Looking at the overall exterior of the palace, it resembles the Chinese character "CÁT" (吉), meaning auspicious and lucky. The upper floor is the "Tứ phương vô sự" (四方無事) floor (i.e Peace on all sides floor) in the shape of the character "KHẨU" (⼝) to promote education and freedom of speech. The character "KHẨU" (⼝) has a flagpole in the middle, forming the character "TRUNG" (中), as if to remind people that democracy requires perseverance.

The horizontal line is created by the eaves of the "Tứ phương" floor, the honorary balcony, and the eaves of the entrance to the main hall, forming the character "TAM" (三). According to the concept of "dân chủ hữu tam" (民主有仨), meaning "benevolence, wisdom, and martial arts," a prosperous country needs people who possess all three elements. These three horizontal lines are connected to the vertical line to form the character "VƯƠNG" (王), with a flagstaff on top forming a dot, creating the character "CHỦ" (主), symbolizing the sovereignty of the country.

The front of the palace, the entire balcony of the second and third floors, combined with the eaves of the main entrance and two wooden-clad columns under the eaves, form the character "HƯNG" (興), wishing the country to prosper forever.

The beauty of the palace is also reflected in the stone curtain with the shape of elegant bamboo joints surrounding the second floor. The stone curtain is inspired by the palaces of the ancient capital of Hue, not only enhancing the beauty of the palace but also allowing sunlight from the outside into the palace.

The front yard of the palace is an oval-shaped lawn with a diameter of 102 meters. The green color of the lawn creates a soothing and refreshing feeling, adding to the overall landscape of the complex.

Running along the entire width of the grand hall is a crescent-shaped pond. Lotus flowers and water lilies are planted in the pond, reminiscent of the peaceful ponds of ancient Vietnamese temples and pagodas.

This is also one of the feng shui elements for the palace, because although the palace is magnificently built and uniquely arranged, when viewed from above, the ground plan of the palace resembles the character "CÁT" (吉), but in front of it, there is a road from the zoo that runs straight into the palace like an arrow (This is Le Duan Street today). This is a taboo in feng shui, so President Thieu also had iron fences placed permanently on the road and built a lawn and pond in front of the palace to improve the feng shui of the palace.

In addition to the above buildings, in the left corner of the palace on Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Street, there is also an octagonal house with a diameter of 4 meters, built on a high mound, with no walls, and an ancient curved tiled roof, serving as a place to relax and enjoy the cool air.