The route, jointly organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs and Vietravel, featured a series of symbolic cultural sites that together tell part of the story of Ho Chi Minh City's formation and development.

Setting off from the Department of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Saigon Ward, the diplomats together for the first time walked to landmarks including the Independence Palace, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Central Post Office, the Opera House, the Ho Chi Minh Monument on Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street, and the city's International Friendship Monument at Bach Dang Wharf.

Along the way, participants learned about the history of these landmarks and the city's history while also observing local daily life firsthand.

They took part in interactive experiences such as writing and mailing postcards at the Central Post Office and enjoying Vietnamese coffee and cuisine at Trung Nguyen Legend Coffee World.

Pham Dut Diem, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs, said the program was launched to give the Consular Corps an opportunity to experience the city in a more immersive way, helping them gain a deeper understanding of its history, culture, hospitality, and open environment for international cooperation.

Werner Bardill, Consul General of Switzerland in Ho Chi Minh City and dean of the Consular Corps in Ho Chi Minh City, described the walking tour as an enjoyable experience that allowed him to rediscover the city's historic downtown.

"After four years living here, I had never walked around the city the way we did this morning. It was a wonderful way to rediscover all those historical buildings and to learn the stories behind some of them, and behind the history of Ho Chi Minh City as well,” Bardill told Tuoi Tre News.

“It is a very good way to get an idea of the daily life of people in Ho Chi Minh City, and to strengthen mutual understanding of culture and of the way people here are living."

Having arrived in Ho Chi Minh City just over a month ago, newly appointed Philippine Consul General Querobine Deapera Laccay said the program helped her better understand the city where she will work and live in the coming years, while also enabling her to quickly integrate into the Consular Corps.

“It gives us more information on the rich history of Ho Chi Minh City and of Vietnam in general,” she said.

Throughout the tour, Cuban Consul General Mauricio Alejandro Martínez Duque listened attentively to the guide's commentary on the city's history.

“For every Cuban, Ho Chi Minh City carries a deep historical bond,” he said.

“Not only because the city bears the name of the historic leader of the Vietnamese Revolution, but also because President Ho Chi Minh is a man we Cubans venerate and hold in high respect," he added.