Tell the story of President Ho Chi Minh to the whole world.

Always striving for excellence out of love for the profession.

No matter how harsh the weather or how tired they are, the tour guides at Kim Lien Historical Site will still complete their task with a gentle, simple, and soothing Nghe An accent. Listening to their voices, few can imagine the intensity of the work these guides do each day, especially during peak seasons like holidays, Tet (Lunar New Year), and summer vacation…

“Wearing traditional ao dai (Vietnamese long dress), our work includes welcoming guests at the registration office, giving guided tours at historical sites, laying flowers, and conducting memorial ceremonies... Throughout the summer, on average, 17 tour guides will welcome over 150 groups of visitors each day at various sites. During holidays like April 30th - May 1st, this can reach 400-500 groups per day, all of whom must continuously guide and explain from 7:00 AM to 11:30 AM and from 1:30 PM to 5:00 PM. During peak season, in the summer, we sometimes only get 1-3 days off per month. Working outdoors in the hot weather is very hard and tiring, to the point that some have fainted or had nosebleeds while giving tours... In addition, to diversify the forms of communication, tour guides also have to carry out propaganda tasks outside the historical sites through thematic talks about President Ho Chi Minh, writing articles for publication in newspapers and websites, and giving lectures.” "We organize exhibitions and develop thematic programs about President Ho Chi Minh…," shared Ms. Phan Thanh Quy, Deputy Head of the Propaganda and Education Department of the Kim Lien Historical Site.

Before choosing to stay in the profession despite its initial difficulties and hardships, tour guides must go through a challenging journey. Recalling her early days in the profession, Ms. Quy said: “Having graduated from the Faculty of Foreign Languages, the historical knowledge from President Ho Chi Minh's birth to his childhood, his hometown and family, and other historical knowledge… were very unfamiliar to me. Besides that, I needed to improve many skills such as demeanor, expression, presentation, communication, and writing… Especially, I needed to practice speaking softly, using clear and understandable language so that visitors from all over could listen and understand. Among these, overcoming my own lack of confidence and shyness was perhaps the most difficult thing, requiring considerable time. To confidently present, one needs a certain level of professional knowledge, communication skills, and social understanding.”

Once they have mastered the knowledge and grasped the content, tour guides will be able to adapt their speeches flexibly and emotionally to suit the context and the audience.

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The stories may be repetitive, but the emotions evoked each time they are told and the way visitors receive them are very different. Perhaps the most touching moments are when welcoming groups of elderly people and veteran soldiers – those who fought alongside Uncle Ho and endured the bombings and shelling of war. Many of them couldn't hide their emotions and burst into tears; we ourselves couldn't hold back our own tears either.

Ms. Phan Thanh Quy - Deputy Head of the Propaganda and Education Department, Kim Lien Historical Site

Ms. Pham Thi Oanh, one of the 17 tour guides at the Kim Lien Historical Site, shared: “All the members of the team are women, mostly young and raising small children. Half of them live in Vinh City, so working and being on duty during holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year) is a challenge we have to overcome. Many days, we have to take turns sleeping overnight to welcome the tour groups early. On New Year's Eve, we stay with our colleagues until the morning before going home. With such a modest income, if we didn't love this job, it would be difficult for us to stay in this profession for the long term.”

The love for their work, shared by Ms. Quy, Ms. Oanh, and the other members of the tour guide team, stems from their deep respect for the nation's revered leader, their pride in their homeland, and the precious emotions they receive from tourists... "We see ourselves as members of Uncle Ho's family and are happy to share stories about him. In return, we also receive a lot of precious affection from tourists. These could be compliments, words of encouragement, respectful handshakes, or small gifts like hats, umbrellas, candies, or bottles of medicated oil... but they give us so much motivation," Ms. Quy shared.

Learn so you can tell stories about Uncle Ho to many international visitors.

Among the many amusing anecdotes about her profession, Ms. Quy vividly remembers a story about a Japanese tourist. Throughout the tour, he listened attentively and enthusiastically to her. Before saying goodbye, he asked the interpreter to tell her: "I don't understand Vietnamese, but your words sounded like a melody, and I could read the sincerity in your eyes." Such stories and situations motivate Ms. Quy and her colleagues to strive harder, learn more, and be able to tell stories about President Ho Chi Minh to international friends.

Driven by that determination, in 2019, the Kim Lien Historical Site Tour Guide Team proactively requested the Management Board to provide opportunities for them to learn English to better serve their work. “Most of us graduated with degrees in Literature or History, so starting to learn English again at this age is extremely difficult. Among us is Ms. Bui Thi Dam – Head of the Propaganda and Education Department, born in 1972, now 50 years old, but still determined to learn to the end. Neither we nor the Management Board set high expectations; we only hoped to meet the requirements of providing tours about President Ho Chi Minh in English and communicating at a basic level with tourists. Achieving even that small goal required a great deal of perseverance and effort.”

Having graduated with a degree in History Education, Ms. Pham Thi Oanh never imagined she could one day fully explain stories about President Ho Chi Minh in English. Yet, she did it. Ms. Oanh recalled: “In the first few lessons, we were shocked to realize that what we had learned in school was completely different from the knowledge taught by the native English-speaking teachers. Even just pronouncing the word 'is' correctly required several sessions. At the same time, many people thought that what we were doing wouldn't yield any results. Fortunately, we studied together, so we could encourage each other and motivate each other. During that time, to keep up with the curriculum, I had to take advantage of every free moment to study. To memorize new words, I wrote them down and pasted them all over the house. The most difficult thing was pronunciation, stress, and intonation. To improve this skill, whenever there were Western tourists, we would eagerly chat with them – it was so much fun!”

After five months of dedicated practice, the five members of the team were able to confidently tell stories about President Ho Chi Minh in English with accurate pronunciation and intonation to international friends. Following this small success, at the suggestion of the Management Board, they continued to pursue their goal of explaining things in Lao. “Similar to English, we didn’t expect to become fluent in Lao, but only aimed to be able to explain stories about President Ho Chi Minh. After the course, we were able to welcome high-ranking delegations from Laos and received praise from them. This means a great deal to us,” Ms. Quy shared.

In addition to improving their foreign language skills, during the Covid-19 lockdown, the Kim Lien Historical Site Tour Guide Team also equipped themselves with new skills such as creating historical documentary videos about President Ho Chi Minh, participating in hosting programs, reading podcasts, and giving online tours… With what they have done and are doing, the women themselves are concrete examples of the spirit of learning and training following the example of President Ho Chi Minh.