The palace is currently functioning more or less like a museum. Back to the golden days, Reunification Palace served both as office and home for the president, like the White House in Washington DC. The historical relic represents the era of the puppet government that ended 40 years ago. However, we can hardly tell the purpose of the building based on its appearance. Still, its dimension and commodious lawn in contrarily packed Ho Chi Minh City could be indicative of the importance of the structure.
At the behest of then-president Ngo Dinh Diem, Reunification Palace was designed by renowned Vietnamese architect Ngo Viet Thu. It blends the architectural style of Vietnamese modernism. The inner reveals a clash of contrasts. Touring Reunification Palace can be a perplexing experience as the majority of the site is about the sumptuousness of Ngo Quang Thieu Administration. That doesn’t help in portraying Vietnamese proud history.
The structure was the place South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu instructed South Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War.
The building has the basement where the president could take shelter in an emergency. The compartment is scattered with communications equipment and maps of the war’s progress. You can find the very desk where Thieu used to sit and barked out directives in failed attempts to reverse the war situation.
The middle storeys of the building were purposefully designed and decorated to impress government officials and dignitaries. The opulence and style seem to try to implicate power. This is manifested in the remnants remaining in many compartments, the kind of prodigality that the revolution of communists was trying to purge. Dining tables and large conference are located here together with Thieu’s official office suite. These three main compartments were decorated in a stylish combination of modern and traditional. Entertaining area comprises compartments for dominoes and poker, and a red velvet-lined cinema.
The president’s family’s living quarter was placed on the top floors. It was not coincidentally close to an aerial escape route on a helicopter which could land on the roof-top helipad. Surprisingly, an open rooftop courtyard is surrounded with Spartan bedrooms and decorated with an odd assortment of family gifts and keepsakes.
The whole structure doesn’t have much to do with explaining the narrative of Vietnamese heroism. Luxurious rooms of the building seem to give away a larger memory construction project, filled with erasure of anti-imperialism and a heroic past. Still, there are two instances in the whole museum provide a clear picture of revolutionary struggle, the Triumph of Communism and Vietnamese heroism.
One room is devoted to the history of the Fall of Saigon. The defeat of the U.S is emphasized here. Additionally, the exhibition in the room also explains the historical context of the Vietnam War and showcases a vivid chronological narrative of a historic reunification of Vietnam after almost twenty years of struggle. The room is astonishingly dingy and cluttered compared to other expansive and splendid rooms of the building when we take into account the integral part Vietnamese reunification takes in Vietnamese nationalism.
In another sterile historic site within the building, I find the second instance that provides Vietnamese heroism and revolutionary struggle. A 37-minute propaganda video is featured, telling the story about the heroic spirit of Vietnamese soldiers in the historic flow beginning with the Dien Bien Phu victory until the defeat of the Southern Vietnamese puppet government. The video tends to demonize US government and imperialism which was attempting to take over Vietnamese territory.
These two instances help visitor cultivate their knowledge of Vietnamese gory history in the twentieth century more than different luxurious guest rooms in the palace.
The structure has another name of Independence Palace. Primarily, it is a tourist destination; however, occasionally, it is used for official government functions.