From powerful parades to devastating floods and sweeping reforms, 2025 was a year etched into Vietnam’s collective memory - captured vividly through images on VietnamNet.
A year of national parades, breathtaking landscapes, sweeping reforms, and catastrophic floods - 2025 unfolded through moments that stirred deep emotion. These were the images that defined the year for VietnamNet readers.On the morning of September 2, 2025, the grand military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day took place in Ba Dinh Square, Hanoi. The event featured 43 marching formations, including 26 from the military and 17 from the police, alongside foreign military contingents from China, Russia, Laos, and Cambodia. Photo: Pham Hai
Tens of millions of Vietnamese citizens followed the event on Hanoi’s streets and via media broadcasts and social platforms. Photos: Quynh Anh, The Son, Hoang Ha, Thach Thao, The Bang, Nguyen Hue, Quyet ThangEarlier, another major event - the parade commemorating 50 years of national reunification - was held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 30, 2025. Crowds flocked to Bach Dang Wharf, Le Duan Street, and many downtown roads to witness the vibrant display, awash in red flags. Photo: Vo Viet
This was the largest-scale national parade held in southern Vietnam in years. It not only showcased military strength and unity, but also underscored the country’s spirit of peace, international solidarity, and its enduring aspiration for growth. Photos: Nguyen Hue, Hoang Ha, The Bang, Thach Thao, The Son
The year also marked a turning point in Vietnam’s administrative reform, as the government restructured local units from provincial to communal levels to streamline operations and bolster socio-economic development. Under a resolution passed by the National Assembly in June 2025, the number of provincial-level units was reduced from 63 to 34, including 6 centrally administered cities and 28 provinces.
This major consolidation aimed to cut bureaucracy, reduce management layers, and enhance the efficiency of local governance. It laid the groundwork for organizational stability ahead of the 2026–2031 Party Congress cycle. Photos: Hoang Ha, Nguyen Hue
From May 6–8, Vietnam hosted the 20th United Nations Day of Vesak under the theme “Solidarity and Tolerance for Human Dignity: Buddhist Wisdom for World Peace and Sustainable Development.” One of the central activities was the nationwide procession of sacred Buddha relics, which attracted thousands of devotees. Photos: Nguyen Hue, Manh HungOctober 2025 brought historic floods to Thai Nguyen - described as the worst in over 60 years, exceeding even the levels seen during Super Typhoon Yagi in 2024. Photo: Thach Thao
Between October 6–10, the region was battered by torrential rain caused by Typhoon Matmo and a cold air mass. Widespread flooding engulfed communities, prompting a full mobilization of the political system and armed forces (Military Zone 1, Corps 12) to provide aid and rescue stranded residents. Photos: Thach ThaoWithin just over a month, Hanoi experienced three heavy floods due to storms Kajiki (No. 5), Bualoi (No. 10), and Matmo (No. 11). Photos: Duc Anh, Hoang HaIn her pitch-dark home in western Nha Trang, 59-year-old Nguyen Thi La Thanh sat frozen in disbelief that her family had survived. On November 17, she spent hours waist-deep in freezing floodwaters, balancing her 89-year-old mother on a plastic basin as rescue teams were unable to reach them. Photo: Nguyen Hue
In early June 2025, a volunteer program brought life-changing medical aid to remote highlands in Yen Bai. The Sala Humanitarian Club, in collaboration with doctors from Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, the VietCal medical team from the United States, and several partner organizations, conducted check-ups and surgeries.
Over three days, nearly 60 patients - mostly poor children with congenital deformities or musculoskeletal disorders - were treated. The program also donated teaching equipment and gifts to disadvantaged students and teachers in mountainous schools. Photos: Thach Thao
On the evening of December 18, tens of thousands of football fans flooded the centers of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, waving flags and cheering the historic gold medal victory of Coach Kim Sang-sik’s team at the 33rd SEA Games. Photo: Nguyen Hue
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