Lê Thị Riêng Park

Lê Thị Riêng Park (Vietnamese: Công viên Lê Thị Riêng) is a park located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, within District 10. The park is named after a fighter associated with Viet Cong, who was buried in this area when it was a cemetery before the Fall of Saigon.

Lê Thị Riêng Park
Công viên Lê Thị Riêng
The main entrance of the park in 2011
Location	District 10, Ho Chi Minh City
Coordinates	10°47′06″N 106°39′52″E
Area	8 hectares (20 acres)
Open	1983
Status	Open all year
Public transit access	Bus

Design

The park is surrounded by Cach Mang Thang 8 Street, Bac Hai Street, and Truong Son Street, covering an area of approximately 8 hectares (20 acres) in District 10, opposite of District 3. Within the park, there is a lake that used to be a canal connected to the Nhieu Loc–Thi Nghe Channel via the Vanh Dai Canal. Near the park entrance, there is a communist propaganda house and a memorial plaque commemorating the events of the Tet Offensive. The park is the site of the tomb of Lê Thị Riêng, a member of the committee of the National Liberation Front for South Vietnam, better known as Viet Cong. Additionally, there is a memorial plaque for Trần Phú, the first General Secretary of the Indochinese Communist Party, marking the discovery of his tomb in 1999.

This park allocates 20% of its land area for commercial leasing, including a children's playground area (known as White Rabbit Amusement Park) covering 1 hectare (2.5 acres), a bookstore area, and food stalls.

History

During the Republic of Vietnam era, this area was a 30 hectares (74 acres) cemetery known as Chi Hoa Cemetery (previously called Do Thanh Cemetery, literally "Capital City Cemetery"). Nearby this area is the Chi Hoa Prison, and further away is the Phu Tho National Technical Center. In 1968, after significant casualties on both South Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces during the Tet Offensive, the Saigon municipal government excavated large pits in the cemetery to bury thousands of bodies, which led to various superstitious rumors.

In response, the Long Hoa Saigon Buddhist Association built a temple and a statue of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva in the cemetery. The statue, made of nearly 10 tons of black Italian marble and crafted by sculptor Mai Lan, measures 0.75 metres (2.5 ft) wide and stands on a 3 metres (9.8 ft) pedestal. In 1983, as part of efforts to renovate the urban landscape, authorities cleared the Chi Hoa Cemetery to build the park. On August 23, 1986, the statue of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva was dismantled and relocated to Quan Am Pagoda in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province.

Public transport

There are bus routes available to Lê Thị Riêng Park. Line 2 of Ho Chi Minh City Metro is also under construction, disembarking at Lê Thị Riêng Station.