Tran Van Cao, 85, a farmer with his love and respect to President Ho Chi Minh has spent about 50 years of life collecting photos and documents about life and career of the President.

Owned by Tran Van Cao, an old farmer in Dai Pham Village of the capital's Chuong My District, about 20km from the city centre, the house is locally known as a museum with hundreds of photos and items about President Ho Chi Minh.

The farmer made one room into an exhibition centre called 'Uncle Ho's memorial hall' after spending 30 years researching and collecting more than 300 photos and stories about President Ho’s life and career.

Cao, 85, a rustic man with boundless affection for the late President was thrilled to discuss his collection.

“They are really unforgettable memories. Wherever I go and whatever I do, I always try to focus on looking for documents and photos of Uncle Ho. I also tried to learn about his life and career through books, newspapers and TV programmes. This helps me trace the materials for my collection,” Cao said.

Before working in water irrigation, Cao was a farmer so after retiring, he still worked hard in the fields to support his family.

“Although life was sometimes really hard for me and my family, whenever I thought of Uncle Ho and the Party, I had a special respect for him,” Cao said.

The collector added that was why he decided to collect the photos and documents about the President to express his love towards him.

Hanoi is home to many revolutionary and historical relics called “red addresses” where President Ho Chi Minh once stayed, lived or worked, such as those inside the Presidential Palace; at 48 Hang Ngang Street in Hoan Kiem District where the President wrote the Declaration of Independence; Uncle Ho's memorial house in Van Phuc Village, Ha Dong District where he launched an appeal for national resistance against the French and the K9 area in Ba Vi District where he and other Vietnamese Party and State leaders worked during the war.

President Ho’s memorial hall in Cao’s house always impresses visitors as the owner is enthusiastic to introduce the items in the room with all of his love towards the national hero.

Sometimes he even cries when telling stories about when President Ho was imprisoned in China by the Chiang Kai-shek government or when he sat in a tent commanding the fight against the French colonialists.

Always wearing a white shirt and a plain brown hat, Cao dresses simply, just like his idol did.

In the exhibition room which is also decorated with very simple furniture such as an old table and a shelf for placing a small old TV set, Cao's photo display is particularly striking.

The highlight of the room is a large photo of President Ho in the middle of the front wall and others which have been framed and hung around the room.

There are some paintings of historical relics such as Nha Rong Pier in HCM City, President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and his stilt house in the Presidential Palace in Hanoi that Cao said he had drawn himself.

The memorial room is highlighted by a large image of Uncle Ho in the middle of the wall and many others around.

Talking about some pictures hanging in the house, the collector revealed they were left by his grandparents who also collected photos of the President.

“I found such photos were hung in the most respectful ways in our grandparents’ home since I was very young. Many dozens of years have passed but such images followed our family till now and we consider them the most precious souvenirs of our forefathers,” Cao said.

Like many other farmers in the villages, Cao said he had to work hard all of his life to earn a living and support his family with four children.

In 2003, Cao was able to build a new house with three floors.

The house is his pride and joy and that pride has only grown since he preserved the top floor for his museum.

Cao said he got total support from everyone in the family when he got the idea to build the memorial room.

“It is because they understand that I always had respectful and sacred feelings towards Uncle Ho,” he said.

Cao said he built the memorial room and also wrote a historical song about the Party, President Ho, and the revolution to please the people in his countryside area.

Many people find it hard to believe a farmer like him whose hands were always covered with mud had spent time collecting such a great amount of pictures about President Ho.

Cao is presenting to visitors the photos of Uncle Ho that he has collected and exhibited in the memorial room of his house. VNA/VNS Photos Dinh Thuan

Along with the photo collection, Cao composed a historical epic of 1,456 verses and compiled nearly 100 pages of writings about President Ho, the revolution and resistance wars

From the beginning of 2020, when the memorial hall was completed and opened to the public, Cao's house became a gathering place for visitors and locals to come admire the collection.

All the photos are exhibited featuring different times and milestones of President Ho’s life and career from the first day he left the country to find a way to save the nation until the last moments of his life.

The house is often crowded with villagers and members of social organisations and has become the pride of both Dai Pham Village and Dai Yen Commune, according to villagers.

Nguyen Van Dac, a retired teacher in the neighbouring village of Duong in Dai Yen Commune, expressed his admiration for Cao’s knowledge about the President while visiting the room and listening to him speak.

“Like everyone in my village, I respect the affection and gratitude of the collector for Uncle Ho,” said Dac.

Dai Yen Commune’s Party Committee Secretary Dang Tien Hoang said the memorial hall in Cao’s house was a meaningful model of traditional education.

“The room has helped promote a local campaign to study and follow the ideology, morality and lifestyle of Ho Chi Minh,” Hoang said.

The official said since Cao opened the room to visitors, Dai Yen communal authority had organised field trips for officials, Party members and social organisations in the commune to visit the room to improve their knowledge about the national hero and the Vietnamese revolution. VNS

Dinh Thuan 

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