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Ho Chi Minh City
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Overview


Ho Chi Minh City is 1,730 km from Hanoi and 50 km from the East Sea, covering the area of 2,029 sq km stretching from the South China Sea almost to the Cambodian border. The city is the largest Vietnam's city and is the second most important in Vietnam after Hanoi. It is formerly known and is still unofficially called as Saigon - although the name officially refers to district 1. Ho Chi Minh City is divided into 6 urban districts plus five rural districts. As mentioned, district 1, the most important district and the center of tourist attractions which is called Saigon, while another bustling district to the west of the city center, is District 5 - the huge Chinese neighborhood called Cholon which means "Big Market". HCMC has official population of 5 ½ million plus about 3 million of illegal residents and the main ethnic groups populating the area are the Kinh and Hoa.

This region is crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers and canals, the largest being the Saigon River. The Port of Saigon, established in 1862, is accessible to ships weighing up to 30,000 tons, a rare advantage for an inland river port. The climate is generally hot and humid. The annual average temperature is 27oC. The hottest month is April and the coldest is December.

Over the past centuries, Saigon, once praised as the "Pearl of the Far East," was known as an important trading center for Chinese, Japanese, and Western merchants who traveled upstream the Saigon River to Pho Island.



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