The Mai Dich Cemetery (Hanoi) was established in 1956, covering a total area of 5.9 hectares. It serves as the final resting place for many high-ranking leaders and individuals who have made significant contributions to the country.
Located on Ho Tung Mau Street in Mai Dich Ward, Cau Giay District, linking National Route 32 to Son Tay Town, Mai Dich Cemetery is a memorial cemetery in Hanoi and also serves as a resting place for many high-ranking leaders and those who have greatly contributed to the nation.
The funeral of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong will be held solemnly with state funeral rites on July 25 and 26, 2024, after which he will be interred at Mai Dich Cemetery.
Scale of Mai Dich Cemetery
Mai Dich Cemetery.
Mai Dich Cemetery was built in 1956 with a total area of 5.9 hectares to gather the graves of martyrs from the French resistance period in Hanoi.
In 1982, the cemetery was renovated and organized into areas for the burial of senior officials. This is the burial site for high-ranking officials including General Secretaries, Presidents, Chairpersons of the National Assembly, and Prime Ministers, with funerals conducted according to state funeral protocols.
From 1993 to 1995, the Hanoi People’s Committee invested in the renovation and complete reconstruction of the cemetery’s infrastructure.
Currently, Mai Dich Cemetery in Hanoi has 1,224 martyrs resting here and hundreds of high-ranking officials clearly designated in separate areas.
Hearse at Mai Dich Cemetery, Hanoi. (Photo: Van Diep/TTXVN).
Directly at the main entrance are the graves of former Politburo members such as Truong Chinh, Le Duan, Pham Van Dong, Pham Hung, To Huu, and others.
According to the cemetery’s layout, the graves are organized into different areas, including sections for military and police generals, as well as areas for artists like Nguyen Dinh Thi, Huy Can, Pham Huy Thong, Tran Hoan, and others.
Mai Dich Cemetery Park will be renovated with a new wall surrounding the expanded land area. In the expansion area, there will be designated burial sites for martyrs (approximately 500 graves) and areas for high-ranking officials when they pass away.
The remaining area will be arranged for flower gardens, grassy areas, and internal roads (with a road cross-section width of about 4.5 meters).
Expansion of Mai Dich Cemetery
In December 2013, the Hanoi People’s Committee issued a document assigning the Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs to prepare an investment project for the renovation, upgrading, and expansion of Mai Dich Cemetery (Cau Giay District).
Specifically, the cemetery’s premises will be adjusted and expanded by about 3,000 square meters, with a total investment of over 70 billion VND to arrange for an additional 500 graves for martyrs and high-ranking officials upon their passing.
According to Decree 105/2012/ND-CP dated December 17, 2012, the Government of Vietnam stipulates the categories of high-ranking officials eligible for burial at the Hanoi cemetery.
Graves in Mai Dich Cemetery. (Source: Hanoi Funeral Committee).
These include central committee members and above, scientists, cultural figures, writers, poets awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize, distinguished generals, and heroes of the armed forces.
The cemetery area in Cau Giay includes 1,228 anonymous martyr graves at the back, and 394 graves of famous individuals arranged along both sides of the National Monument of Martyrs.
The outer rows face the main axis, with ten graves on each side. Other graves are arranged horizontally relative to the main axis, in front of the anonymous martyrs’ graves, with a specific row situated along the front near two small ponds.
Regarding the renovation and upgrading of the Hanoi cemetery, the graves of martyrs will have their old stone cladding removed for reconstruction with new brick cladding. Red bricks will be laid for the ground, pathways, and low flower wall cladding. The high-ranking graves will have their old paving removed and replaced with Terazzo tiles.
Each grave typically measures over 2 meters wide and nearly 3 meters long, with a green grass carpet placed in the center. Each incense burner at the graves of the revolutionaries is adorned with a golden star of victory.
Additionally, Mai Dich Cemetery will enhance its drainage system, flower gardens, roads, rest areas within the complex, replace lighting fixtures, and decorative lights to create central areas.
Proposal for Two Locations for New Mai Dich Cemetery Construction
The Ministry of Construction has proposed two specific locations for the new Mai Dich Cemetery in Cau Giay: one location in the expanded Yen Ky Cemetery area to the south, Ba Vi District, approximately 60 km west of downtown Hanoi along National Route 32. Constructing the cemetery at this location will save initial costs on technical infrastructure investment.
The second proposed location by the Ministry of Construction is the Yen Trung Commune area, Thach That District, approximately 50 km west of downtown Hanoi along the extended Thang Long Avenue connecting to Hoa Binh City.
