Tonkin Palace

The building in front of you is the Tonkin Palace. It was built between 1918 and 1919 by the French colonial administration and originally served as the residence of the French Resident Superior of Tonkin — in other words, the governor in charge of northern Vietnam. Its neoclassical design is both simple and imposing, with a symmetrical façade, Renaissance-style columns, and Art Nouveau ironwork, all meant to express colonial power in the capital. On August 19, 1945, during the August Revolution, the Viet Minh took over the building and made it the headquarters of the new Vietnamese government,a concrete sign that French rule was coming to an end. For several months, Ho Chi Minh and the provisional government worked from here. In December 1946, at the start of the First Indochina War, heavy fighting broke out on this very spot, and if you look closely at the gate, you can still see bullet holes, visible reminders of the fighting. After the French departure in 1954, the building stayed under Vietnamese control and was gradually turned into the Government Guest House. Today, it hosts diplomatic visits and official receptions, which explains why it is rarely open to the public.