Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong Delta . Under the name Saigon , it was the capital of the French colony of Cochinchine, and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975. In 1975, Saigon was merged with the surrounding province of Gia Dinh and renamed Ho Chi Minh City (although the name Saigon is still frequently used, particularly by its citizens.

The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the East Sea and 1,760 kilometers (1,094 mi) south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

The metropolitan area, which consists of Ho Chi Minh City metro area, Thu Dau Mot, Di An, Bien Hoa and surrounding towns, has more than 9 million people, making it the largest metropolitan area in Vietnam and Indochina.

Traditional Vietnamese name
There is much debate about the origins of the Vietnamese name, Saigon, whose etymology is analyzed below.

It should be noted, however, that before the French colonization, the official Vietnamese name of Saigon was Gia Dinh. In 1862, the French discarded this official name and adopted the name "Saigon", which had always been the popular name.

From an orthographic point of view, the Vietnamese name, Saigon, is written in two words, which is the traditional convention in Vietnamese spelling. Some people, however, write the name of the city as SaiGon or Saigon in order to save space or give it a more Westernized look.

Sino-Vietnamese etymology
A frequently heard, and reasonable, explanation is that Sai is a Chinese loan word meaning “firewood, lops, twigs; palisade”, while Gon is another Chinese loan word 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).

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. The official name is now Thanh Pho Ho Chi 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 Ho Chi Minh Ville (the circumflex is sometimes omitted), abbreviated HCMV. Still, the old name Saigon/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.

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.

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.

Nguyen dynasty rule
In 1698, Nguyen Huu Canh, a Vietnamese noble, was sent by the Nguyen rulers of Hue 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.

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" or "Paris in the Orient".
Capital of South Vietnam
In 1954, the French were defeated by the Communist Viet Minh in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, and withdrew from Vietnam. Rather than recognizing the Communists as the new government, they gave their backing to a government established by Emperor Bao Dai. Bao Dai had set up Saigon as his capital in 1950. At that time Saigon and the city of Cholon, which was inhabited primarily by Vietnamese Chinese, were combined into one administrative unit, called the Capital of Saigon. When Vietnam was officially partitioned into North Vietnam and South Vietnam, the southern government, led by President Ngo Dinh Diem, retained Saigon as its capital.

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."

In 1976, upon the establishment of the unified communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the city of Saigon (including Cholon), the province of Gia Dinh and 2 suburban districts of two other nearby provinces were combined to create Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the late communist leader Ho Chi Minh. The former name Saigon is still widely used by many Vietnamese, especially in informal contexts. Generally, the term Saigon refers only to the urban districts of Ho Chi Minh City. The word "Saigon" can also be found on shop signs all over the country, even in Hanoi.

Points of interest in Ho Chi Minh City
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, City Hall , Municipal Theatre, General Post Office, State Bank Office, Notre-Dame Cathedral. One of the oldest hotels dating from the French colonial era is the Hotel Majestic.

The city has various museums, such as the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Museum of Vietnamese History and concerning modern history the Revolutionary Museum and the War Remnants Museum (Ho Chi Minh City).

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.

With a population now exceeding 7 million, Ho Chi Minh City is in need of vast increase in public infrastructure.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 where various international schools such as Saigon South International, the Japanese school, Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, the Taiwan and Korea schools are located).

Geography and climate
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).

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 millimeters (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.

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.

The municipality has been divided into twenty-four administrative divisions since December 2003. Five of these are designated as suburban districts, 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 are found in the city itself. Only seven of these nineteen inner districts 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 , while a suburban district usually consists of many communes and townships. Since December 2006, Ho Chi Minh City has had 259 wards, 58 communes and 5 townships .

List of HCMC Administrative Units
Name of district (since December 2003) Sub-division units (since December 2006) Area (km²) (since December 2006) Population as of the October 1, 2004 Census Population as of Mid 2005 Population as of Mid 2006
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 at about 87%. Other ethnic minorities include Chinese (Hoa) with 8%, (the largest Chinese community in Vietnam) and other minorities (Khmer, Cham, Nung, Rhade) 2%. The inhabitants of Ho Chi Minh City are usually known as "Saigonese" in English, "Saigonnais" in French and "dân Saigon" in Vietnamese.

The Kinh speak Vietnamese with their respective regional accents: Southern (about 50%), Northern (30%) and Central Vietnam (20%); while the Hoa speak Cantonese, Teochew , Hokkien, Hainanese and Hakka dialects of Chinese (only a few speak Mandarin Chinese). 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.

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%.

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. Investment is trended to hi-tech and services, real estate projects. Currently, the city has 15 industrial parks and export-processing zones, in addition to the Quang Trung Software Park and the Saigon Hi-Tech Park. 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. The first first stock exchange of Vietnam was opened in the city in 2001.

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.

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 tones, nearly one-third of that in Vietnam..

Education
Higher education in Ho Chi Minh City is quite developed, concentrating about 76 universities and colleges with a total of over 380,000 students 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 ; The University of Social Sciences and Humanities ; The University of Technology; The International University, Faculty of Economics and the newly-established University of Information Technology.

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 , 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.

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.

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. The 1,400 bed Cho Ray 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 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

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.

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.

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.

From Ho Chi Minh City, one can travel to many places in Southern Vietnam and to Cambodia by road or waterway. The city is linked to the Central Highlands by National Highways 14 and 20, to the Central Coast and the north by National Highway 1 and to the Mekong River Delta by National Highways 1 and 50. Two expressways are being built to connect HCMC to Can Tho, the capital of the Mekong River Delta, and to Dau Giay Township, Dong Nai Province, 70 km to the northeast.

Media, Culture and Entertainment
The city's media is the most developed in the country. At present, HCMC has 6 daily newspapers: Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Saigon) and its Chinese, investment and finance, sports, evening and weekly editions, Tuoi Tre (Youth); the highest circulation newspaper in Vietnam; Nguoi Lao Dong (Labourer); The Thao (Sports); Phap Luat (Law) and the Saigon Times Daily, the business newspaper in English, and over 30 other newspapers and magazines. HCMC Television (HTV) is the second largest television network in the nation, just behind the national Vietnam Television (VTV), broadcasting 24/7 on 7 different channels (using analog and digital technology). The Voice of HCMC People is also the largest radio station in the Southern region. The major international TV channels are provided through two cable networks (SCTV and HTVC), with over 500,000 subscribers or satellite TVs.

Ho Chi Minh City is home to hundreds of cinemas and theatres, with cinema and dramatic ticketing revenue accounts for 60-70% of Vietnam’s total revenue in this industry. Unlike other dramatic teams in Vietnam’s provinces and municipalities, those in Ho Chi Minh City live on their own income and keep their theaters active every day , and not subsidized by the Vietnamese government. The city is home to most of private movie companies in Vietnam.

The city has over 1.7 million fixed telephones and about 6.6 million cellular phones (the latter growing annually by 20%). The Internet, especially through ADSL connections, is also rapidly expanding with over 1,200,000 subscribers and around 4.5 million frequent users.

The city has hundreds of printing and publishing houses, many bookstores and a widespread network of public and school libraries. The HCMC General Library with over 1.5 million books, is a beautiful architectural building. One can visit the Museum of History, the Museum of Revolution, the Museum of Southern Women, the Museum of Southeaster's Armed Forces, the Museum of Fine Art, the Gallery for War Remnants, the Nha Rong Memorial House, the Ben Duoc Relic of Underground Tunnels and many private art galleries. Besides the Municipal Theatre, there are other great places of entertainment such as: the Ben Thanh and Hoa Binh Theaters and the Lan Anh Music Stage. The Dam Sen Tourist and Cultural Park, Suoi Tien Cultural Park and the Can Gio Eco beach resort are three recreational sites inside the city which are popular with visitors.

There are many Pho chains in the city to enjoy and they are very cheap. The city has hundreds of ranked hotels with over 18,000 rooms, including ten luxury 5 star hotels. However, backpacking travelers frequent the "Western Quarter" on Pham Ngu Lao street in District 1.

People's Committee
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee is the administrative/government organization that manages Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon), Vietnam. Its equivalent in the U.S. context would be a city government. The "Chairman of the People's Committee" is the head of the government, and may be considered the equivalent of Mayor. The current Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee (2004-2009) is Mr. Le Hoang Quan. There are several Vice Chairmen and chairwomen on the committee with responsibility for various City Government Departments.