Reunification Palace

The palace was really a fascinating place to visit in Ho Chi Minh City. It had figured large in the history of Vietnam and has pretty well remained the same since 1975. The architecture is very open with large, open hallways all around – great for circulation on those hot days! The outside has sectional columns all around – made to represent bamboo. It was partially destroyed during the Vietnam War (called the American War in Vietnam) but it has been rebuilt and it is still in use for official functions.
We were fortunately to be considered “official”. The conference organizers were able to rent the large ballroom area along with the outside halls and we had our gala celebration there – fabulous place! The entertainment was all native Vietnamese dancing, instrumentals and singing. A great opportunity to see some very interesting and unique instruments.

The palace also has a whole network of tunnels and rooms underneath the building – places where they could hide, escape, as well as direct the war through the telecommunications room. One of the tunnels goes all the way to another palace that is now the Revolutionary Museum.