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Gerneral Information

Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh is the largest city in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong River delta. Under the name Prey Nokor (Khmer: ), it was a hamlet of Cambodia before being annexed by the Vietnamese in the 16th century. Known as Saigon (Sài Gòn) until the end of the Vietnam War, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina, and later of the former state of South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. In 1975, Saigon was merged with the surrounding province of Gia Định and renamed Ho Chi Minh City (although the name Saigon is still frequently used).
The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 km from the South China Sea and 1760 km (1094 mi) south of Hanoi.
The metropolitan area which consists of Ho Chi Minh city metro area, Bien Hoa, Thu Dau Mot and surrounding towns has more than 9 million people,[citation needed] making it the largest metropolitan area in Vietnam and Indochina.
Ho Chi Minh City is growing at a fast rate and sets to an International city and hub of Southeast Asia by 2020.

After Prey Nokor was settled by Vietnamese migrating from the north, it became known as Sài Gòn. There is much debate about the origins of the Vietnamese name Saigon, the etymology of which is analyzed below.
Before French colonization, the Vietnamese name of Saigon was Gia Ðịnh. In 1862, the French discarded this official name and adopted "Saïgon", which had always been popular as Sài Gòn.
From an orthographic point of view, the Vietnamese name Sài Gòn is written in two words, which is the traditional convention in Vietnamese spelling. Some people, however, write the name of the city as SàiGòn or Sàigòn in order to save space or give it a more westernized look.
Facts about the Travel
location Ho Chi Minh City
date 19.07.2007-25.07.2007
country Vietnam, VN flag
traveled by plane
average temperature ~ 22-23°C
currency Vietnamese Dong (VND)
Inhabitants 6,239,938
language Vietnamese
Picturegallery go to the gallery
in combination with Asia 2007

History

Ho Chi Minh City began as a small fishing village known as Prey Nokor. The area that the city now occupies was originally swampland, and was inhabited by Khmer people for centuries before the arrival of the Vietnamese.
In 1623, King Chey Chettha II of Cambodia (1618-1628) allowed Vietnamese refugees fleeing the Trinh-Nguyen civil war in Vietnam to settle in the area of Prey Nokor, and to set up a custom house at Prey Nokor. Increasing waves of Vietnamese settlers, which the Cambodian kingdom, weakened because of war with Thailand, could not impede, slowly Vietnamized the area. In time, Prey Nokor became known as Saigon.
In 1698, Nguyen Huu Canh, a Vietnamese noble, was sent by the Nguyen rulers of Huế to establish Vietnamese administrative structures in the area, thus detaching the area from Cambodia, which was not strong enough to intervene. He is often credited with the expansion of Saigon into a significant settlement. A large Vauban citadel called Gia Dinh has been built, which was later destroyed by the French over the Battle of Chi Hoa.
Conquered by France in 1859, the city was influenced by the French during their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical Western-style buildings in the city reflect this, so much so that Saigon was called "the Pearl of the Far East" (Hòn ngọc Viễn Đông) or "Paris in the Orient" (Paris Phương Đông).
In 1954, the French were defeated by the Communist Viet Minh in the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ, and withdrew from Vietnam. Rather than recognizing the Communists as the new government, they gave their backing to a government established by Emperor Bảo Đại. Bảo Đại had set up Saigon as his capital in 1950. At that time Saigon and the city of Cholon (Chợ Lớn), which was inhabited primarily by Vietnamese Chinese, were combined into one administrative unit, called the Capital of Saigon (Đô Thành Sài Gòn in Vietnamese). When Vietnam was officially partitioned into North Vietnam (the Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (the Republic of Vietnam), the southern government, led by President Ngô Đình Diệm, retained Saigon as its capital.
At the conclusion of the Vietnam War, on April 30, 1975, the city came under the control of the Vietnam People's Army. In the U.S. this event is commonly called the "Fall of Saigon," while the communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam call it the "Liberation of Saigon."
In 1976, upon the establishment of the unified communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the city of Saigon (including Cholon), the province of Gia Ðịnh and 2 suburban districts of two other nearby provinces were combined to create Hồ Chí Minh City in honour of the late communist leader Hồ Chí Minh. The former name Saigon is still widely used by many Vietnamese, especially in informal contexts. Generally, the term Saigon refers only to the urban districts of Hồ Chí Minh City. The word "Saigon" can also be found on shop signs all over the country, even in Hanoi.
Today, the city's core is still adorned with wide elegant boulevards and historic French colonial buildings. The most prominent structures in the city center are Reunification Hall (Dinh Thống Nhất), City Hall (Uy ban Nhan dan Thanh pho), City Theater (Nha hat Thanh pho), City Post Office (Buu dien Thanh pho), Revolutionary Museum (Bao tang Cach mang), State Bank Office (Ngan hang Nha nuoc), City People's Court (Toa an Nhan dan Thanh pho) and Notre-Dame Cathedral (Nhà thờ Đức Bà).
Ho Chi Minh City is home to a well-established ethnic Chinese population. Cholon, now known as District 5 and the parts of Districts 6, 10 and 11, serves as its Chinatown.
With a population now exceeding 7 million (registered residents plus migrant workers), Ho Chi Minh City is in need of vast increase in public infrastructure. To meet this need, the city and central governments have embarked on an effort to develop new urban centers. The two most prominent projects are the Thu Thiem city center in District 2 and the Phu My Hung New City Center in District 7 (as part of the Saigon South project) where various international schools such as Saigon South International (The American School), the Japanese school, Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the Taiwan and Korea schools are located).



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Ho Chi Minh City Hall

Geography and Cimate

Ho Chi Minh City is located at 10°45'N, 106°40'E in the southeastern region of Vietnam, 1,760 km (1,094 miles) south of Hanoi. The average elevation is 19 meters (63 feet) above sea level. It borders Tay Ninh and Binh Duong provinces to the north, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces to the east, Long An Province to the west and the South China Sea to the south with a coast of 15 km in length. The city covers an area of 2,095 km² (809 sq. mi) (0.63% of the surface of Vietnam), extending up to Cu Chi (20 km from the Cambodian border), and down to Can Gio on the East Sea coast. The distance from the northernmost point (Phu My Hung Commune, Cu Chi District) to the southernmost one (Long Hoa Commune, Can Gio District) is 102 km, and from the easternmost point (Long Binh Ward, District Nine) to the westernmost one (Binh Chanh Commune, Binh Chanh District) is 47 km.
The city has a tropical climate, with an average humidity of 75%. A year is divided into 2 distinct seasons: The rainy season with an average rainfall of about 1,800 mm annually (about 150 rainy days per year), which usually begins in May and ends in late November. The dry season lasts from December to April. The average temperature is 28 °C (Celsius), the highest temperature sometimes reaches 39 °C around noon in late April, while the lowest may fall below 16 °C in the early mornings of late December.
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Entrance to the Fine Arts Museum

Economy

Ho Chi Minh City is the most important economic center in Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh city accounts for a big percentage of Vietnam's economy. Some 300,000 businesses, including many large enterprises, are involved in high-tech, electronic, processing and light industries, also in construction, building materials and agro-products. Investors are still pouring in money into the city.Currently, the city has 15 industrial parks (IP) and export-processing zones (EPZ), in addition to the Quang Trung Software Park and the Sai Gon Hi-tech Park (SHTP). Intel invested about 1 billion dollar factory in the city.There are 171 medium and large scale markets, tens of supermarket chains, dozens of luxury shopping malls and many modern fashion or beauty centers. There are many malls and shopping plazas developing in the city. Over 50 banks with hundreds of branches and about 20 insurance companies are situated inside the city. The first Stock Exchange of Vietnam was opened in the city in 2001 and is today one of Asia's best performing Stock Markets.

In 2005, the city's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was estimated at USD 11.6 billion, or about USD 1,850 per capita, (up 12.2% on 2004) and accounting for 20% GDP of the country. The GDP calculating Parity Purchasing Power method (PPP), attained USD 56 billion, or about USD 8,900 per capita (approximately 3.5 times higher than the country's average). The city's Industrial Product Value was USD 5.6 billion, equivalent to 30% of the whole nation. Export - Import Turnover through HCMC ports took USD 29 billion, or 40% of the national total. Ho Chi Minh City has also contributed about 30% to the national budget's revenue annually.
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Reunification Palace

Transportation

KVietnam Airlines is the national carrier of Vietnam. The airline currently operates a modern fleet of Western-built aircraft, including ATR72, Airbus 320 & 321, Boeing 777, Fokker 100's and the 787 in the near future. It operates over 20 domestic routes and to 39 international destinations. Vietnam's second airline, Pacific Airlines, is using a leased fleet of Boeing 737s and A320s. Tan Son Nhat International Airport, a joint civilian and military airport, is located 4 mi / 7 km north of the center (District 1) of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Taxi and bus services are available for travel to and from the airport and within the city. Because of the rapid growing number of air-passengers and Tan Son Nhat Airport's proximity to the center of the city, the Vietnamese Government has prepared to build a new international airport near Long Thanh Township, Dong Nai Province about 25 mi / 40 km to the northeast.

While most of the city's 11,000 taxis are metered and usually in good condition, not many drivers can speak English well. Some drivers refuse to use their meters in order to obtain a higher fare. Visitors should exercise vigilance when using motorcycle taxis (xe ôm) or three-wheeled cycle rickshaws (xích lô), as they may sometimes leave passengers vulnerable.
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(click on the image)
Generally speaking, Ho Chi Minh city's road system is not in good condition - some of its streets are riddled with potholes. This is especially true of the city's numerous back streets and alleyways, which are sometimes little more than dirt paths. Traveling by bus is the only public transport available although the city is seeking financing sources for implementing metro (subway) and elevated train projects, including the Ho Chi Minh City Metro planned for completion in 2020. Recently, the number of motorcycles has increased to about 3 million. There are also over 500,000 automobiles, packing the city's arterial roads and making traffic congestion and air pollution common problems. If Beijing is "the City of Bicycles", then Ho Chi Minh City may be called "the City of Motorbikes". Visitors shouldn't consider the city's streets as dangerous due to the motorists' general behaviour of dodging pedestrians. In general most people follow traffic rules and enforcement of traffic law is improving. However, drivers can still be seen driving the wrong way up a one way street or ignoring red lights.

The city is the main hub of the Trans-Vietnam Railroad. Passengers can travel to Hanoi and the Chinese border, about 1,212 mi/1,950 km to the north. There are many harbours along the Saigon and Dong Nai Rivers, such as: Saigon Port, Newport, Ben nghe Port and VICT Port. They account for the annual 40% export-import cargo output of Vietnam.

From Saigon, one can travel to many places in Southern Vietnam and to Cambodia by road or waterway. The city is linked to the Central Highlands by National Highways 14 and 20, to the Central Coast and the north by National Highway 1 and to the Mekong River Delta by National Highways 1 and 50. Two expressways are being built to connect HCMC to Can Tho, the capital of the Mekong River Delta, and to Dau Giay Township, Dong Nai Province, 70 km to the northeast.