Vietnamese and communist flags fly outside a house in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A Vietnamese national flag flies outside a home in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Vietnamese national flags decorate a balcony in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Vietnamese national flags decorate the exterior of a cafe in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Vietnamese national flags decorate a building in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A Vietnamese national flag flies outside a window in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A Vietnamese national flag flies from a balcony in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Vietnamese and communist flags hang from balconies across streets in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A Vietnamese national flag flies outside a balcony in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A giant Vietnamese national flag hangs from a balcony in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Vietnamese and communist flags decorate a balcony in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A giant Vietnamese national flag is displayed outside a balcony in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Vietnamese and communist flags hang on aa balcony in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Vietnamese national flags fly from balconies of a hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A Vietnamese woman stands for a photograph in front of the Opera House, its balconies decorated with Vietnamese and communist flags in the old quarter of Hanoi, Vietnam, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Audio By Carbonatix
12:23 AM on Monday, September 1
By VINCENT THIAN
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — In Hanoi, Vietnam, balconies hold the city’s layers.
French villas lean out with wrought-iron rails. Socialist-era blocks offer concrete ledges, some with cracked walls or missing window panes. New towers push out glass terraces toward the sky.
In the days before Vietnam celebrates its 80th National Day on Tuesday — commemorating its 1945 independence from French colonial rule — these differences fade. From every edge — iron, concrete, or steel — a red flag with a yellow star flutters.
Some hang neatly, others are tied to bamboo poles or taped to walls. On many balconies, families gather to watch parade rehearsals. Laundry and potted plants make room for a view of the street below.
For a moment, the red flags stretching across the city unite the old balconies and new towers — markers of class and time — in a single celebration.
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