For all the talk on fighting graft and economic reforms, few Vietnamese expect dramatic changes
The flags and banners festooning the streets of Hanoi have been taken down, and the special event centres dismantled.
Within just a couple of days of its conclusion, the physical signs of Vietnam's 10th Communist Party congress have all but vanished.
The lingering question is whether any of the agenda-setting decisions at the congress will have any lasting, tangible effects on the country's fortunes.
The congress offered several major themes, outlined repeatedly in officials' speeches: fighting corruption, continued economic reforms, and expanding democracy.
But little in the way of clear, new directions was made public at the congress, despite its role as the ruling communists' most prominent political event, officially setting the policy course and leadership for the next five years.
