When saigon?
Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City, Pearl of the Orient, is the largest and the most dynamic city in one of the most rapidly growing economies. Founded as a Khmer trading and fishing port on the west bank of Dong Nai River, it was destroyed by French naval forces in 1859, then rebuilt as a French colonial city and named Saigon, capital of French Cochin China. During the 1960s and early 1970s Saigon boomed and flourished under American occupation and was the seat of the South Vietnam Government until liberation. The country has been unified after years of resistance war against French and American invaders. Officially Ho Chi Minh City since 1975, it remains to most the bi-syllabic, familiar, old ‘Saigon’.
In 1998, Ho Chi Minh City celebrated its 300th anniversary, but the period of the 75 years between 1623 and 1698 may be regarded as the time in which Saigon was founded. During this period, hundreds, and perhaps thousands of Vietnamese families migrated from the Center (the Inner Section) and the North (the Outer Section) to settle in the plains of the Dong Nai and the Mekong rivers. Saigon at that time already was booming with agricultural production, trading businesses, and handicrafts, enriching the prosperous customs tax office. Yet, all those peaceful economic activities were interrupted quite a few times.
Since unification, HCM City has contributed a great deal to socialist and national construction and defense. Politburo’s Resolution 01 (1982) stipulates that HCM City has a political position just behind Hanoi, the capital. It is endowed with favorable conditions that cannot be found elsewhere. It has great potential for developing industry, exports, tourism and services. In coordination with other localities, HCM City is forming an agro-industrial economic structure for the country’s socio-economic development.
HCM City has contributed a great deal to the country, particularly in terms of economy. On the road to industrialization and modernization on the threshold of the 21st century, HCM City has connected with Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Binh Duong provinces to form a focal economic hub. It has also cooperated with the Mekong Delta provinces, the rice basket of the country; the southwestern provinces and the Highlands, with forestry potentials; and the and northern provinces. HCM City is one of the country’s biggest venues to attract foreign direct investment. It is trying to become a sizable tourism and service center.
In 1998, Ho Chi Minh City celebrated its 300th anniversary, but the period of the 75 years between 1623 and 1698 may be regarded as the time in which Saigon was founded. During this period, hundreds, and perhaps thousands of Vietnamese families migrated from the Center (the Inner Section) and the North (the Outer Section) to settle in the plains of the Dong Nai and the Mekong rivers. Saigon at that time already was booming with agricultural production, trading businesses, and handicrafts, enriching the prosperous customs tax office. Yet, all those peaceful economic activities were interrupted quite a few times.
Since unification, HCM City has contributed a great deal to socialist and national construction and defense. Politburo’s Resolution 01 (1982) stipulates that HCM City has a political position just behind Hanoi, the capital. It is endowed with favorable conditions that cannot be found elsewhere. It has great potential for developing industry, exports, tourism and services. In coordination with other localities, HCM City is forming an agro-industrial economic structure for the country’s socio-economic development.
HCM City has contributed a great deal to the country, particularly in terms of economy. On the road to industrialization and modernization on the threshold of the 21st century, HCM City has connected with Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Binh Duong provinces to form a focal economic hub. It has also cooperated with the Mekong Delta provinces, the rice basket of the country; the southwestern provinces and the Highlands, with forestry potentials; and the and northern provinces. HCM City is one of the country’s biggest venues to attract foreign direct investment. It is trying to become a sizable tourism and service center.
what saigon?
credit: Quynh Skull