Vietnamese people bid farewell to Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong

The state mourning ceremony for Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong continued at the National Funeral Home in Hanoi on Thursday afternoon, with guests including delegations from China, Laos and Singapore coming to pay their respects.

Civilians were allowed to enter the funeral home from 5:45 p.m. and long lines of people poured in. Streets around the home 5 Tran Thanh Tong Street got more crowded later at night with people waiting to pay their respects, which is allowed until 10 p.m. on Thursday.

People wait on Le Quy Don Street to enter the National Funeral Home to pay respects to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at around 8 p.m. on July 25, 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Chinh

Nearly 40,000 also paid respect to the late leader at his hometown in Dong Hoi Commune, Dong Anh District, Hanoi, and more than 16,000 people did the same at the Reunification Palace in HCMC.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong passed away in Hanoi on July 19 at the age of 80, after a period of serious illness.

People can continue paying their respects at state mourning ceremonies in Hanoi and HCMC from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday.

A memorial ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. on Friday, and the Party leader will be buried at Mai Dich Cemetery in Hanoi at 3 p.m. the same day.