Vietnam: The Presidential Palace, Hanoi
The Presidential Palace was originally constructed in 1901 for Paul Doumer, then Governor of French Indochina. Painted in the dark mustard yellow stonework with the green windows and louvered shutters so favoured in Vietnam, it is now chiefly employed to receive visiting dignitaries and heads of state.
Vietnamese national hero, Ho Chi Minh, who became President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1954, declined to live here. According to his biographer Duiker: ‘he refused an offer by his colleagues to live in the Governor-General’s Palace, which he considered to be too pretentious for his tastes, and decided to take up residence in a small gardener’s house on the palace grounds’.
Keywords:
Quick links to other images in this gallery:
![Vietnam: Tet (Vietnamese New Year) celebrants at the entrance to Tran Quoc Pagoda, Ho Tay (West Lake), Hanoi](http://c780771.r71.cf2.rackcdn.com/9736bf00ea91b5311c1eb07bda6d23e9/CPA0012034.jpg)
![Vietnam: Nguyen Hue statue, Dong Da Hill, Hanoi](http://c780771.r71.cf2.rackcdn.com/9736bf00ea91b5311c1eb07bda6d23e9/CPA0012035.jpg)
![Vietnam: The Presidential Palace, Hanoi](http://c780771.r71.cf2.rackcdn.com/9736bf00ea91b5311c1eb07bda6d23e9/CPA0012036.jpg)
![Vietnam: The Presidential Palace, Hanoi](http://c780771.r71.cf2.rackcdn.com/9736bf00ea91b5311c1eb07bda6d23e9/CPA0012037.jpg)
![Cambodia: Colourful old French colonial building now a UNESCO office, Phnom Penh](http://c781124.r24.cf2.rackcdn.com/9736bf00ea91b5311c1eb07bda6d23e9/CPA0012038.jpg)
Pictures From History
Copyright © 2025, All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2025, All rights reserved.