This was part of the National Re-unification Festival to mark the 35^th anniversary of Southern Liberation and National Re-unification, the 38^th anniversary of Quang Tri liberation and the 1,000^th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

Present at the event were Politburo member, secretary of the Party Central Committee and head of the Central Committee for Propaganda and Education, To Huy Rua; State Vice President, Nguyen Thi Doan; National Assembly Vice Chairman, Huynh Ngoc Son; vice chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, Nguyen Van Pha, representatives from the Ministries of National Defence and Public Security and many other ministries, departments, and armed services in Military Zone 4 as well as Vietnamese heroic mothers, heroes of the people’s armed forces, revolutionary veterans and local people.

At the ceremony, Le Huu Phuc, member of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Quang Tri provincial Party Committee, highlighted the significance of the festival to honour the values of struggle and sacrifice for national independence, freedom and re-unification.

On the same day, there was a boat race on the Hien Luong-Ben Hai rivers with 17 teams taking part.

*** After attending the flag ceremony and the opening of the National Re-unification Festival, the party and government leaders laid wreaths and burned incense at the Truong Son and Road 9 National Martyr Cemeteries in Quang Tri province.

The Truong Son National Martyr Cemetery is where more than 10,000 martyrs, mainly Truong Son soldiers and young volunteers can rest in peace while over 10,000 martyrs who were experts and volunteers and laid down their lives in Laos have been reburied at the Road 9 National Martyr’s Cemetery.