Vietnam marked the 50th anniversary of the end of what it calls the American War on Wednesday with a boisterous parade in Ho Chi Minh City featuring soldiers, dancers and speeches celebrating what the country’s communist leader called “a triumph of justice.”

The event brought tens if not hundreds of thousands, according to state media, including many who camped out overnight for the morning’s festivities.

“The atmosphere was very special,” said Nguyen Thi Song Anh, 18, who joined some 12th-grade classmates on a crowded sidewalk near the Opera House. “It was important for me to feel part of this country — and part of this history.”

The scenes of celebration, with a sea of red and yellow representing the flag of Vietnam in front of high-end French and American retailers, pointed to just how distant the final day of this country’s grueling war has become.

Ho Chi Minh City, also still known as Saigon, is now a vibrant metropolis of 9 million people, where skyscrapers shadow the handful of buildings with wartime history and the streets are filled with locally made electric vehicles and young people snapping selfies for Instagram.