Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Largest city in Vietnam

About Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon (from 1698 to 1976), is the most populous city and municipality of Vietnam, with a population of more than 14 million in 2025. Its geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigon River. As the largest financial centre in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City has the largest gross regional domestic product out of all Vietnamese provinces and municipalities, contributing around a quarter of the country's total GDP. It is the busiest international transport hub in Vietnam, with Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport accounting for nearly half of all international arrivals to Vietnam, and the Port of Saigon among the busiest container ports in Southeast Asia. Ho Chi Minh City has historic landmarks and modern landmarks, including the Independence Palace, Bitexco Financial Tower, Landmark 81 Tower, the War Remnants Museum, and Bến Thành Market. It is known for its alleys and nightlife, including the Phạm Ngũ Lão Ward and Bùi Viện street.

Etymology

The first known human habitation in the area was a Cham settlement called Baigaur. The Cambodians then took over the Cham village of Baigaur and renamed it Prey Nokôr (ព្រៃនគរ), a fishing village. Over time, under the control of the Vietnamese, it was officially renamed Gia Định (嘉定) in 1698, a name that was retained until the time of the French conquest in the 1860s, when it adopted the name Sài Gòn, francized as Saïgon, while the city was still indicated as 嘉定 on Vietnamese maps written in chữ Hán until at least 1891. An old name of Gia Định was Phan Yên 藩安, which was later glossed as Phiên An. The name Ho Chi Minh City was given after reunification in 1976 to honour the late Ho Chi Minh. The informal name of Sài Gòn remains in daily speech. …

History

The earliest settlement in the area was a Funan temple at the location of what later is the Phụng Sơn Buddhist temple, founded in the 4th century AD. A settlement called Baigaur was established on the site in the 11th century by the Champa. Baigaur was renamed Prey Nokor after conquest by the Khmer Empire around 1145, Prey Nokor grew on the site of a fishing village and area of forest. The first Vietnamese people crossed the sea to explore this land completely without the organisation of the Nguyễn Lords. Thanks to the marriage between Princess Nguyễn Phúc Ngọc Vạn – daughter of Lord Nguyễn Phúc Nguyên – and the King of Cambodia Chey Chettha II in 1620, the relationship between Vietnam and Cambodia became smooth, and the people of the two countries could freely move back and forth. In exchange, Chey Chettha II gifted Prei Nokor to the Nguyễn lords. …

Geography

The city is located in Southeast Vietnam. The average elevation is 5 m (16 ft) above sea level for the city centre and 16 m (52 ft) for the suburb areas. It borders the Tây Ninh province and Đồng Nai municipality to the north, Đồng Nai and Lâm Đồng province to the east, Tây Ninh to the west, and Đồng Tháp province and the South China Sea to the south with a coast 89 km (55 mi) long. The city covers an area of 6.772 km2 (2.615 sq mi) or 2% of the surface area of Vietnam, extending up to Minh Thạnh commune (20 km or 12 mi from the Memot in Cambodia) and down to Côn Đảo special administrative region. The municipality also extends far to the east to Bình Châu (110 km (68 mi) from the city center). Due to its location on the Mekong Delta, the city is fringed by tidal flats that have been modified for agriculture. …

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Culture

Locations for art in Ho Chi Minh City include Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts, and art galleries located on Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa street, Trần Phú street, and Bùi Viện street. Ho Chi Minh City has roadside restaurants, coffee shops, and food stalls where locals and tourists can use local cuisine and beverages. It is ranked in the top five best cities in the world for street food. As of 2005, Ho Chi Minh City was home to 91 association football fields, 86 swimming pools, and 256 gyms. The largest stadium in the city is the 15,000-seat Thống Nhất Stadium, located on Đào Duy Từ Street, Diên Hồng ward. The next largest is Military Region 7 Stadium, located near Tan Son Nhat Airport in Tân Sơn Hòa. The Military Region 7 Stadium was of the venues for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup finals. Phú Thọ Racecourse, another sporting venue established during colonial times, is the only racetrack in Vietnam. …

Economy

The city contains 20.2% of Vietnam's GDP, 27.9% of industrial output and 34.9% of the FDI projects in the country in 2005. In 2005, it had 4,344,000 labourers, of whom 130,000 are over the labour age norm (in Vietnam, 60 for male and 55 for female workers). In 2009, GDP per capita reached $2,800, compared to the country's average level of $1,042. Refer to the chart below for year-by-year summary of HCMC's economy: The city and its ports are part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region of Trieste with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe. As of June 2006, the city had three export processing zones and twelve industrial parks, in addition to Quang Trung Software Park and Ho Chi Minh City hi-tech park. Intel has invested about 1 billion dollars in a factory in the city. …

Tourism

Tourist attractions in the city may relate to periods of French colonisation and the Vietnam War. The city's centre has some American-style boulevards, and French colonial buildings. The majority of these tourist spots are located down town. Structures in the city centre include the Reunification Palace (Dinh Thống Nhất), City Hall (Ủy ban nhân dân Thành phố), Municipal Theatre (Nhà hát thành phố, also known as the Opera House), City Post Office (Bưu điện thành phố), State Bank Office (Ngân hàng Nhà nước), City People's Court (Tòa án nhân dân thành phố), and Notre-Dame Cathedral (Nhà thờ Đức Bà Sài Gòn), which was constructed between 1863 and 1880. Some of the historic hotels include the Hotel Majestic, dating from the French colonial era, and the Rex and Caravelle hotels, both of which are former hangouts for American officers and war correspondents in the 1960s & '70s. …

Ho Chi Minh City

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