Ho Chi Minh City Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh Formerly Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn)
Coordinates: 10°45′N 106°40′E / 10.75, 106.667
Country	Vietnam
Founded	1698
Renamed	1976
Government
- Type	Municipality
- People's Committee Chairman:	Lê Hoàng Quân
- CPV HCMC Committee Secretary:	Lê Thanh Hải
- People's Council Chairwoman:	Phạm Phương Thảo
Area
- Total	808.9 sq mi (2,095 km²)
Elevation	63 ft (19 m)
Population (Mid-2006)
- Total	6,424,519
- Density	7,943/sq mi (3,067/km²)
Area code(s)	+84 (8)
Website: http://www.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/

Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh pronunciation (help· info) ) is the largest city in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong Delta. Under the name, Prey Nokor (Khmer: ), it was the main port of Cambodia, before being annexed by the Vietnamese in the 17th century. Under the name Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn; pronunciation (help· info)), it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchina, and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. In 1975, Saigon was merged with the surrounding province of Gia Định and renamed Hồ Chí Minh City (although the name Sài Gòn is still frequently used, particularly by its citizens.^[1]) Saigon can refer to: Ho Chi Minh City, formerly called Saigon, a city in Vietnam. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... This article is about the physical quantity. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... Elevation histogram of the surface of the Earth – approximately 71% of the Earths surface is covered with water. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... Population density per square kilometre by country, 2006 Population density map of the world in 1994. ... A telephone numbering plan is a plan for allocating telephone number ranges to countries, regions, areas and exchanges and to non-fixed telephone networks such as mobile phone networks. ... Image File history File links Thanh_Pho_Ho_Chi_Minh. ... For other uses, see City (disambiguation). ... Mekong River Delta from space, February 1996 Mekong Delta, February 2005. ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... File links The following pages link to this file: Ho Chi Minh City Categories: GFDL images ... Image File history File links Saigon. ... Not to be confused with capitol. ... Cochinchina, from Cochin-China (see note below) (known locally as Nam Kỳ, meaning southern region), in French: Cochinchine) is a name used for various southern regions of Vietnam. ... Anthem Thanh niên Hành Khúc (Call to the Citizens) Capital Saigon Language(s) Vietnamese Government Republic Last President¹ Duong Van Minh Last Prime minister Vu Van Mau Historical era Cold War  - Regime change June 14, 1955  - Dissolution April 30, 1975 Area  - 1973 173,809 km² 67,108...

The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the South China Sea ^[2] and 1,760 kilometers (1,094 mi) south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Saigon River, a name taken from a Vietnamese Song Sai Gon is a river located in southern Vietnam that rises near Phum Daung, southeastern Cambodia, and flows south and south-southeast for about 140 miles (225 km) to the Mekong Delta. ... Filipino name Tagalog: Timog Dagat Tsina (Dagat Luzon for the portion within Philippine waters) Malay name Malay: Laut China Selatan Portuguese name Portuguese: Mar da China Meridional Vietnamese name Vietnamese: The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ... Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Ná»™i, Hán Tá»±: 河内)  , estimated population 3,145,300 (2005), is the capital of Vietnam. ...

The metropolitan area, which consists of Hồ Chí Minh City metro area, Thủ Dầu Một, Di An, Bien Hoa and surrounding towns, has more than 9 million people,^[3] making it the largest metropolitan area in Vietnam and Indochina. Thu Dau Mot   is a capital city of Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. ... Di An is a town in southern Vietnam, about 20 km north of Ho Chi Minh City. ... 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. ... Indochina 1886 Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ...

Origin of the name

Original Khmer name

The city was known by its original Khmer inhabitants as Prey Nokor ( ). Prey Nokor means “god”, or “heavenly” in Khmer (Prey = “god”; Nokor = “empire,city”, from Sanskrit nagara). The name Prey Nokor is still the name used in Cambodia as of 2007, as well as the name used by the Khmer Krom minority living in the delta of the Mekong. File links The following pages link to this file: Ho Chi Minh City Categories: GFDL images ... Note: This page or section contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ... Sanskrit ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... The Khmer Krom (Khmer: ) are the indigenous ethnic Khmer minority living in southern Vietnam, especially in the Mekong River delta. ...

Dr. Keng, Vansak, a famous French-educated Cambodian currently living in France, describes that the original word of Prey Nokor is Prey Kor. Prey means Forest (all Cambodian people recognize the word Prey as Forest only, not God) and Kor is a kind of tree that its fruits can be produced cotton product. Prey Kor became Prey Nokor because the Khmer ethnic people want to refer to the place as a city; Nokor means City.^{[original research?]}

Traditional Vietnamese name

After Prey Nokor was settled by Vietnamese refugees from the north, in time it became known as Sài Gòn. There is much debate about the origins of the Vietnamese name, Sài Gòn, whose etymology is analyzed below.

It should be noted, however, that before the French colonization, the official Vietnamese name of Saigon was Gia Định (chu nom: 嘉定). In 1862, the French discarded this official name and adopted the name "Saigon", which had always been the popular name. The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ...

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.

Sino-Vietnamese etymology

A frequently heard, and reasonable, explanation is that Sài is a Chinese loan word (Chinese: 柴, pronounced chái in Mandarin) meaning “firewood, lops, twigs; palisade”, while Gòn is another Chinese loan word (Chinese: 棍, pronounced gùn in Mandarin) meaning “stick, pole, bole”, and whose meaning evolved into “cotton” in Vietnamese (bông gòn, literally “cotton stick”, i.e. “cotton plant”, then shortened to gòn).^[4] Map of eastern China and Taiwan, showing the historic distribution of Mandarin Chinese in light brown. ...

Some people say that this name originated from the many cotton plants that the Khmer people had planted around Prey Nokor, and which can still be seen at Cây Mai temple and surrounding areas.^[4]. The Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 13. ...

Another explanation is that the etymological meaning “twigs” (sài) and “boles” (gòn) refers to the dense and tall forest that once existed around the city, a forest to which the Khmer name, Prey Nokor, already referred.

Chinese people in Vietnam and in China do not use the name 柴棍; (pronounced Chaai-Gwan in Cantonese and Cháigùn in Mandarin), although etymologically speaking it is the Chinese name from which the Vietnamese name, Sài Gòn, is derived (if the theory here is correct). Instead, they call the city 西貢; (pronounced Sai-Gung in Cantonese and Xīgòng in Mandarin), which is a mere phonetic transliteration of the name, “Saigon”. This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... Map of eastern China and Taiwan, showing the historic distribution of Mandarin Chinese in light brown. ... Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ...

Khmer etymology

Chau Van Diep Street Market

Another etymology often proposed, although held now as a least likely etymology, is that “Saigon” comes from “Sai Con”, which would be the transliteration of the Khmer word, prey kor ( ), meaning “god or heavenly” . Nokor is a Khmer word of Sanskrit origin meaning "city, land"). Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixels, file size: 298 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1024 × 768 pixels, file size: 298 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ... File links The following pages link to this file: Ho Chi Minh City Categories: GFDL images ...

This Khmer etymology theory is quite interesting given the Khmer context that existed when the first Vietnamese settlers arrived in the region. However, it fails to completely explain how Khmer "prey" led to Vietnamese "Sài", since these two syllables appear phonetically quite distinct and as the least reasonable and least likely candidate from the khmer etymology.

Cantonese etymology

Another reasonable etymology was offered by Vương Hồng Sển, a Vietnamese scholar in the early 20th century, who asserted that Sài Gòn had its origins in the Cantonese name of Cholon (Vietnamese: quoc ngu Chợ Lớn; chu nom ) , the Chinese district of Saigon. The Cantonese (and original) name of Cholon is "Tai-Ngon" (堤岸), which means "embankment" (French: quais). The theory posits that "Sài Gòn" derives from "Tai-Ngon". This article is about all of the Cantonese (Yue) dialects. ... Cholon (Vietnamese: quoc ngu ; chu nom ) is the name of the Chinese district of Ho Chi Minh City (the former Saigon), the largest such Chinatown district in Vietnam. ... The Vietnamese alphabet (quốc ngữ or national script) is the current writing system for the national language of Vietnam. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... File links The following pages link to this file: Ho Chi Minh City Cholon, Ho Chi Minh City Categories: GFDL images ...

Current Vietnamese name

On May 1, 1975, after the fall of South Vietnam, the now ruling communist government renamed the city after the alias of their leader, Ho Chi Minh (chu nom: 胡志明). The official name is now Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh (Thành phố means "city"), often abbreviated TPHCM. In English, this is translated as Ho Chi Minh City, abbreviated HCMC, and in French it is translated as Hô Chi Minh Ville (the circumflex is sometimes omitted), abbreviated HCMV. Still, the old name Sài Gòn/Saigon is widely used by Vietnamese and is found in company names, book titles and sometimes on airport departure boards (the code for Tan Son Nhat International Airport is SGN). The district 1 (downtown) is still called Saigon. The name Saigon is extremely popular among Vietnamese communities overseas. They use Saigon, instead of Ho Chi Minh City, as a political point against the current communist government. Anthem Thanh niên Hành Khúc (Call to the Citizens) Capital Saigon Language(s) Vietnamese Government Republic Last President¹ Duong Van Minh Last Prime minister Vu Van Mau Historical era Cold War  - Regime change June 14, 1955  - Dissolution April 30, 1975 Area  - 1973 173,809 km² 67,108... Geographical renaming is the act of changing the name of a geographical feature or area. ... For other uses, see Alias. ... For the city named after him, see Ho Chi Minh City. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... The circumflex ( ˆ ) (often called a caret, a hat or an uppen) is a diacritic mark used in written Greek, French, Dutch, Esperanto, Norwegian, Romanian, Slovak, Vietnamese, Japanese romaji, Welsh, Portuguese, Italian, Afrikaans and other languages, and formerly in Turkish [citation needed]. It received its English name from Latin circumflexus (bent... See Tan Son Nhut Air Base for a description of the airfield while operated as a military airfield by the USAF and VNAF. Tân SÆ¡n Nhất International Airport (IATA: SGN, ICAO: VVTS), Vietnams largest international airport in terms of area (800 ha compared with 650 ha...

History

Early 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. It should be noted that in Khmer folklore that Southern Vietnam was given to the Vietnamese government as a dowry for the marriage of a Vietnamese princess to a Khmer prince in order to stop constant invasions and pillaging of Khmer villages. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 13. ...

Khmer rule

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. Chey Chettah II is a betrayed man to his own country (Cambodia) allowing Vietnam to steal Prey Nokor (Ho Chi Minh city). ... Custom House is an area of the London Borough of Newham. ...

Nguyen dynasty rule

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. Huế (順化 in Chinese characters) is a city in Vietnam. ... Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban (May 15, 1633 - March 30, 1707), commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and in breaking through them. ... Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành Chí Minh) is the largest city in Vietnam, located near the delta of the Mekong River. ...

Colonial French era

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).^[5] For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. ...

Capital of South Vietnam

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. The Viet Minh (abbreviated from Việt Nam ộc Lập ồng Minh Hội, League for the Independence of Vietnam) was formed by Ho Ngoc Lam and Nguyen Hai Than in 1941 to seek independence for Vietnam from France. ... Combatants French Union France State of Vietnam Hmong mercenaries Viet Minh Commanders Christian de Castries # Pierre Langlais # René Cogny Vo Nguyen Giap Strength As of March 13: 10,800[1] As of March 13: 48,000 combat personnel, 15,000 logistical support personnel[2] Casualties 2,293 dead, 5,195... Emperor Bao Dai Bảo Đại (保大帝、22 October 1913 – 30 July 1997) was the last Emperor of Vietnam, the 13th and last Emperor of the Nguyá»…n Dynasty. ... Quan Am Pagoda, a famous Chinese temple in Cholon Cholon (Vietnamese: quoc ngu ; chu nom ) is the name of the Chinese district of Ho Chi Minh City (the former Saigon), the largest such Chinatown district in Vietnam. ... Anthem Tiến Quân Ca (Army March) Location of North Vietnam Capital Hanoi Language(s) Vietnamese Government Socialist republic First president Ho Chi Minh Historical era Cold War  - Independence proclaimed (from Japan) September 2, 1945  - Recognized 1954  - Disestablished July 2, 1976 Area 157,880 km² Population  -  est. ... Anthem Thanh niên Hành Khúc (Call to the Citizens) Capital Saigon Language(s) Vietnamese Government Republic Last President¹ Duong Van Minh Last Prime minister Vu Van Mau Historical era Cold War  - Regime change June 14, 1955  - Dissolution April 30, 1975 Area  - 1973 173,809 km² 67,108...   «ngoh dihn zih-ehm» (January 3, 1901 – November 2, 1963) was the first President of South Vietnam (1955–1963). ...

Post-Vietnam War and today

At the conclusion of the American War/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." Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... knulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din mammaknulla din... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... Belligerents Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Republic of Vietnam Commanders Van Tien Dung Tran Van Tra Hoang Cam Le Duc Anh Nguyen Van Toan Nguyen Hop Doan Strength 100,000 [1] 30,000 [1] Casualties and losses Unknown Unknown The Fall of Saigon... The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia. ... Belligerents Democratic Republic of Vietnam National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Republic of Vietnam Commanders Van Tien Dung Tran Van Tra Hoang Cam Le Duc Anh Nguyen Van Toan Nguyen Hop Doan Strength 100,000 [1] 30,000 [1] Casualties and losses Unknown Unknown The Fall 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.^[5]. 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. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 529 pixelsFull resolution (1984 × 1312 pixels, file size: 457 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (Uploaded using CommonsHelper or PushForCommons) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 529 pixelsFull resolution (1984 × 1312 pixels, file size: 457 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (Uploaded using CommonsHelper or PushForCommons) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia. ... Hồ Chí Minh (Chinese : 胡志明) (help· info) (May 19, 1890 – September 2, 1969) was a Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman, who later became Prime Minister (1946-1955) and President (1955-1969) of North Vietnam. ... Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Ná»™i, Hán Tá»±: 河内)  , estimated population 3,145,300 (2005), is the capital of Vietnam. ...

Points of interest

Ben Thanh market

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), 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). One of the oldest hotels dating from the French colonial era is the Hotel Majestic. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Reunification Hall (Vietnamese: Dinh Thống Nhất) formerly known as Independence Hall (Dinh Độc Lập) or Norodom Hall, is a historic landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ... Notre-Dame Saigon Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, in Vietnamese Nha Tho Duc Ba, is a cathedral located in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ...

The city has various museums, such as the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Museum of Vietnamese History and concerning modern history the Revolutionary Museum (Bao tang Cach mang) and the War Remnants Museum (Ho Chi Minh City). Ho Chi Minh City Museum (Vietnamese language: Viện bảo tàng Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh) is a historical site in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ... The War Remnants Museum (formely the War Criminal Museum) is a museum in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City (ex-Saigon), Vietnam. ...

Population

Ho Chi Minh City is home to a well-established ethnic Chinese population. Cholon, which is made up of District 5 and parts of Districts 6, 10 and 11, serves as its Chinatown. Quan Am Pagoda, a famous Chinese temple in Cholon Cholon (Vietnamese: quoc ngu ; chu nom ) is the name of the Chinese district of Ho Chi Minh City (the former Saigon), the largest such Chinatown district in Vietnam. ... This article is about sections of an urban area associated with a large number of Chinese residents or commercial activities. ...

With a population now exceeding 7 million (registered residents plus migrant workers as well as a metropolitan population of 10 million), Ho Chi Minh City is in need of vast increase in public infrastructure.^[6] 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). The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (now officially known only as RMIT University), is a university in Melbourne, Australia. ...

Geography and climate

River boat in Ho Chi Minh City

Saigon 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 ft) 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 (12mi/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 kilometers (63 mi), and from the easternmost point (Long Binh Ward, District Nine) to the westernmost one (Binh Chanh Commune, Binh Chanh District) is 47 kilometers (29 mi). Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 492 pixelsFull resolution (2141 × 1316 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 492 pixelsFull resolution (2141 × 1316 pixels, file size: 1. ... Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Ná»™i, Hán Tá»±: 河内)  , estimated population 3,145,300 (2005), is the capital of Vietnam. ... Tay Ninh (in Vietnamese, Tây Ninh) is a town in southwestern Vietnam. ... Binh Duong (in Vietnamese, Bình DÆ°Æ¡ng) is a Province of Vietnam. ... Dong Nai (written Đồng Nai in Vietnamese) is a province in south-eastern Vietnam. ... Bà Rịa–VÅ©ng Tàu is a province of Vietnam. ... Long An Province (written identically in Vietnamese and English) is a province in Vietnam. ... Filipino name Tagalog: Timog Dagat Tsina (Dagat Luzon for the portion within Philippine waters) Malay name Malay: Laut China Selatan Portuguese name Portuguese: Mar da China Meridional Vietnamese name Vietnamese: The South China Sea is a marginal sea south of China. ... Part of the tunnel complex at Củ Chi. ... Cần Giờ is a coastal district of Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nam Bo, Vietnam. ...

The city has a tropical climate, with an average humidity of 75%. A year is divided into two distinct seasons. The rainy season, with an average rainfall of about 1,800 millimetres (71 in) annually (about 150 rainy days per year), usually begins in May and ends in late November. The dry season lasts from December to April. The average temperature is 28 °C (82 °F), the highest temperature sometimes reaches 39 °C (102 °F) around noon in late April, while the lowest may fall below 16 °C (61 °F) in the early mornings of late December.

Political and administrative system

Downtown Ho Chi Minh City as seen from Saigon River

Reunification Palace

Ho Chi Minh City Hall

Ho Chi Minh City Hall and Statue of Ho Chi Minh

Main Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is a municipality that exists at the same level as Vietnam's provinces. As such, it has a similar political structure to its provinces, with a People's Council of 95 elected deputies, and a People's Committee of 13 members chosen by the council, being the principal local governmental entities. The People's Council Chairman is the top governmental official while the People's Committee Chairman is the top executive of the city, instead of a single mayor position as in other cities in the world. The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) leads all political-economic-social activities in the country, therefore the CPV HCMC Committee Secretary is really the highest ranking leader of the city. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixels, file size: 931 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixels, file size: 931 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 572 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ho Chi Minh... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 572 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Ho Chi Minh... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 529 pixel Image in higher resolution (1984 × 1312 pixel, file size: 459 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Old City Hall, now Peoples Committee building, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, December 2003 Photo Andre Lettau, copied from de: Beschreibung... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 529 pixel Image in higher resolution (1984 × 1312 pixel, file size: 459 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Old City Hall, now Peoples Committee building, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, December 2003 Photo Andre Lettau, copied from de: Beschreibung... Ho Chi Minh City Hall Ho Chi Minh City Hall or Hotel de Ville de Saigon was built in 1902-1908 in a French colonial style for the then city of Saigon. ... Ho Chi Minh City Hall Ho Chi Minh City Hall or Hotel de Ville de Saigon was built in 1902-1908 in a French colonial style for the then city of Saigon. ... Administrative Divisions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vietnam is divided into 59 provinces (known in Vietnamese as tỉnh, from the Chinese 省, shěng). ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ...

The municipality has been divided into twenty-four administrative divisions since December 2003. Five of these {Area: 1,601 km²} are designated as suburban districts ("Huyện" in Vietnamese), covering the urbanized - farmland around the city which is included in the municipality's official boundaries. These districts are named Nhà Bè, Cần Giờ, Hóc Môn, Củ Chi, and Bình Chánh. The remaining nineteen divisions {Area: 494 km²} are found in the city itself. Only seven of these nineteen inner districts ("Quận" in Vietnamese) have names (Tân Bình, Bình Thạnh, Phú Nhuận, Thủ Đức, Bình Tân, Tân Phú and Gò Vấp) - the remainder are simply numbered from one to twelve. Each inner district is sub-divided into many wards ("Phường" in Vietnamese), while a suburban district usually consists of many communes and townships ("Xã" and "Thị trấn" in Vietnamese). Since December 2006, Ho Chi Minh City has had 259 wards, 58 communes and 5 townships (see List of HCMC administrative units below).^[6] Local government areas called districts are used, or have been used, in several countries. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into ward (politics). ...

District 2, in which the new province of Thu Thiem is located, is a district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, with the most potential. ... Go Vap is a district in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. ... Tan Binh District is a district of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ... Tân Phú district is part of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. ... Binh Thanh District is a district of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. ... Phú Nhuận is one of the nineteen districts in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, Vietnam. ... Thu Duc district is a district in the northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ... The Binh Tan District refers to the tourist hub of Saigon frequented by Ho Chi Minh cities locals and tourist who flock to the market stalls, both open air and indoors to buy cheap clothes (mainly counterfeit), DVDs, souvenirs, war memorabilia. ... Hoc Mon district is a district of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. ... Bình Chánh District is one of the suburban districts of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. ...

Demographics

The population of Ho Chi Minh City, as of the October 1, 2004 Census, was 6,117,251 (of which 19 inner districts had 5,140,412 residents and 5 suburban districts had 976,839 inhabitants).^[6]. In the middle of 2006 the city's population was estimated to be 6,424,519 (of which 19 inner districts had 5,387,338 residents and 5 suburban districts had 1,037,181 inhabitants), or about 7.4% of the total population of Vietnam; making it the highest population-concentrated city in the country. As an administrative unit, its population is also the largest at the provincial level. As the largest economic and financial hub of Vietnam, HCMC has attracted more and more immigrants from other Vietnamese provinces in recent years; therefore, its population is growing rapidly. From 1999 - 2004, the city population has increased by about 200,000 people per year.

The majority of the population are ethnic Vietnamese (Kinh) at about 90%. Other ethnic minorities include Chinese (Hoa) with 8%, (the largest Chinese community in Vietnam) and other minorities (Khmer, Cham, Nung, Rhade) 2%.^{[citation needed]} The inhabitants of Ho Chi Minh City are usually known as "Saigonese" in English, "Saigonnais" in French and "dân Sài Gòn" in Vietnamese. Categories: Vietnamese people | Ethnicity stubs ... For the community association, see Homeowners association. ...

The Kinh speak Vietnamese with their respective regional accents: Southern (about 50%), Northern (30%) and Central Vietnam (20%); while the Hoa speak Cantonese, Teochew (Chaozhou), Hokkien, Hainanese and Hakka dialects of Chinese (only a few speak Mandarin Chinese).^{[citation needed]} A varying degree of English is spoken especially in the tourism and commerce sectors where dealing with foreign nationals is a necessity, so English has become a de facto second language for some Saigonese.^{[citation needed]} Categories: Vietnamese people | Ethnicity stubs ... For the community association, see Homeowners association. ... The Chaozhou language, also called Teochew, Teochiu, Tiuchiu, or Diojiu, is a dialect of the Chinese spoken variant of Minnan 閩南, spoken in the Chaoshan 潮汕 region of eastern Guangdong 廣東. // Chaozhou is a member of the Southern Min or Minnan dialect group, which in turn constitutes one of the seven major dialect... Min Nan, Minnan, or Min-nan (Simplified Chinese: 闽南语; Traditional Chinese: 閩南語; Pinyin: Mǐnnányǔ; POJ: Bân-lâm-gú; Southern Min or Southern Fujian language) is the Chinese language/dialect spoken in southern Fujian province, China and neighboring areas, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora. ... Hainanese (海南話) or Qiongwen (琼文片) is a variant of the Min Nan group of Chinese spoken in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. ... Hakka (Simplified Chinese: 客家话, Traditional Chinese: 客家話, Pronunciation in Hakka: Hak-ka-fa/-va, Pinyin: Kèjiāhuà) is a spoken variation of the Chinese language spoken predominantly in southern China by the Hakka ethnic group and descendants in diaspora throughout East and Southeast Asia and around the world. ...

According to some researchers the religious breakup in HCMC is as follows: Buddhism (all sects and/or including Taoism, Confucianism, Ancestor Worship) 80%, Roman Catholic 11%, Protestant 2%, others (Cao Dai, Hoa Hao, Islam, Hinduism, Bahá'í Faith) 2%, and no religion or unknown 5%. Buddhism is a variety of teachings described as a religion[1] or way of life that attempts to identify the causes of human suffering and offer various ways that are claimed to end, or ease suffering. ... Taoism (or Daoism) is the English name referring to a variety of related Chinese philosophical traditions and concepts. ... A Confucian temple in Wuwei, Peoples Republic of China. ... Ancestor worship, also ancestor veneration, is a religious practice based on the belief that ones ancestors possess supernatural powers. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Protestantism encompasses the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated with the doctrines of the Reformation. ... Cao Dais Holy See, called the Tay Ninh Holy See, is located in Tay Ninh, Viet Nam Caodaism (Vietnamese:  ) is a relatively new, syncretist, monotheistic religion, officially established in Tây Ninh, southern Vietnam, in 1926. ... Hòa Hảo (Chu Nom: 和好) is a Buddhist religious tradition founded in 1939 by Huynh Phu So, a native of the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... Hinduism is a religious tradition[1] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... This article is about the generally recognized global religious community. ...

Economy

Ho Chi Minh City is the most important economic center in Vietnam as it 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. Total local private investment was 160,000 billion VND ($10 billion) with 18,500 newly founded companies.^{[citation needed]} Investment is trended to hi-tech and services, real estate projects. Currently, the city has 15 industrial parks (IP) and export-processing zones (EPZ), in addition to the Quang Trung Software Park and the Saigon 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.^{[citation needed]} The first first stock exchange of Vietnam was opened in the city in 2001 and is today one of Asia's best performing Stock Markets.^{[citation needed][neutrality disputed]} It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Ho Chi Minh City. ... Saigon Hi-Tech Park (abbr. ...

In 2007, the city's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was estimated at USD 14.3 billion, or about USD 2,180 per capita, (up 12.6% on 2006) and accounting for 20% GDP of the country. The GDP calculating Parity Purchasing Power method (PPP), attained USD 71.5 billion, or about USD 10,870 per capita (approximately 3 times higher than the country's average). The city's Industrial Product Value was USD 6.4 billion, equivalent to 30% of the whole nation. Export - Import Turnover through HCMC ports took USD 36 billion, or 40% of the national total, of which, export revenue reached $18.3 billion, accounted for 40% of Vietnam’s total export revenue. At 2007, Ho Chi Minh City has also contributed about 20,5% to the national budget's revenue annually ,^[8].

In 2007, this city contributed 92,000 billion VND (approx. $6 billion), an increase of 30% compared to that of 2006. In 2007, this city served 3 million foreign tourists, made up 70% that of Vietnam. Total cargo transport to Ho Chi Minh City’s ports reached 50.5 million metric tonnes, nearly one-third of that in Vietnam.^[9][10]. A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ...

Education

Map showing all the University sites in Ho Chi Minh City

Higher education in Ho Chi Minh City is quite developed, concentrating about 76 universities and colleges with a total of over 380,000 students^[6] in such places as: Ho Chi Minh City National University with 41,000 students, the most important university in the Southern Region, consisting of 6 main member schools: The University of Natural Sciences (formerly Saigon College of Sciences); The University of Social Sciences and Humanities (formerly Saigon College of Letters); The University of Technology (formerly Phu Tho National Institute of Technology); The International University, Faculty of Economics and the newly-established University of Information Technology. Image File history File links Vn-hcmmap. ... Image File history File links Vn-hcmmap. ... Ho Chi Minh City National University (Vietnamese language: Đại học Quốc gia Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh is one of two largest national unversities in Vietnam (the other is Hanoi National University, founded on 27th January 1995 and reorganized on 12th February 2001 under the Decision no. ...

Some other important higher education establishments include: HCMC University of Pedagogy, University of Economics, University of Architecture, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Nong Lam University (formerly University of Agriculture and Forestry), University of Law, University of Technical Education, University of Banking, University of Transport, University of Industry, Open University, University of Sports and Physical Education, University of Fine Art, University of Culture the Conservatory of Music and the Saigon Institute of Technology, Open University [1].

The RMIT University with about 2,000 students, the unique foreign-invested higher-education unit in Vietnam at the present, was founded in 2002 by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) of Australia. The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (now officially known only as RMIT University), is a university in Melbourne, Australia. ...

Several reputable international English language schools are located in Ho Chi Minh City as well.

Public Health

The health care system of the city is relatively developed with a chain of about 100 publicly owned hospitals or medical centers and dozens of privately owned clinics.^[6]. The 1,400 bed Chợ Rẫy Hospital, upgraded by Japanese aid and the French-sponsored Institute of Cardiology, are among the top medical facilities in Indochina. The Hoa Hao Medical Diagnosis Center (Medic) and FV Hospital have recently attracted many clients, including foreigners, because of their good quality of service and modern equipment. Patients come from cities in nearby provinces and Cambodia as well. The hospitals with close to international standards quality include Cho Ray Hospital, the largest hospital in Ho Chi Minh City Cho Ray Hospital - the largest general hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ... Indochina 1886 Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. ... Cho Ray Hospital - the largest general hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. ...

A masked mother and child

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2496 × 1664 pixels, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (2496 × 1664 pixels, file size: 2. ...

Transportation

Tan Son Nhat International Airport, a joint civilian and military airport, is located 4 mi (6 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. See Tan Son Nhut Air Base for a description of the airfield while operated as a military airfield by the USAF and VNAF. Tân SÆ¡n Nhất International Airport (IATA: SGN, ICAO: VVTS), Vietnams largest international airport in terms of area (800 ha compared with 650 ha...

"World capital of motorbikes"

Ho Chi Minh city's road system is in improvable condition - many 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 4 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 is "the Capital of Motorbikes". Visitors should consider the city's streets as dangerous due to the motorists' lack of behavior and the city's lack of traffic law enforcement. Drivers can be seen driving the wrong way up one-way streets, ignoring red lights, not stopping for pedestrians on marked crossings and driving on the footpaths. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1984x1312, 570 KB) Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City, December 2003 Photo Andre Lettau, copied from de: File links The following pages link to this file: Ho Chi Minh City ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (1984x1312, 570 KB) Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City, December 2003 Photo Andre Lettau, copied from de: File links The following pages link to this file: Ho Chi Minh City ... The Ho Chi Minh City Metro is a proposed rapid transit network that will serve Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) in Vietnam. ... Peking redirects here. ...

usual fare is 3000 dong

The city is the terminal hub of the North South Railroad of Vietnam. 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. Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Ná»™i, Hán Tá»±: 河内)  , estimated population 3,145,300 (2005), is the capital of Vietnam. ... Dong Nai (written Đồng Nai in Vietnamese) is a province in south-eastern