Love him or hate him, Ho Chi Minh is nonetheless a very important part of Vietnamese history, and especially in Hanoi, where you’ll find his former home and his mausoleum. The Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi is dedicated to documenting and memorializing the former Vietnamese President’s life and work. The museum was built with the help of the USSR in a modern architectural style, but the shape of the building is inspired by the lotus, a Buddhist symbol for perfect understanding. The central room is outfitted with a huge statue of Ho Chi Minh, raising his hand in the Buddhist symbolic gesture of learning, framed by a backdrop of the sun rising through a cloudy sky.
The construction of the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi began in 1985 and was completed in 1990. While there are many who disagree with the idea of dedicating a museum to a leader like Ho Chi Minh, his relevance to Asian and world culture is undeniable.