Ho Chi Minh City

About Ho Chi Minh City

Population

7,396,446 in city

Size

140 km² (54 mi²)

Altitude

3 m

One of the world's youngest major cities, Saigon nevertheless holds a rich and dramatic history. A fortified trading post, a colonial capital, a focal point of the American-Vietnamese conflict, an up and coming exemplar of Asian economic prosperity, it is a city of metamorphoses. The name Saigon, of uncertain origin, dates from 1698, when the emperor of Vietnam established an outpost here, along the bends of the Saigon River. In 1862 the city was conquered by the French, who made it the capital of their protectorate of Cochinchina. In 1954, with the military defeat of the French by the Vietnamese independence forces, Saigon became the capital of South Vietnam. It was during this time that it acquired the nickname of "the Pearl of the Orient," for its elegance, diversity, and prosperity. In 1975, following the Vietnamese War (known to the Vietnamese as "the American War"), the greater metropolis of Saigon was renamed for Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the North Vietnamese forces. Physically, the city continued unscathed through all these conflicts. Perhaps the most European of Asian cities, it contains hundreds of colonial-era buildings, and wide boulevards. Now the economic powerhouse of Vietnam, will it offer an example of how to reconcile preservation and dynamism?

Boroughs

Quận 1 (125), Quận 2 (112), Quận 4 (14),

Metro Cities

Ho Chi Minh City

No. of Buildings

No.	Current status
686	All Buildings
587	existing
26	under construction
49	planned
24	unbuilt

Tallest Buildings

#	Building	Height	Year
1	Vincom Landmark 81	1,513 ft	2018
2	Bitexco Financial Tower	861 ft	2010
3	Vietcombank Tower	676 ft	2015
4	Saigon Centre 2	635 ft	2017
5	Vinhomes Park 6	604 ft	2017

Building types

No.	Type
537	high-rise building
136	skyscraper
12	low-rise building
1	church

Other buildings

No.	Type
6	Famous buildings
41	Buildings with construction images