The statue in front of Ho Chi Minh City’s iconic Ben Thanh Market will be temporarily relocated to facilitate the construction of an urban railway project. 

At the Tuesday meeting, Hua Ngoc Thuan, deputy chair of HCMC People’s Committee, approved of the option to temporarily move Quach Thi Trang Statue, currently placed at Quach Thi Trang Roundabout in front of Ben Thanh Market in District 1, to Bach Tung Diep Park in the same district.

The half-length statue, which was built before 1975, pays tribute to Trang (1948- 1963), a Buddhist female student who was shot dead at 15 while joining some 5,000 local students in a August 1963 protest against a policy adopted by the former regime.

The move is intended to facilitate the construction of the Number 1 urban railway from Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien in district 9, which is expected to be completed by 2018.

Also placed in front of Ben Thanh Market is Tran Nguyen Han Statue, which honors General Tran Nguyen Han in the 15th century.

The Tran Nguyen Han Statue, also erected before 1975, had one of its legs fallen off in July 2013 and was fixed and reinforced shortly later.

The statue will be moved to Phu Lam Park in District 6.

Both the statues will be moved back to their current location after the construction of the urban railway was complete.

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