Nearly two weeks before the April 30 holiday, which marks 50 years since the end of Vietnam War in Saigon, many areas in the city downtown are decorated with national flags and flowers.
Do Ngoc Thanh Street (pictured) in District 5 is adorned with national and Communist Party flags.
A coffee shop in District 1 is decorated with the national flags.
The owner displays miniature conical hats, a newspaper stand, and serves drinks shaped like the red flag with a yellow star.
Khoa, 24, from Go Vap District, and Hoang Hoa, 19, from District 5, said they felt a lot of positive energy and pride during the days leading up to April 30 celebration.
"The sight of flags flying is so beautiful. I went to watch the cannon firing drill and walked around the Independence Palace. The atmosphere these days is very heroic," Khoa said, refering to the cannon display on Bach Dang Wharf along the Saigon River and the place that witnessed the fall of Saigon.
Phuong Duy, 20, hangs flags at a stall on Nguyen Van Binh book street near the Notre Dame Cathedral and HCMC's Central Post Office.
On Nguyen Hue walking street, one of the busiest areas in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, billboards and LED screens displaying banners celebrating the 50th anniversary of national reunification stand out in the street space.
The nearby apartment building at 43 Nguyen Hue, home to a variety of coffee shops and restaurants, fly many national flags.
