Touching the hearts of visitors from all directions: a Hanoi family gives away 1,000 loaves of bread and offers overnight accommodation for parade viewing.

In the heavy afternoon rain on September 1 in Hanoi, Vũ Đức Thịnh and his family at 3 Ngõ Thanh Miến, Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám, busily prepared 1,000 hot banh mi sandwiches and 500 bottles of water for people watching the A80 parade in the capital.

Thịnh said that the night before, his family saw many people having to sleep on the streets, sometimes getting wet in the rain, affecting their health. The whole family discussed buying banh mi, water, and cleaning the coffee shop to welcome everyone. However, due to the small house area, the family prioritized children, the elderly, and veterans.

“September 2 is the nation’s Independence Day, many people come to Hanoi from everywhere. As a Hanoian, besides love for the homeland and country, my family and I also want to spread the feelings of capital residents to visitors from all over, to contribute a small effort to help people. For example, those who come from afar and are tired have a place to rest, maintain health to welcome the parade passing by,” he said.

Chung Tuyết Nhung, from Cao Bằng, said her family of 10 came to Hanoi from August 29. In recent days, everyone stayed in hotel rooms and waited for the parade time to go out and join the atmosphere with everyone.

But by 12:00 noon on September 1, the hotel requested check-out because someone had booked in advance. Everyone had to walk around Nguyễn Thái Học Street, trying to wait until after the parade on the morning of September 2 before returning home.

“I came from Cao Bằng, over 300 kilometers from Hanoi. Coming to the capital, I see Hanoians very fond of guests from other provinces. When passing by here, I stopped by the coffee shop and saw a sign for free banh mi and water, so I felt happy because the people are very affectionate. The staff also said if I have no place to sleep at night, I can come here to rest,” said Chung Tuyết Nhung.

From 3:30 PM, functional forces set up barriers, preventing vehicles from entering routes such as Kim Mã, Liễu Giai, Văn Cao, Thụy Khuê, Hoàng Hoa Thám, Điện Biên Phủ…

The movement restrictions are to ensure traffic safety in central areas – where many people are gathering to wait for the anniversary ceremony and parade on the morning of September 2.

Heavy rain, people still persist in waiting

From 2:20 PM, despite heavy rain, many people still tried to hold their positions on Nguyễn Thái Học – Thanh Miến – Hoàng Diệu streets. According to Diệu Linh, 23 years old, she and about 10 colleagues took a day off to come early, waiting for the parade but encountered rain. Fortunately, the group brought umbrellas and raincoats, so they tried to “hold” their standing positions.

“I’m just afraid that if we run somewhere else to avoid the rain and come back, we’ll lose our good viewing spot, so everyone is still standing here,” Linh shared.