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in Saigon

Bót Catinat: Saigon's "Gold Land"

Located on a prime site in one of Hồ Chí Minh City’s numerous “đất vàng” (gold land) areas and already earmarked for redevelopment, the headquarters of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism at...

in Saigon

Street Cred: Yersin

If you’ve been following this column, then you’ve probably noticed the pattern of folks getting famous for taking a stance and sticking up for Vietnam. By now, you should know that Vietnamese people a...

Brian Letwin

in Saigon

Fun With Old Maps: Saigon (1895)

While not the oldest map of Saigon we’ve come across, this 1895 map, “Plan des environs de Saïgon” shows not only downtown, but the surrounding countryside. Even after 36 years of French occupation, t...

in Saigon

Street Cred: Phan Xích Long

Like a page straight out of Bizzaro World, fast food franchises have a heightened social status here in Vietnam.

in Saigon

Old Saigon Building of the Week: Maison du Combattant

The project to create a Maison du Combattant (War Veterans Centre) was launched in 1929 by the Amicale Cochinchinoise des Anciens Combattants de la Grande Guerre (Cochinchina Friendly Association of G...

Brian Letwin

in Saigon

The Lost History of Germans in Saigon

Though it was a French colony, companies from all over Europe were engaged in trade and production in Indochina, especially in Saigon. Germans in particular played a major role in the city’s turn-of-t...

in Saigon

The Incredible History of Saigon’s Racetracks

Although it closed 3 years ago, for the city’s older citizens, District 11’s Phu Tho Horse Racing Ground represents a bygone era of racing and gambling in Saigon. While an important but fading cultura...

in Saigon

Street Cred: Lý Thường Kiệt

Over mountains and rivers of the South, reigns the Emperor of the South. This fate is written in the Book of Heaven. How dare those barbarians invade our land? Your armies, without pity, will be annih...

in Saigon

[Photos] Women's Fashion in 1960s and 70s Saigon

Before 1975, fashion in Vietnam differed greatly between North (which preferred traditional styles) and South (which put a spin on customary dress and adopted Western attire).

in Saigon

Jean-Baptiste Louis-Pierre: The Father of Saigon's Green Spaces

As traffic congestion and air pollution intensifies, Hồ Chí Minh City’s urban greenbelt has assumed increased significance as the “green lung” which helps to disperse pollutants, check the flow of dus...

in Saigon

Gangsters of Saigon: Dai Cathay - Part 2

In the 1960s, the height of existentialism and hippy ideals in Saigon, many of the city’s wealthy hung out at restaurants, discotheques and drug dens in Districts 1 and 3. Dai became a familiar face i...

in Saigon

Gangsters of Saigon: Dai Cathay - Part 1

"First Dai, second Ty, third Cai, fourth The" was a saying about the 4 'kings' of Saigon's gangs before 1975. This implies that the most badass of the group was Dai, also known as Dai Cathay, who...

Brian Letwin

in Saigon

Old Pictures of Saigon's Canals

Canals used to serve as the Saigon's main commercial highway, connecting the city to the Saigon river and in turn the web of rivers that traverse Vietnam.

in Saigon

Street Cred: Vo Thi Sau

Life, like the streets and alleys of Saigon, certainly has its fair share of twists and turns. One moment, you’re comfortably cruising down one direction, and suddenly, you encounter a detour. You try...

in Saigon

The Curious Case of Saigon's Vanishing Revolutionary Monuments

It’s often assumed that it’s only Hồ Chí Minh City’s colonial-era heritage buildings which are under threat. But during the research for his forthcoming book of walking tours, Tim Doling discovered th...

in Saigon

Street Cred: Cách Mạng Tháng 8

Some people find it boring and unimaginative that all the cities in Vietnam share the same street names. Whether it’s an isolated town touching the Chinese border or a tiny strip of road leading to a ...

in Saigon

20 Pictures of Saigon from Before You Were Born

We’re gonna go out on a limb and assume none of readers are more than 100 years old. Based on this assumption, we present 20 pictures of Saigon from before you were born.

in Saigon

Old Saigon Building of the Week: The Signal Mast

A time-honoured landmark on the Saigon riverfront, the Signal Mast (mât des signaux in French, Cột cờ thủ ngữ in Vietnamese) was recently refurbished as the centrepiece of the Saigon riverside park.

in Saigon

Fun with Old Maps: Cho Lon (1923)

Cho Lon is one of Saigon’s oldest and most interesting neighborhoods. Spanning much of Districts 5 and 6, this predominantly Chinese area has been an integral part of Saigon’s economy since its establ...

in Saigon

Street Cred: Nguyễn Văn Trỗi

Hey folks! Saigoneer is resurrecting its short-lived series on the street signs of Saigon with a weekly column called Street Cred. Saigon is filled with history and we see signs of it everywhere. Stre...