What it's known for
Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam's most populous city and its biggest financial centre. It was the capital of French Cochinchina from 1862 to 1949 and later of South Vietnam, until its capture on 30 April 1975 ended the Vietnam War.
Ho Chi Minh City
City in VietnamRivers and canals cross Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam, the largest being the Saigon River. The city lies on the Mekong Delta, and its land reaches south to a coast on the South China Sea.
Fun facts
- In July 1976, after Vietnam was reunified, Saigon and nearby areas were combined into a new city named in honour of the late leader Ho Chi Minh.
- Around 1145, after the Khmer Empire conquered the area, the settlement was called Prey Nokor.
- In colonial times Saigon was nicknamed the 'Pearl of the Orient', and the French built landmarks such as Bến Thành Market and Notre-Dame Cathedral.
Finding it on the globe
In the south of Vietnam's long S-shape, find the Mekong Delta: Ho Chi Minh City is at its north-eastern edge, about 200 km east-south-east of Phnom Penh.
Easy to mix up
Saigon and Ho Chi Minh City are the same place, and people still say Sài Gòn in daily speech. Vietnam's capital is Hanoi, about 1,140 km to the north.
Sources: Wikipedia: Ho Chi Minh City, Wikipedia: List of national capitals