Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, locates at the heart of the southern part of Viet Nam, between the northern edge of the Mekong Delta and the South Eastern region of volcanic red soil. Being a transformation between the two terrains, Ho Chi Minh City is intertwined with natural forest, vast plains, long coast and hundreds of rivers and canals. The Saigon River winds around the city and connect it with the East Sea.
Over the past three centuries, Saigon, once praised as the “Pearl of the Orient”, was known as an important trade center for Chinese, Japanese and Western merchants. It had also been christened the “Paris of Asia” for its wide boulevards lined with the stately trees and magnificent French villas.
Nowadays, Ho Chi Minh City has a total area of 2,090 square kilometers, which encompasses 24 districts with an area of 230 square kilometers and five outer-counties with an area of 1,860 square kilometers. The city, which a total population of over seven millions, is the largest city in Viet Nam, a major hub for commercial, tourist, cultural and scientific activities.
This always-in-rush-hour city churns bubbles and fumes. The streets, where much of the city’s life takes place, are a myriad of street markets, shops, pavement cafes, stands-on-wheels and vendor selling wares spread out on sidewalk. Yet within the teeming metropolis are timeless traditions and beauty of an ancient culture. A mix of the old and new is witnessed where the skyscrapers are juxtaposed with faded French colonial buildings, where one would easily find something to entertain himself whether he wants to discover museums, pagodas, markets or just sipping coffee in a sidewalk cafes, chatting with fellow travelers, listening to thumping music.
A trip to Ho Chi Minh City offers you a good experience of warm emotions: the incredible pride and genuine warmth of its people, the richness of its culture, the depth of its tradition and the diversity of its landscape. You will be welcomed, celebrated, and made to feel like family. You will be greeted with smiles, waves and shouts of "hello!”.
Dynamic, bustling, crowded but liberal and friendly, Ho Chi Minh City has so much to offer to visitors. |
