On August 23, 1945, tens of thousands of Hue residents took to the streets in the uprising to seize power. The Thua Thien Hue Uprising Committee took control of colonial and puppet government offices within hours, without bloodshed.
On August 25, Emperor Bao Dai — the last emperor of the Nguyen dynasty — read his abdication edict at the Ngo Mon gate, handing over the imperial seal and sword to representatives of the Provisional Government. His words — "I prefer to be a citizen of a free country than the king of a slave nation" — became one of the most quoted phrases in modern Vietnamese history.
This event ended 143 years of Nguyen dynasty rule and over eighty years of French colonial dominance. Hue, capital of Vietnam's last feudal dynasty, witnessed the historic moment that heralded the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.