and that soon is left in half an hour, but stay with us. our documentary takes a trip on the re unification. express and get non stay tuned or check us out online for warner analysis at dw dot com, the the innovation green trim the green revolution global. so listen to a whole lot of crime. it's probably up to speed. if the care we subscribe to those channels, we've got every friday. subscribe to plan. it's a good the looking at the

i love it every time i go to train and start, well the, it's 6 am in hanoi, the vietnamese capital, the,

the times of the daily flag raising on board in square the, the national anthem, place, and war veteran attend the ceremony the, the protracted war between what was the north and south vietnam and the subsequent unification of the country. deeply ingrained in the memories of the vietnamese. it was on this now historic square that revolutionary communist liter hope she meant proclaimed independence of the democratic republic. of vietnam in 1945. this mazda, liam, honoring the late president,

overlooked the square. but independence was not fully gained until the founding of the socialist republic of vietnam in 1976. at the end of what is known here as the american war. further east, at the heart of highways, old town, east, one team, lake nearly 50 years after the war ended. a lot of people have a positive outlook on the future. transportation infrastructure is struggling to keep pace with the countries rapid development, including both roads and railways. being across and guard isn't increasingly dangerous profession when tom long has overseen this crossing for 12 years, the of the he works

12 hour shift in a job with a lot of responsibility. human reliability. right. so when you work here, it becomes your life. paul, what are you doing in vietnam? we say you have to carry your faith with you the uh, the i was almost 30 when i started working here and i'd had a range of different jobs before the working here is my fake. what is the allow me to i roof, right. and i'm the logs mother was similarly destined to work for the railway. the highly confined surrounding mean the trains rattling through inevitably dictate the rhythm of locals lives, including new in town long. she was across and guard here herself for over 3

decades, and it has been living here just as long. and i believe in my community, i suppose it would be a good idea. it was my job to use the pulse of land and build a house for us to the railway, had no objection. and we're still here today. i'm going to do the my oldest son has also been living here for years, not waiting. and i want to ship this over long, takes his birth and walks the short distance along the tracks back home the it's now time for lunch with his wife, his children, and his mother. after sundown, there's a hardy, a range of food available in henry's old town. again, that means cuisine is extremely varied, especially here on tying in st. are also known as bierce street. it's

a hot spot among the noise evening revellers. the just to the cell is one team lake, the . 2 2 the system is about taking the train home the because not far from the lake is a noise main railway station. the ticket counter is in the main waiting hall tree and travel in vietnam is

straightforward. we have tickets for the s t one at 1015. the saigon express number one, the yeah, the call and told me that though the vietnam's rail network was built during the french colonial period and has played a prominent role in the country's history recounted to us by trends on barn one ticket to come to the station he's a frequent traveler on this train. the railways are an important symbol for the 79 year old war veterans. the are trained the parts on time the,

the journey will take us from north to south in this thing, coastal country and will last over 32 hours the, our route will take us right past the south china sea. the our journey will cross almost the entire length of vietnam around 1700 kilometers from handling to hope. schumann city previously known as psych on what our train we'll 1st take us past or rather special kind of attraction don towel or railway street where and when one wheeling runs, one of the many cafe is lining the train travelling made themselves restaurants

here used to use waiters who would hop across the tracks to serve customers. a perilous practice that is now prohibited that is already sold because i'm, you know, you. so when you left the pharmacy, there are few, a trains now. they used to come almost every hour. the schedule dictates my life and my child under provide exams or name example is that he's been seeing the trains passed by you for a to say call no problem. we he and there's no danger. now we haven't seen the tourist so safe to that or if you don't because the cafe own is all responsible for damage from gland new because i keep not about that. i'm foreigners. okay. the thrill seeking torres are good business for land. the north south line was built to be the backbone of the car, treat which as our train driver 1000000 queen,

queen knows, also led to its repeated destruction. the route was again complete one year after the reunification of vietnam, the since the liberation of south vietnam. and the reunification of the country trains have resumed from illinois to sy gone and brought citizens from both parts of the country closer together with each reunification express, we bring people from the north to the south and vice versa. the it's a train that is a symbol and physical manifestation of the countries reunification. a train of

national reconciliation of a people once bitterly divided half a century later. it's a scenario that's hard to imagine. the train is a comfortable ride for nighttime travelers. and it's quiet enough for us to visit trends on bon, he's compartment to join the communist viet cong forces based in the north of the country in 1967 the, the 9th. and really my uncle of my family received 4 notifications of my death of those 9 was 919681970197219745 redeem and almost 9991 that came down. so not just one, but 4 times like really no more. 19 dumb,

laid me high level that could come with me. the don i can imagine it was a huge surprise for my family when i came home. so i knew like nothing about that monday. yeah. not the i've been declared dead for times and still came back alive. one word and the lady told me no. not really. that was helpful. that man's mother had even built an altar for her son. it stood in her home for 8 years until bon returned home in 1976. she removed the altar himself. bonn has since devoted his life to searching for the remains of fallen soldiers. the next morning we visit the vine law nature reserve near noon bed.

where we joined taylor knob, the german biologist came to vietnam in the early 1990 and has since dedicated his life to the conservation of a rare prime in the she found that the 1st wildlife sanctuary of its kind in the indo china region in 1993, the sanctuary gives animals freed from poachers a new home. one of these primaries focuses is della corps langers, a critically ending injured species of monkey? i know the ask not soon. this was right at the start of like a gift from god, and we were able to see the 2 of these animals from poachers. lock known from it, gone to a 100 and the endangered primate rescue center was born. zillow was

a director for 25 years g and the local conservationists played a big part in ensuring that primate like the dell, of course, lingers, have survived into the new millennium. the aim is for the animals to one day, the return to the wild. the company too low as he makes his way to the john unesco world heritage site into an island where the now 82 year old once released a number of them onto the the lenders with white pants as they're also called have seen their numbers right back up to around 200. that's to you. it's not dollars either. all right, me is of course to build up a viable population. but that kind of thing is going to take several decades, e mail, the y'all tend to bat,

unquote. the bible population means between 500000 dynamo slice 1000 t on and it takes a lot of time for a population of that size to build up for that. so in the ask about the back aboard the reunification expressed a new day dawns and it's breakfast time. the passengers are served in their seats. a coffee and the traditional morning suit, the almost 80 percent of the strategically important railway line was destroyed during

the vietnam war. of the $1300.00 or so bridges an estimated $1000.00 were reduced to ruins. although for trends on the loss of soldiers lives was far worse news happening. now, we knew that a lot of us would end up dead. we dug graves for ourselves. for each battle, we'd gather together and promised that after the liberation the survivors would bring the bodies of the men who died back to their mother's check. the last half hour. ben took his 1st ever trip on the train. in 1978, he dug up the remains of 34 conrad and delivered their death certificates to their families in person, the fighting was

especially fierce in the province of crunchy. the 17th parallel roughly coincided with the border that had been drawn up between north and south vietnam after the departure of french colonial forces in 1954. the area would later be witness to some of the bloody as battles of the war with memorials now honoring the casualties. such as this one in what was then north vietnam. we follow ban on this bridge across the 10 long river, until 1975 part of the border between north vietnam and the us back south. this monument commemorates the separation of families. the the phones as the bridge is a reconstruction of the original which was destroyed by an american air strike in 1972. he has long forgotten the border. he has originally from the north, the married woman from the south, where she now lives in his search for the remains of fallen. soldiers

continues to this day regardless of where they fought for the whole night. but when i looked of it they, they need not picture day across this bridge. i mean, not as a soldier, what well, thinking about the reconstruction of our country and how to feel the wounds caused by the war that can get the community. they need even more than that, but until you get 9 bon has commuted between the north and south and vietnam over 40 times on the re unification. express the journey progresses. further south, past the farms and fields that dominate the countries landscape. about 700 kilometers later, we arrive in the way, the

way was the capital of vietnam during the wind dynasty, from 18 o 2 to 1945. 1 physical legacy of the period is the citadel. the police shall residents of the royal family. of course etiquette and ceremonial customs such as music and dance, were very important to the emperors. the year granted backstage access to the royal ballet of when the dancers are preparing for performance. the enemy's court music dates back to

the 13th century. what it was during the later and when dynasty that it reached its pinnacle with the music serving to demonstrate the emperor's power and longevity, the one frequently performed dance as a new comb pond on the new cool want done is based on buddhist traditions. it senses on the custom of praying 6 times with each prayer accompanied by a symbolic offering to put in sudden flowers, the fruit food. i'm loving ton. the dogs was laced to expanded and would often be performed to mock the 1st day of the emperor his mother. and in this orchestra, the drum, please, a pivotal part. the

word music was seen as an expression of reverence towards the emperor's and god like the uses like this one are now also performed at festival in 2003 be enemies. courtney's that was recognized by unesco as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. way lies on the long john or perfume river and right next door is the dawn ball market. the

market opened in 18. $99.00 and the countless stalls here mostly run by women, hawk, all sorts of 2 sons as fresh as they come. the, the market attracts 7000 visitors daily. many of them on mo, pets is no time for us to return to the railway station, which also has a spacious waiting room the shortly before departure. the doors to the platform opened. tickets are digital, the

lunch time is now approaching the or when crying, he is happy to be filmed while he cut the . he's been serving passengers on the reunification express for 10 years. his hobby traveling, of course, the

content with his job the the work isn't terribly hard. i cook for an average of 100 to 120 people a day. the job earns be enough to support my family. sometimes the meals are freshly prepared and delivered to passenger compartment. the conductor, my tongue is serving. she also sees the re unification expressed as symbolic

of our way by and i'd be working for the round road for 17 years now. working on the re unification. express is really interesting because you get to meet people and see a lot of different places compared to other jobs. it's a real pleasure to walk. you know, we have don, call hi, in central vietnam is the next highlight. the, the at 17 meters mom. it's the largest fresh water lagoon in south east asia. the majority of people in vietnam do not adhere to one belief system. they tend to follow one or several folk religion or an amalgamation of classical

fates the today, we will see the tapping out ceremony for this house to face with construction work basically complete the the ceremony is conducted by a monk. the, the, the ground floor will host the cafe. while the stories higher up are still being finished. the, i don't know why they didn't know that now. and then i'll be in the muse custom to

celebrate a new building being constructed. the prayers are for our ancestors. while for monday, the ceremony is to bring good luck to the owner to drive away evil and protect against unemployment. it's a really old vietnamese custom. hi, i'm distributing money is also part of the ceremony. a high before the earthly well is consigned to a fire and offering to those in the after life the

the most spectacular section of our journey aboard the reunification express is now beginning. the train passes beneath the del hives on the ocean, cloud passed the the trains have to set off from emily at night to allow passengers to appreciate this stretch. during daylight, the

many passengers take the train just because of the breathtaking. the going by train is safe and cheaper than by call. last, i wanted to see the scenery that the count passed. i am the i have on the there's a motion. mountains constitute a kind of media or a logical border between north and south vietnam. a top tours destination and paradise for bikers.

the ocean cloud path rises almost 500 meters from sea level the the we reach our next stop, a few kilometers from the top of the past. the don on is a terminus station. so the engine has to be coupled onto the other end of the train,

the which gives us a brief opportunity to look around. the coastal city with a population of around a 1000000 downtown is fame towards beaches. the 1st to us combat troops landed nearby during the vietnam war, the, the american set up a vital error base and on which subsequently grew to become one of the biggest cities in south vietnam the a few kilometers further south. we visit jolla. the old town enjoyed the rear feet of not being destroyed during the vietnam war.

and today, both moscow world heritage status. before our train journey continues, we've arranged to meet someone outside town out on the tube on river, who tries to attract fish by hitting an or against his boat. he's always lived here and has mastered the art of coaxing his prey towards his round basket boat. the mad arrow music, i really don't, i'll be looking at how we do that dean told me to go back and notate that i was 9 when i learned how to swim. and i've been working on the water ever since a have them made up a black. oh yeah, i've never done anything else. so it doesn't come with i'm when i go out in this round boat and every day i manage to catch a few kilos or fish. when i they, they the labels up and gave me the number again. today as i'm sort,

showing an exception for the 62 year old, the perhaps tomorrow's hall will be better of the eventually turned to the station and down up the reunification express. that's off once again in the afternoon. since the narrow tracks were built by the french, the train is often called the t g. v. after the same as high speed french train

around the corner of the 1300 preachers are in need of renovation. the night to send early and swiftly in vietnam, we now get ready for our 2nd night aboard the train passengers used to be able to take a little detour here up to the lot at an altitude, almost 1500 meters. this delightful little station was built by the french in 1938 with touches of art deco style. the

railway was attacked by the via con, during the vietnam war. the route was discontinued in 1968, a short torres service was liter introduced. featuring this stream local notice the we meet and when due to behind the station, he was a driver during the war. ducking slater in the early 19 ninety's. he drove the called railway train and remained at the controls right up to his end. the idol might look quickly. well, not in billing set them. i was the last id mentioned driver for the old railway. and i don't, i was really sad when i had to stop in 2016 trees on the like the look through was i don't lie and that know this local motive was my place of work. and i have very fond memories of it. while i mean when it feels like an old friend,

i really miss it. i'm literally like by and then i knew that the temperate climate was one reason why the french founded the town of the building, a range of hotels and other buildings. the railway reach still not in 1932, which was eventually dog, little paris. the city is now home to over 200000 people. the then take a different kind of trip with the easy riders motorcycle club. the members have been hitting the road together in the area around a lot for over a quarter of a century. there i generate includes multi day tours and day trips for the club was not originally founded for the sheer joy of motorcycle. and it was more out of

necessity with members turning a hobby into an occupation as 73 year old. tom explained the new things on google. yeah. go to the number. so number 2 in december 11th after reunification, older people have difficulty finding a job. what note on disney movies, a new wise man we started showing for and visitors around the area really newly of english wasn't commonly spoken back then. and then what it is, but a lot of our members could turn in. uh, they were teachers, professors, or army officers. we also, are you talking to you got a new the c one who after a short ride, they show us a popular local attraction. the area around the lot is known for its waterfall and he visit one in number is named after a supposedly elephant like rock at the water's edge. although we were unable to

start at the 30 meters high, it's one of the most frequently visited water falls in the area the we're now back on board the reunification express for the final leg on our journey and the early hours. just a few kilometers to go until we reach coach human city. our 2nd morning on the train, the wind t hi is old enough to remember when it wasn't possible to take the train from north to south. boy, it's great to see our country unified. whenever i take this train now i no longer notice any differences between the newest himself. that's why i love writing on

this train on that. it's 6 30 am as we pull into hope, she meant city station. the, the, the re unification express arrives just 20 minutes behind schedule. despite having traveled 1700 kilometers, the train is not only a symbol of the countries, unity is also brought people from the to one hostile parts of the country a little bit closer. while making a small contribution to the reconciliation of north and south vietnam, the tiger on signs still adorns the station. people haven't necessarily gotten used to the new name pushing in city the central post office and it's beryl bolton,

main hall, are yet another reminder of the french colonial period. a portrait of the communist leader, who would she meant towers over the hall? saigon was re named after him in 1976, following the defeat of south vietnam. amid the hustle and bustle, vietnam's biggest city with 9000000 inhabitants, people often seek refuge from the daily grind by visiting a po to read it to accompany new n t k. yet, as she goes inside the body and how to go to she lights incense to mark the start of her visit the

after prayers. the 47 year old buys a piece of paper where she writes down her name and her wishes. and she then hands over the know which is hung up on a spiral ornament. confident that her prayers will be answered. all of this is part of the ceremony in which prayers do not just focus on the wellbeing of the individual and their loved ones. not too much at the time the night is that and you maintain the minimum, every one in my family is healthy, but i still go to the pagoda to pray for a peaceful life. and for korea successful, i have a couple of college jobs. in addition to my main profession payment from the past

and i want to move to go well. so i want my children to do well at school. i just pray for everything to be. all right, we're going to go after the ceremony, pagan by some song, birds which show release again shortly afterward. the another ritual that's part of visiting the pagoda, setting the birds free as an offering and is supposed to create positive thoughts. deliver ation of the animals is also meant to generate good karma, the an endearing custom to round off or in lightning journey across vietnam. the

the, the in good shape when i'm preventative health care to huntington doctor visits, checkups lifestyle change. why do men take stops? poor care of themselves. easy fix, change in good shape. in 30 minutes on the w, india,

50 or 60 percent of the photos weren't way to haven't gone. and that will come in. and this has happened in the last decade. this is not very long the, even in our life go paste n g o is helping to protect endangered marine and fire. and that's how the, how the eco indian in 90 minutes on the w, the cars, he's got issues with a lot say well crazy. the,

the you're watching the to the news coming to live from berlin. international pressure mounts on israel over it's for and gaza to army officers are dismissed over the death of aid workers and drug strikes earlier this week. israel says it's the troops thought terrorists were firing up from the 8 convoy also coming up on our show today dw news fall is rescue workers and tie one after the islands and jeff, the state in earthquake, the gorge behind us at the entrance to, to rudco and national park, this bridge is as far as john this are allowed to go right now because rescue operations are still under way.