In pictures: Celebrating reunification

Senior Vietnamese leaders attend a parade to commemorate the capture by communist forces in April 1975 of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City, as it is now officially known - a victory that signalled the end of the Vietnam War.

A giant portrait of communist leader Ho Chi Minh dominates the old South Vietnamese presidential palace

Below the portrait, soldiers march past the building that was stormed 25 years ago to the day

Female troops wear the clothes their mothers might have worn during the Vietnam war

Another flashback: A replica Viet Cong tank on a parade float passes through the palace gates

A traditional dragon dance adds colour and represents the city's ethnic-Chinese community

A more up-to-date picture, as Vietnamese troops parade the national flag

Women carrying placards of the flag pass the Reunification Palace, as the old presidential residence is now known

The celebrations are not only military, although original plans for civilian participation have been scaled down

Security precautions were also stepped up before and during the parade