Ho Chi Minh City-based Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital on Saturday inaugurated a bronze bust of Empress Dowager Tu Du whom it is named for.

The new bust, which is 95cm in high, 80cm wide, and 45cm thick, is located in the middle of a park in Zone E, facing the hospital’s main entrance on Cong Quynh Street in District 1.

The construction of the bust, worth around VND500 million (US$23,500), was funded by hospital employees, doctors, and other donors.

Dr. Le Quang Thanh, director of the obstetrics infirmary, said the structure is put up to remind all physicians to always maintain ethical behaviors in taking care of patients.

The hospital is Vietnam’s top institution in terms of the birth of children and other reproductive matters.

Empress Dowager Tu Du, whose real name is Pham Thi Hang, was born in 1810.

She was the wife of King Thieu Tri, who ruled the Southeast Asian country from 1841 to 1847, and the mother of his successor, King Tu Duc, who ruled the country in the 1847-1883 period.

She was honored as a leading figure who devoted herself to the prosperity of the country and an exemplary mother of King Tu Duc.

Her virtue won the heart of Vietnamese people then, commanding the respect of the court and the love of her people during 78 years associated with the Nguyen Dynasty, Vietnam’s last monarchy (1802-1945).

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