Bien Hoa is a city in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) east of Ho Chi Minh City, to which Bien Hoa is linked by Vietnam Highway 1. In 1989 the estimated population was over 300,000. Dong Nai is a province of Vietnam located east of Saigon. ... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ...

History

Bien Hoa grew into a major suburb of Saigon (later renamed Ho Chi Minh City) as the capital city of South Vietnam grew. Following the First Indochina War, tens of thousands of refugees from northern and central regions of Vietnam—a large portion of them Roman Catholics—resettled in Bien Hoa. Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam and, as Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn), was the capital of South Vietnam from 1954 to 1976. ... Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area  - Total  - % water 173,809km² N/A Population  - Total  - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ... The First Indochina War (also called the French Indochina War) was fought in Southeast Asia from 1946 through 1954 between the nation of France and the resistance movement led by Ho Chi Minh, called the Viet Minh. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

During the Vietnam War, the United States military operated a major combat air base in Bien Hoa. Nonetheless, a significant portion of the city's residents sympathized with or were members of the Viet Cong, and mortar attacks on U.S. and ARVN targets were frequently staged from residential districts in Bien Hoa. The Vietnam War or Second Indochina War (Vietnamese: known as the American War Chiến Tranh Chống Mỹ Cứu Nước, literally the War Against the Americans to Save the Nation) was a war between the governments of North and South Vietnam and their domestic and foreign political... A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ... The Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was a military component of the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam (commonly known as South Vietnam). ...

Like most other areas of Vietnam, post-war Bien Hoa suffered a period of severe economic decline between 1975 and the second half of the 1980s (see also the Fall of Saigon). In part because of its high concentration of former refugees and their descendants who had fled the Communist government of North Vietnam in the mid-1950s, Bien Hoa was the site of small-scale resistance to the Communist government in the months immediately following the fall of the Republic of Vietnam. The Fall of Saigon, (known also as the Liberation of Saigon) on April 30, 1975, saw the capture of the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon, by the North Vietnamese Army. ... The Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN) (Vietnamese: Việt Nam Dân Chủ Cá»™ng Hòa), also known as North Vietnam, was founded by Ho Chi Minh and was recognized by China and the USSR in 1950. ... National motto: ??? Official language Vietnamese Capital Saigon Last President Duong Van Minh Last Prime Minister Vu Van Mau Area  - Total  - % water 173,809km² N/A population  - Total  - Density 19,370,000 (1973 est. ...

In the 1980s, the Vietnamese government initiated the policy of doi moi and Bien Hoa experienced an economic resurgence. As the primary city of Dong Nai, Bien Hoa and surrounding areas received large amounts of foreign investment capital, and the area rapidly industrialized.

Present-day Bien Hoa

As of 2005, Bien Hoa is now an industrial center of southern Vietnam, and many factories and warehouses (often funded in collaboration with Japanese, Singaporean, American and other foreign investors) operate in the area surrounding the city. With regard to entertainment, the city includes several amusement parks, night clubs and restaurants lining the Dong Nai River. Construction has increased rapidly (with many Western-style houses and villas under development), and the real estate market has experienced a series of boom cycles since the mid-1990s. The retail market still includes the many ad hoc bazaar-type markets and shop-fronts common to most of Vietnam, but now also includes air-conditioned, enclosed shopping malls (one of which, "Big C," includes a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, a Western-style grocery store, a bowling alley and video arcade, among others), as well. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... Ferris wheel Amusement park is the more generic term for a collection of amusement rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a fairly large group of people. ... A nightclub (often dance club or club, particularly in the UK) is an entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. ... A typical restaurant in uptown Manhattan A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to be consumed on the premises. ... For the traditional meaning of the word mall, see mall. ... KFC, previously known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a division of Yum! Brands, Inc. ... Supermarket produce section A supermarket is a store that sells a wide variety of goods including food and alcohol, medicine, clothes, and other household products that are consumed regularly. ... Bowling ball and two pins Bowling can refer to two distinctly different types of game. ... A video arcade (known as an amusement arcade in the United Kingdom) is a place where people play arcade video games. ...