Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Ho Chi Minh City, commonly known as Saigon or by the abbreviation HCMC, is the largest city in Vietnam and was the capital of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam). As the throbbing commercial heart of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is always in a hurry, and the heat, noise and crowds can be overwhelming. But don't give up: Ho Chi Minh City rewards patient tourists with a fascinating glimpse of Vietnam--as it was, is, and will be.
Ho Chi Minh City's skyline is as busy as the streets below
Getting to Know Ho Chi Minh City
Geography and ClimateHo Chi Minh City is located in the southeastern region of Vietnam, 1,094 miles south of Hanoi. Just 63 feet above sea level, HCMC has a muggy, tropical climate with an average 75% humidity. Rainy season runs from May to late November, with December to April being the driest, coolest months.
The motorcycle is the preferred mode of transport in and around HCMC (flickr user androog)
Ho Chi Minh City began as a small fishing village called Prey Nokor, inhabited by Khmer people originally from what is now Cambodia. Over time, Vietnamese refugees fleeing civil wars elsewhere in Vietnam filled the region. By the end of the 17th century, under the Nguyen dynasty, Vietnam had completely absorbed Prey Nokor, which was by then known as Saigon.
The French arrived in 1859 and conquered Saigon and, later, the rest of Vietnam. With its wide boulevards and French-inspired architecture, Saigon became known as "the Pearl of the Far East" and "Paris in the Orient."
Not only a beautiful example of French colonial architecture, the interior of Notre Dame Cathedral is a place of calm in a busy city (flickr user Foraggio Fotographic)
Resentment against French colonial rule fueled the liberation movements led by Ho Chi Minh and others. In 1954 Ho Chi Minh's communist Viet Minh forces defeated the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, causing them to withdraw from Vietnam. Subsequently, Vietnam was partitioned into North and South Vietnam, with the government of the south--the Republic of Vietnam--based in Saigon. It wasn't long before bitter conflict engulfed the country.
On April 30, 1975, North Vietnamese troops captured Saigon, ending the Vietnam War. Following North Vietnam's victory, Vietnam was unified and the capital was moved to Hanoi. Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City to honor "Uncle Ho," the leader who led Vietnam to independence. Many Vietnamese, however, still call the city Saigon.
People
The Vietnamese people are known for their friendliness and hospitality (flickr user EverJean)
With 10 million inhabitants in the greater Ho Chi Minh City area, 7 million in the city itself, HCMC is the largest city in Vietnam and has about 7% of the total population of Vietnam. HCMC, the economic and financial hub of Vietnam, has attracted increasing numbers of immigrants from other Vietnamese provinces in recent years, and as a result its population is growing rapidly--about 200,000 people per year.
About 90% of the population is ethnic Vietnamese. Another 8% of Ho Chi Minh City's residents are Chinese and they make up the largest Chinatown in Vietnam and perhaps the world. The inhabitants of Ho Chi Minh City are known as "Saigonese" in English, "Saigonnais" in French and "dan Sai Gon" in Vietnamese.
About half of Vietnam's population of 87 million was born after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 (flickr user *etoile)
Most residents of Ho Chi Minh City are Buddhist or practice ancestor worship, but about 13% are Roman Catholic or Protestant--a legacy of French missionary work. Adherents of other faiths such as Islam and Hinduism are found in smaller numbers in Ho Chi Minh City.
Officially a socialist country, capitalism thrives in Vietnam, even amidst heavy traffic (flickr user Whitney Kidder-Alvarez)
Things to See in Ho Chi Minh City
- Reunification Palace, built between 1962 and 1966, is a frozen-in-time look at the home of the president of South Vietnam at the time Saigon fell to the North on April 30, 1975. A replica of tank #843, which crashed through the gates of the palace that day, now rests on the lawn outside. Be sure to check out the impressively kitschy recreation room, featuring a circular sofa, and the eerie basement, full of vintage 1960s phones, radios and office equipment, supposedly left exactly as they were found when the North took over. A film about the North's victory--heavy on the propaganda--runs continuously in various languages. Tours are available and free, but are not necessary. There is a nice café on the grounds outside the palace.
- War Remnants Museum: Formerly known as the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, the museum was opened just five months after the fall of the South. The original name of the museum gives an indication of its intent, so don't expect an evenhanded accounting of war crimes committed by both sides, but the museum also makes a strong call for peace. Outside, there are helicopters, jets, tanks and other bits of armament. Inside, the exhibitions, informative but sometimes graphic, will leave no doubt as to the human cost of war.
- City Hall: Built between 1902 and 1908 as the Hôtel de Ville, this striking cream and yellow French colonial building, now formally known as the People's Committee Hall, is beautifully floodlit at night.
- Notre Dame Cathedral: This neo-Romanesque edifice, a towering reminder of French rule, was built between 1877 and 1883 with imported bricks and stained glass from France. Note that it's open only on Sundays for services, which are in English and Vietnamese.
- Museum of Vietnamese History: The museum has a fine collection of Vietnamese antiquities, including the country's best collection of ceramics. There are also exhibits about ethnic groups in the south, as well as prehistoric artifacts. Rare for museums in Vietnam, some descriptions are in English. Outside, the Botanical Gardens are very nice and a good place for a cheap lunch away from the crowds. The zoo, unfortunately, is not worth visiting.
- Ho Chi Minh Museum: This museum, housed in a French colonial-era building on the Saigon River, tells the life story of the father of modern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh. The site is important as well for being the place where the young Ho Chi Minh first set sail for Europe in the early 20th century.
- Cholon ("Chinatown"): Ho Chi Minh City's Chinatown is perhaps the largest of its kind in the world. Take a few hours to stroll around the area, soaking in the atmosphere and noticing the details of this culture within a culture. Some of the temples found in this area are listed below.
Virtually unchanged since the day Saigon fell to North Vietnam, Reunification Palace is interesting both for its role in the war and as an example of 1960s architecture (flickr user foraggio)
Looking away from Reunification Palace, toward the famous gates through which tanks from the North Vietnamese army advanced on April 30, 1975 (flickr user banggigay)
A tank like this one helped secure the fall of Saigon and the reunification of Vietnam (flickr user SqueakyMarmot)
The City Hall building is an unmissable legacy of France's decades-long presence in Vietnam
Notre Dame Cathedral is another beautful addition to HCMC's architectural heritage (flickr user banggigay)
Chinese Temples
You'll be surrounded by pungent incense at any of HCMC's Chinese temples (flickr user foraggio)
- Jade Emperor Temple: Its colorful woodwork bathed in incense smoke, the Jade Emperor Temple is a standout among Chinese temples in Vietnam. The temple, built in 1909 by Cantonese Chinese, honors the Emperor of Jade, the "god of the heavens" in Taoist belief.
- Giac Lam Temple: North of Cholon, Giac Lam is the oldest Chinese temple in Ho Chi Minh City, built in 1744. The temple is an active pilgrimage site for the old and sick: pilgrims ring a large bronze bell to aid their petitions to the gods. Monks will, for a small fee, pray for loved ones as well. Don't miss the prayer sessions, held four times a day, featuring a mix of chanting, bells, gongs and drums.
- Chua Quan Am Temple: Another atmospheric Chinese temple, Quan Am was founded in 1816. The heavily gilded woodwork is beautifully carved, with some extraordinary roof decorations and gold-and-lacquer panels. No museum piece, Quan Am attracts a steady stream of worshippers, catered to by a team of monks. For a donation, the saffron-robed monks will show you around the temple.
- Thien Hau Temple ("The Lady Temple"): Built and rebuilt many times since its first construction in 940 A.D., the current incarnation of Thien Hau dates from 1900. The temple is dedicated to Lady Thien Hau, the sea goddess, who left two giant stone turtles to keep an eye on the temple in her absence. A festival is held in her honor on the 23rd day of the March lunar month. The elaborate gilded carvings and the beautiful incense coils hanging above the courtyard will be a highlight of your visit.
The incense coils at Thien Hau
Shopping
Traditional Vietnamese arts and crafts, or replicas thereof, are sold by dozens of shops around the central tourist district. The best and most expensive items can be mostly found in the Dong Khoi neighborhood; the goods tend to get progressively cheaper as you move west toward the Ben Thanh Central Market. A few shops have authentic woven silk textiles from indigenous tribes in the Sapa region in northern Vietnam. Lacquered paintings, plates, bowls and other handicrafts are quite striking and unique to Vietnam.
Markets
- Ben Thanh Market is the largest old-style market in the central district, with several hundred small stalls stuffed with goods on almost impassably narrow aisles. As a result of its popularity with tourists, the market is now divided about half and half between tourist goods (jeans, T-shirts, smaller souvenirs) and the stuff of regular life (fruit and vegetables, rice, kitchen wares, flowers, meat, fast food, and local-style pickled fruits and candies). Most items are not price-marked, and vendors always quote a 50-100% higher price to tourists vs. locals, so to save some money prepare to haggle!
- Night Market: Just outside Ben Thanh Market, the Night Market starts up when the Ben Thanh market closes at 5 p.m., with similar merchandise and food for sale.
- The War Surplus Market in Chinatown is sometimes called the American Market. Merchants sell old American military gear of indeterminate authenticity, cheap t-shirts, and electrical supplies.
Teeming with buyers and sellers, Ben Thanh market is well worth a visit for the cultural experience alone (flickr user sridgway)
Things to See Near Ho Chi Minh City
- Cu Chi Tunnels: About 40 miles northwest of Ho Chi Minh City, the Cu Chi Tunnels are an elaborate underground community made up of over 200 miles of tunnels and chambers below the city. The tunnels were dug with simple tools and bare hands in the 1940s, during the French occupation, and further expanded during the Vietnam War in the 1960s as a base for guerrilla operations against the Americans and South Vietnamese. Despite intensive American bombardments in the area, the people of Cu Chi were able to continue their lives beneath the soil, where they slept, ate, planned attacks, healed their sick, and taught their young. Some even wed and gave birth underground. Multiple agencies in Ho Chi Minh City offer tours to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Be prepared to get dirty if you want to crawl through the tunnels yourself!
- Mekong Delta: The Mekong Delta, known in Vietnamese as the "Nine Dragon River Delta," is the primary waterway of southern Vietnam and the center of the country's rice production. If you're seeking one of the iconic images of Vietnam-women in their conical hats tending emerald green rice paddies-you'll find it here. Boat tours are available with an almost infinite variety of itineraries: afternoon cruises, overnight trips, or 2-3 days tours, which can be particularly rewarding. It's even possible to sail to Phnom Penh in Cambodia.
- Vung Tau: With its beautiful beaches, fresh air and proximity to Saigon, Vung Tau is a very popular weekend destination. Vung Tau was also the site of one of the first battles between the Vietnamese and invading French in 1859, and later served as an in-country R&R destination for American soldiers during the Vietnam War.
- Mui Ne: Until 15 years ago a barely inhabited fishing village, Mui Ne is now a thriving resort community with some spectacular sand dunes and beaches.
The ingenious tunnels at Cu Chi are an engineering marvel and make for a fascinating visit (flickr user zongo69)
A woman from the Mekong Delta wearing a traditional "non la" hat (flickr user Maurice Koop)
Vietnamese families, not just foreign tourists, enjoy the beach at Vung Tau (flickr user *etoile)
Vietnam isn't all lush jungle and rice paddies: Mui Ne delights visitors with Sahara-like sand dunes as well as some beautiful beaches (flickr user Abulic Monkey)
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