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Flags in Viet Nam

Hięn Luong flagmast
Largest Vietnamese flag
Mourning Flags

See also:

Viet Nam

Hięn Luong flagmast

The central province of Quang Tri, in Vietnam, revamped the flagmast Hięn Luong, which has been erected on the 17th Parallel in 1954. The demarcation line between the North and the South was materialized there by river Bęn Hai for nearly 20 years. The line was established by the agreement signed in Geneva on 20 July 1954.

The original flagmast was 38 m high, and was located near the Hięn Luong bridge. It was destroyed by American bombings in the beginning of 1967.

From 19 May 1956 to 28 October 1967, 267 flags of various size have been hoisted on the mast. In 1967, the mast was rebuilt eleven times and the flag was replaced 42 times following bombings and cannon shots by the American and Saigonese troops.

Source: "Courrier Du Vietnam" - Official agency AVI, 26 April 2005
Ivan Sache, 29 April 2005

Largest Vietnamese flag

According to the Vietnamese official agency AVI (29 April 2005), the biggest Vietnamese flag ever made will be displayed in Hô Chi Minh-Ville for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the liberation of South Vietnam.

The flag is 60 m x 30 m and weights 300 kg. It was made by 20 workers of the Chięn Thang company and sponsored by the General Company of Construction #5.

Twice a day and for two hours, the flag shall be lifted up to 50-70 meters above the soil by two airships.
Ivan Sache, 29 April 2005

Mourning Flags

images by Dominique Cureau, 16 March 2008

Recently I made a trip in Vietnam. I saw the use of mourning flags in burial-service. Flags are generally black and white with the regular form of the festival flags: a square bordered with four lines. I also saw a flag with a yellow central square and black and white borders.
Dominique Cureau, 16 March 2008

The use of such flags is probably not limited to funerals only and the two described flags are probably just a part of the set which includes flags with red, green/blue and white central squares as well. A set of such flags is described here: https://www.ttxva.net/bieu-trung-viet-nam/ as the flags of Five Elements, although green/blue is shown as purple, the shade being described in the text as parme, which is French name for a shade of violet: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parme_(couleur). However, while black, red and yellow flags are correctly attributed to water, fire and earth, respectively, white and purple are mis-attributed to metal and wood, respectively, while it should have been vice versa. In further text, green, red, white and black flags are correctly attributed to four cardinal directions, even though the latter are not listed in correct order. Consequently, the purple/violet flags might have actually been green/blue ones with color changed by age and/or weather. regardless of the above inconsistencies, the flags are described as being used in religious ceremonies, not limited to the funerals.
Tomislav Todorovic, 18 January 2015