How has Ben Thanh Market grown over the years?

One can easily recognize Ben Thanh Market in the logo used in 1998 for Sai Gon's tri-centenary anniversary. Even though the market was not completed until early 1914, the name existed long before. In the past, the market was situated in the port area of the Ben Nghe River, now the Sai Gon River, at the end of Nguyen Hue and Ham Nghi Streets. At that time, those two streets were two streams. The market faced the Gia Dinh Citadel. In Vietnamese "ben" means "wharf" and "thanh" means "citadel," hence "Ben Thanh Market." Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi Book of Quoc su quan of Nguyen Dynasty described the Ben Thanh Market in its Vol. V, p. 228: "The market is located on the river bank...There are lots of shops and restaurants. Tiled-roof houses line the streets. Goods keep arriving. Merchant boats continuously come and go:" However, the market was less busy and many streets were destroyed between 1833 and 1835, when le Van Khoi led a rebellion against the royal court.



The market suffered its greatest setback when the French and their Spanish allies took control of Sai Gon in 1859. The French, who wanted to turn the market into a river port, forced the traders to move to the site of the current Banking School No.3, next to the waterway by Vai Market. Laborers later filled the waterway, which became Nguyen Hue Street. The new market was simple: Its shops were huts made from iron poles supporting tile roofs but had no walls.

The city center remained marshland until the end of the nineteenth century. Many current streets such as Nguyen Hue, Ham Nghi, Le Loi, and Pasteur were waterways. In 1912, Sai Gon mayor Eugene Cuniac had the Boresse Swamp filled in order to build the Ben Thanh Market. Brossard and Maupin, a construction company, built the new market on 12,000 square meters of land. The local authorities held a big ceremony when construction was finished in March 1914.



Coach stations on either side of the river served the customers. Passengers going to the western provinces left from the station on Schroeder Street (now Phan Chu Trinh), while those traveling to the eastern provinces departed from Vienot Street (now Phan Boi Chau). A nearby railway station served passengers going to Cho Lon Market or Lai Thieu (in today's Binh Duong Province). The Ben Thanh Market bustled all day as people came and went and bought and sold. Every day, as Sai Gon grows more crowded, Ben Thanh Market seems to become smaller. Some people want to demolish the current building and replace it with a huge modern, business-and shopping center. However, the majority of people in Sai Gon do not want to lose their familiar symbol: Ben Thanh Market.