Vietnam people celebrate 35th anniversary of reunification

Ho Chi Minh City - Thirty-five years after the reunification of Vietnam, a grand ceremony took place in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday, where the campaign for liberation of the former Saigon ended the 30-year Cold War military conflict in this southeast Asian country.

The event brought together about 50,000 people in performances and parades in the park near the Reunification Palace, where the official handover of power occurred on April 30, 1975 in Saigon, which was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

In this city that is still referred to by many people as Saigon, the economy is booming as motorcycles roar down the streets next to reminders of a war that lasted for decades.