About 1,200 students in Hanoi took part in the raising of the biggest ever Party flag and the biggest ever national flag at the My Dinh national stadium to celebrate Vietnam's 60th National Day.

After a ceremony to salute the flags, the flags were lifted at the height of 50 metres by two balloons with the help of hundreds of students from the Foreign Trade University.

Both the Party's red flag, with a hammer and a sickle at the centre, which reflects the peasant-worker alliance, and the national flag, with a five-pointed yellow star in the centre which represents farmers, workers, youths, intellectuals and soldiers, are measured 60m in width and 30m in length each. The measurements of the flags represent the greatness of the nation's celebration in 2005.

The width of the flags indicates the 60th founding anniversary of the August Revolution, which liberated the Vietnamese people from the yoke of colonialism. The length of the flag symbolises the 30th anniversary of national reunification. The total area of each flag, which is 1,800 sq. m., represents the 18 kings who founded the ancient nation of Vietnam.

The flags will fly at the stadium until September 3 and will then be transferred to the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and the Vietnam Students' Association. (VNA)