minh returned to Nguyen Thi An's house once more on November 24, 1946. The second visit happened as French colonialists were bombing several cities and the entire country was preparing for the revolution.
The house has two 10-square-meter rooms that display pictures of Ho Chi Minh and his comrades, as well as pictures of the family.
On Monday, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism granted the house a certificate that names it a national historical site.
In 2019, the house was declared by the Hanoi People's Committee as a city historical site.
