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Destinations >> Mekong River Delta :> Mekong River Delta - Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, is located on the right bank of the Saigon River, just northeast of the Mekong Delta. It is the largest city, the major port and an important commercial and industrial center of Vietnam. The city has a tropical climate, with average humidity of 75%. A year is dvided into two distinct seasons: the rainy season begins in May and ends in late November, with an average rainfall of about 1,800mm anually. 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. :> The history of 300 years and the origin of the name Ho Chi Minh City began as a small fishing village known as Prey Nokor. Prey Nokor means “forest city” or “forest land” as the area that the city now occupies was originally swampland. Khmer peole was the inhabitants of the area for centuries before the arrival of the Vietnamese. In the early 17th century, Prey Nokor became home of Vietnamease refugees fleeing war in the North. Towards the end of the century, once the Cambodian kingdom weakened and waves of Vietnamese settlers increased, the area is slowly Vietnamised. Over the following decades Prey Nokor developed into the Saigon. In Sino-Vietnamese etymology, Sai means “firewood, lops, twigs, palisade” and Gon means “stick, pole, bole”, refering to the dense and tall forest that once existed around the city, a forest to which the Khmer name, already referred. In 1859, Saigon was conquered by France and the city was influenced by the French during their colonial accupation of Vietnam and a number of French colonial buildings in the city today reflect this, so much so that Saigon was called “the Pearl of the Far East” or “Paris in the Orient”. For the French, Saigon became the capital of Cochin-China. Through the next hundred years, they extracted as much as they could from the region. French rule remained over the city and Cochin-China until they were defeated by the Commnunist Viet Minh in the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and withdrew from Vietnam. When the French was swept out of Vietnam, rather than recognise the communist victors, they left the south to a government established by Emperor Bao Dai who set up Saigon as his capital in 1950. 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. In 1975, Saigon felt and the South Vietnam came under the control of the Vietnam People’s Army. And in the following year, in honour of the late leader of North Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh – the city was renamed to Ho Chi Minh City. However, the former name of Saigon is still widely used by many Vietnamese today. :> Economic Renovation and Ho Chi Minh City Today After the communist vitory, the local economy of Ho Chi Minh City was buckled under a heavy hand of the new regime from the north, which curtained foreign invested and promote collectivization. Through the late 1970’s and early 1980’s thousands of people got out of the country and inhabited worldwide. Through a policy fo freeing up economic activity known as Doi Moi (Renovation), in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s the economic leash was loosened. With a very young, increasingly well-educated population, the city has gone from strength to streght. Today Ho Chi Minh City has a cosmopolitan and energetic atmosphere. It opens the doors to the new capitalist principle, the business-minded spirit of the people is much in evidence. However, the city still remains its Asian characters, and fine restaurants, smart hotels and chic bars line the sidewalks crammed with noodle stands, markets and shoeshine boys. The buzzing of motorbikes and scooters merges with the cries of street vendors and the urgent business of stall owners. Although overshadowed by modern and Asiatic influences, a little of Ho Chi Minh City's French colonial charm still remains, evident in the graceful architecture, wide boulevards, and a sidewalk cafe society. It is not for the attractions that one visits Ho Chi Minh City however, but for the vibrancy of its street life, and its proximity to the Mekong Delta. It can also be the base to head out to Cu Chi tunnels, Cao Dai temple at Tay Ninh or jet off to Phu Quoc Islands.
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