The Thích Quảng Đức Monument stands at the intersection where the Buddhist monk self-immolated on 11 June 1963, in protest against the Diệm government's persecution of Buddhists. The act — and Malcolm Browne's photograph of it — shocked the world and contributed to the political crisis that led to the coup and assassination of President Diệm five months later.
The monument in the traffic island is a modernist lotus, with a statue of the monk in meditation pose at its centre. A preserved Austin Westminster car — identical to the one the monk arrived in — sits in a glass case nearby. The site is in District 3, a short taxi ride from the tourist centre. It's a sobering place to stand, knowing what happened here.