Refine your search

The results of your search are listed below alongside the search terms you entered on the previous page. You can refine your search by amending any of the parameters in the form and resubmitting it.

Select all Deselect all Add selection to lightbox
Large Small
Thumbnails per page
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).<br/><br/>
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).<br/><br/>
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).<br/><br/>
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).<br/><br/>
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).<br/><br/>
Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.<br/><br/> The Vietnamese name Cholon literally means 'big' (lớn) 'market' (chợ). The Chinese name (and original name) of Cholon is 堤岸 (pronounced Tai-Ngon in Cantonese and Dī'àn in Mandarin, which means 'embankment' (French: quais). The Vietnamese reading of the Chinese name is Đê Ngạn, but this is rarely used. Vietnamese speakers exclusively use the name Chợ Lớn, while Chinese speakers (both inside Vietnam and in China) are the only users of the latter.
In 1858, France launched an attack on Đà Nẵng, starting its invasion of Vietnam. In 1867, France completed its conquest of southern Vietnam (Cochinchina), comprising the provinces of Biên Hoà, Gia Định, Định Tường, Vĩnh Long, An Giang, and Hà Tiên. To consolidate the newly established colony, on 23 February 1868, Lagrandière, Governor of Cochinchina, held a ceremony to lay the foundation stone of a new palace to replace the old wooden palace built in 1863.<br/><br/> The new palace was designed by Hermite, who was also the architect of the Hong Kong City Hall. The first cubic stone, measuring 50 cm along each edge, with indentations containing French gold and silver coins bearing Napoleon III's effigy, came from Biên Hòa. The complex covered an area of 12 hectares, including a palace with an 80-meter-wide façade, a guest-chamber capable of accommodating 800 people, with a spacious gardens covered by green trees and a lawn. Most of the building materials were imported from France. Owing to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, construction fell behind schedule and was not completed until 1873. The palace was named Norodom Palace after the then king of Cambodia, Norodom (1834–1904).<br/><br/> On 27 February 1962, two pilots of Ngo Dinh Diệm’s Vietnam Air Force rebelled and flew two A-1 Skyraider aircraft towards the palace and bombed it, instead of going on a raid against the Việt Cộng. As a result, almost the entire left wing was destroyed. However, Diệm and his family escaped the assassination attempt. As it was almost impossible to restore the palace, Diệm ordered it demolished and commissioned a new building - the current Reunification Palace - in its place.
<i>Illicium verum</i> is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. A spice commonly called star anise, staranise, star anise seed, Chinese star anise, or badiam that closely resembles anise in flavor is obtained from the star-shaped pericarps of the fruit of <i>Illicium verum</i> which are harvested just before ripening.<br/><br/> Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.
Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.<br/><br/> The Vietnamese name Cholon literally means 'big' (lớn) 'market' (chợ). The Chinese name (and original name) of Cholon is 堤岸 (pronounced Tai-Ngon in Cantonese and Dī'àn in Mandarin, which means 'embankment' (French: quais). The Vietnamese reading of the Chinese name is Đê Ngạn, but this is rarely used. Vietnamese speakers exclusively use the name Chợ Lớn, while Chinese speakers (both inside Vietnam and in China) are the only users of the latter.
Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.<br/><br/> The Vietnamese name Cholon literally means 'big' (lớn) 'market' (chợ). The Chinese name (and original name) of Cholon is 堤岸 (pronounced Tai-Ngon in Cantonese and Dī'àn in Mandarin, which means 'embankment' (French: quais). The Vietnamese reading of the Chinese name is Đê Ngạn, but this is rarely used. Vietnamese speakers exclusively use the name Chợ Lớn, while Chinese speakers (both inside Vietnam and in China) are the only users of the latter.
Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.<br/><br/> The Vietnamese name Cholon literally means 'big' (lớn) 'market' (chợ). The Chinese name (and original name) of Cholon is 堤岸 (pronounced Tai-Ngon in Cantonese and Dī'àn in Mandarin, which means 'embankment' (French: quais). The Vietnamese reading of the Chinese name is Đê Ngạn, but this is rarely used. Vietnamese speakers exclusively use the name Chợ Lớn, while Chinese speakers (both inside Vietnam and in China) are the only users of the latter.<br/><br/> In 1778, the Hoa (Chinese minority of Vietnam) living in Biên Hòa had to take refuge in what is now Cholon because they were retaliated against by the Tây Sơn forces for their support of the Nguyễn lords. In 1782, they were again massacred by the Tây Sơn and had to rebuild. They built high embankments against the flows of the river, and called their new settlement Tai-Ngon (meaning 'embankment' in Cantonese).<br/><br/> Cholon was incorporated as a city in 1879, 11 km from Saigon. By the 1930s, it had expanded to the city limit of Saigon. On April 27, 1931, the two cities were merged to form Saigon-Cholon. In 1956, 'Cholon' was dropped from the name and the city became known as Saigon.
Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.<br/><br/> The Vietnamese name Cholon literally means 'big' (lớn) 'market' (chợ). The Chinese name (and original name) of Cholon is 堤岸 (pronounced Tai-Ngon in Cantonese and Dī'àn in Mandarin, which means 'embankment' (French: quais). The Vietnamese reading of the Chinese name is Đê Ngạn, but this is rarely used. Vietnamese speakers exclusively use the name Chợ Lớn, while Chinese speakers (both inside Vietnam and in China) are the only users of the latter.<br/><br/> In 1778, the Hoa (Chinese minority of Vietnam) living in Biên Hòa had to take refuge in what is now Cholon because they were retaliated against by the Tây Sơn forces for their support of the Nguyễn lords. In 1782, they were again massacred by the Tây Sơn and had to rebuild. They built high embankments against the flows of the river, and called their new settlement Tai-Ngon (meaning 'embankment' in Cantonese).<br/><br/> Cholon was incorporated as a city in 1879, 11 km from Saigon. By the 1930s, it had expanded to the city limit of Saigon. On April 27, 1931, the two cities were merged to form Saigon-Cholon. In 1956, 'Cholon' was dropped from the name and the city became known as Saigon.
Ho Chi Minh City (better known as Saigon) is the largest city in Vietnam. It was once known as Prey Nokor, an important Khmer sea port prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century.<br/><br/> Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochin-china and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. In 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Dinh Province and was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam's great wartime leader (although the name Saigon is still commonly used).<br/><br/> The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the South China Sea and 1,760 kilometers (1,090 mi) south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
Former Emperor Bao Dai made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Viet Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'. The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
The rue Catinat (Catinat street) is a street, now called Dong Khoi, in Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon. It was named for Nicolas Catinat, a 17th and 18th century French marshal.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Óc Eo is an archaeological site in Thoại Sơn District in southern An Giang Province, Vietnam, in the Mekong River Delta region of Vietnam. It is also one of the modern day communes of Vietnam. Óc Eo may have been a busy port of the kingdom of Funan between the 1st and 7th centuries CE. Scholars use the term 'Óc Eo Culture' to refer to the ancient material culture of the Mekong Delta region that is typified by the artifacts recovered at Óc Eo through archeological investigation.<br/><br/> The remains found at Óc Eo include pottery, tools, jewelry, casts for making jewelry, coins (including coins from the Roman Empire), and religious statues. Many of the remains have been collected and are on exhibition in the Museum of Vietnamese History in Ho Chi Minh City.
The Siege of Saigon, a two-year siege of the city by the Vietnamese after its capture on 17 February 1859 by a Franco-Spanish flotilla under the command of the French admiral Charles Rigault de Genouilly, was one of the major events of the Conquest of Cochinchina (1858–62).<br/><br/> Saigon was of great strategic importance, both as the key food-producing area of Vietnam and as the gateway to Cochinchina.
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Saigon's General Post Office, next to Notre Dame Cathedral, was built between 1886 and 1891. Designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel Tower fame), the vaulted interior is reminiscent of a grand 19th century European train station.<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
The Hôtel Continental is a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was named after the prestigious Hôtel Continental in Paris, and is located in District 1, the central business district of the city (Saigon). The hotel is situated by the Saigon Opera House and was built in 1880 by the French. The hotel has undergone a few refurbishments over the years, whilst still maintaining the essence of its original architecture and style.<br/><br/> The Ho Chi Minh City Hotel Continental has also been featured in the Hollywood movie The Quiet American, an adaptation of Graham Greene's novel with the same name. Another movie in which it was featured was Indochine. This film and Greene's Quiet American illustrate the central place the Continental had in the social and political life of Saigon during the French Colonial Era. It is located near the City Post Office, built in 1891, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Building (1898, formerly the Hotel De Ville) and Notre Dame Cathedral (1880).<br/><br/> Graham Greene lived in the Continental while writing 'The Quiet American' and working as a journalist during the latter days of the French Colonial period. It is located on the intersection of Le Loi street and the bustling Dong Khoi Street, Rue Catinat during the days of the French.<br/><br/> The Continental was also home to the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore (1913 Nobel Prize for Literature) and Andre Malraux (1933 Prix Goncourt for 'Man's Fate', as well as other journalists, celebrities, politicians and heads of state.
Shortly after midnight on 31 January 1968, 19 Vietcong sappers from the elite C-10 Sapper Battalion gathered at a Vietcong safe house in a car repair shop at 59 Phan Thanh Gian Street to distribute weapons and conduct final preparations for the attack. At 02:47 hours, the Vietcong blew a small hole in the perimeter wall on Thong Nhut Boulevard and gained access to the embassy compound.<br/><br/> The Vietcong opened fire on the Chancery building with Type 56s and RPG-2s. Several RPGs penetrated the walls of the Chancery. By 09:00, the Embassy was declared secure. Of the 19 Vietcong fighters that attacked the building, 18 had been killed and one wounded fighter was captured.<br/><br/> While the Embassy attack (like much of the Tet Offensive) was tactically insignificant, it had a profound political and psychological impact. The United States had been fighting in Vietnam for over two-and-a-half years, 20,000 Americans had been killed and despite the presence of nearly 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the Vietcong had managed to penetrate the U.S. Embassy, sovereign U.S. territory and the symbol of American power.
Shortly after midnight on 31 January 1968, 19 Vietcong sappers from the elite C-10 Sapper Battalion gathered at a Vietcong safe house in a car repair shop at 59 Phan Thanh Gian Street to distribute weapons and conduct final preparations for the attack. At 02:47 hours, the Vietcong blew a small hole in the perimeter wall on Thong Nhut Boulevard and gained access to the embassy compound.<br/><br/> The Vietcong opened fire on the Chancery building with Type 56s and RPG-2s. Several RPGs penetrated the walls of the Chancery. By 09:00, the Embassy was declared secure. Of the 19 Vietcong fighters that attacked the building, 18 had been killed and one wounded fighter was captured.<br/><br/> While the Embassy attack (like much of the Tet Offensive) was tactically insignificant, it had a profound political and psychological impact. The United States had been fighting in Vietnam for over two-and-a-half years, 20,000 Americans had been killed and despite the presence of nearly 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the Vietcong had managed to penetrate the U.S. Embassy, sovereign U.S. territory and the symbol of American power.
Shortly after midnight on 31 January 1968, 19 Vietcong sappers from the elite C-10 Sapper Battalion gathered at a Vietcong safe house in a car repair shop at 59 Phan Thanh Gian Street to distribute weapons and conduct final preparations for the attack. At 02:47 hours, the Vietcong blew a small hole in the perimeter wall on Thong Nhut Boulevard and gained access to the embassy compound.<br/><br/> The Vietcong opened fire on the Chancery building with Type 56s and RPG-2s. Several RPGs penetrated the walls of the Chancery. By 09:00, the Embassy was declared secure. Of the 19 Vietcong fighters that attacked the building, 18 had been killed and one wounded fighter was captured.<br/><br/> While the Embassy attack (like much of the Tet Offensive) was tactically insignificant, it had a profound political and psychological impact. The United States had been fighting in Vietnam for over two-and-a-half years, 20,000 Americans had been killed and despite the presence of nearly 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the Vietcong had managed to penetrate the U.S. Embassy, sovereign U.S. territory and the symbol of American power.
Shortly after midnight on 31 January 1968, 19 Vietcong sappers from the elite C-10 Sapper Battalion gathered at a Vietcong safe house in a car repair shop at 59 Phan Thanh Gian Street to distribute weapons and conduct final preparations for the attack. At 02:47 hours, the Vietcong blew a small hole in the perimeter wall on Thong Nhut Boulevard and gained access to the embassy compound.<br/><br/> The Vietcong opened fire on the Chancery building with Type 56s and RPG-2s. Several RPGs penetrated the walls of the Chancery. By 09:00, the Embassy was declared secure. Of the 19 Vietcong fighters that attacked the building, 18 had been killed and one wounded fighter was captured.<br/><br/> While the Embassy attack (like much of the Tet Offensive) was tactically insignificant, it had a profound political and psychological impact. The United States had been fighting in Vietnam for over two-and-a-half years, 20,000 Americans had been killed and despite the presence of nearly 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the Vietcong had managed to penetrate the U.S. Embassy, sovereign U.S. territory and the symbol of American power.
The Second Indochina War, known in America as the Vietnam War, was a Cold War era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the U.S. and other anti-communist nations. The U.S. government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and part of their wider strategy of containment.<br/><br/> The North Vietnamese government viewed the war as a colonial war, fought initially against France, backed by the U.S., and later against South Vietnam, which it regarded as a U.S. puppet state. U.S. military advisors arrived beginning in 1950. U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with U.S. troop levels tripling in 1961 and tripling again in 1962. U.S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965. Operations spanned borders, with Laos and Cambodia heavily bombed. Involvement peaked in 1968 at the time of the Tet Offensive.<br/><br/> U.S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973. The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese army in April 1975 marked the end of the US-Vietnam War.
Shortly after midnight on 31 January 1968, 19 Vietcong sappers from the elite C-10 Sapper Battalion gathered at a Vietcong safe house in a car repair shop at 59 Phan Thanh Gian Street to distribute weapons and conduct final preparations for the attack. At 02:47 hours, the Vietcong blew a small hole in the perimeter wall on Thong Nhut Boulevard and gained access to the embassy compound.<br/><br/> The Vietcong opened fire on the Chancery building with Type 56s and RPG-2s. Several RPGs penetrated the walls of the Chancery. By 09:00, the Embassy was declared secure. Of the 19 Vietcong fighters that attacked the building, 18 had been killed and one wounded fighter was captured.<br/><br/> While the Embassy attack (like much of the Tet Offensive) was tactically insignificant, it had a profound political and psychological impact. The United States had been fighting in Vietnam for over two-and-a-half years, 20,000 Americans had been killed and despite the presence of nearly 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the Vietcong had managed to penetrate the U.S. Embassy, sovereign U.S. territory and the symbol of American power.
The Fall of Saigon was the capture / liberation of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam under Communist rule.<br/><br/> North Vietnamese forces under the command of the Senior General Văn Tiến Dũng began their final attack on Saigon, which was commanded by General Nguyen Van Toan on April 29, with a heavy artillery bombardment.<br/><br/> By the afternoon of the next day, North Vietnamese troops had occupied the important points within the city and raised their flag over the South Vietnamese presidential palace. South Vietnam capitulated shortly after. The city was later renamed Ho Chi Minh City, in posthumous honour of the communist leader Ho Chi Minh who had died in 1969.
The ao dai (Vietnamese: áo dài) is a Vietnamese national costume, now most commonly for women. In its current form, it is a tight-fitting silk tunic worn over pantaloons. The word is pronounced ow-zye in the north and ow-yai in the south, and translates as 'long dress'.<br/><br/> The name áo dài was originally applied to the dress worn at the court of the Nguyễn Lords at Huế in the 18th century. This outfit evolved into the áo ngũ thân, a five-paneled aristocratic gown worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by Paris fashions, Nguyễn Cát Tường and other artists associated with Hanoi University redesigned the ngũ thân as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s.<br/><br/> The updated look was promoted by the artists and magazines of Tự Lực văn đoàn (Self-Reliant Literary Group) as a national costume for the modern era. In the 1950s, Saigon designers tightened the fit to produce the version worn by Vietnamese women today. The dress was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s, frowned upon as frivolous and borgeois in the North between 1952 and 1986, but is today increasingly popular nationwide, having become once again a symbol of Vietnamese nationalism and Vietnamese female beauty.
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, better known as Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn) is the largest city in Vietnam. It was once known as Prey Nokor, an important Khmer sea port prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century.<br/><br/> Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochin-china and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. In 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province and was officially renamed Hồ Chí Minh City after Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam's great wartime leader (although the name Sài Gòn is still commonly used.)<br/><br/> The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the South China Sea and 1,760 kilometers (1,090 mi) south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
Hoa Hao is a religious tradition, based on Buddhism, founded in 1939 by Huynh Phy Sy, a native of the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam. When America began intervening in South Vietnam, the most powerful groups to concern the Americans were the Cao Dai, the Binh Xuyen and the Hoa Hao, which had formed a small private army under General Ba Cụt. O.S.S. Colonel Edward Lansdale used bribery with CIA funds to split the Hoa Hao and in 1956 General Duơng Van Minh crushed the Hoa Hao and General Ba Cụt was captured and beheaded in public. This was the end of the Hoa Hao as an armed group, some later joining the Viet Cong in opposition to the Diem regime. After Diem was deposed and killed, the Hoa Hao changed their emphasis from anti Diem to anti Communist.
The Quiet American is an anti-war novel by British author Graham Greene, first published in United Kingdom in 1955 and in the United States in 1956. It was adapted into films in 1958 and 2002. The book draws on Greene's experiences as a war correspondent for The Times and Le Figaro in French Indochina 1951-1954. He was apparently inspired to write The Quiet American in October 1951 while driving back to Saigon from the Ben Tre province. He was accompanied by an American aid worker who lectured him about finding a 'third force in Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The character Alden Pyle, identified with the 'Quiet American', is killed by communist / nationalist assassains on 'the Bridge to Dakow', and his body thrown into the waters below. The old iron bridge shown here was replaced by a new concrete structure in the 1980s.<br/><br/> Greene spent three years writing the novel, which foreshadowed US involvement in Vietnam long before it became publicly known. The book was the initial reason for Graham Greene being under constant surveillance by US intelligence agencies from the 1950s until his death in 1991, according to documents obtained in 2002 by The Guardian newspaper under the US Freedom of Information Act.
Conquered by France in 1859, Saigon was influenced by the French during their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical Western-style buildings in the city reflect this, so much so that Saigon was called the 'Pearl of the Far East' or the 'Paris in the Orient'. In 1929, Saigon had a population of 123,890, which included 12,100 French.
The Quiet American is an anti-war novel by British author Graham Greene, first published in United Kingdom in 1955 and in the United States in 1956. It was adapted into films in 1958 and 2002. The book draws on Greene's experiences as a war correspondent for The Times and Le Figaro in French Indochina 1951-1954. He was apparently inspired to write The Quiet American in October 1951 while driving back to Saigon from the Ben Tre province. He was accompanied by an American aid worker who lectured him about finding a 'third force in Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The character Alden Pyle, identified with the 'Quiet American', is killed by communist / nationalist assassains on 'the Bridge to Dakow', and his body thrown into the waters below. The old iron bridge shown here was replaced by a new concrete structure in the 1980s.<br/><br/> Greene spent three years writing the novel, which foreshadowed US involvement in Vietnam long before it became publicly known. The book was the initial reason for Graham Greene being under constant surveillance by US intelligence agencies from the 1950s until his death in 1991, according to documents obtained in 2002 by The Guardian newspaper under the US Freedom of Information Act.
Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.<br/><br/> The Vietnamese name Cholon literally means 'big' (lớn) 'market' (chợ). The Chinese name (and original name) of Cholon is 堤岸 (pronounced Tai-Ngon in Cantonese and Dī'àn in Mandarin, which means 'embankment' (French: quais). The Vietnamese reading of the Chinese name is Đê Ngạn, but this is rarely used. Vietnamese speakers exclusively use the name Chợ Lớn, while Chinese speakers (both inside Vietnam and in China) are the only users of the latter.<br/><br/> In 1778, the Hoa (Chinese minority of Vietnam) living in Biên Hòa had to take refuge in what is now Cholon because they were retaliated against by the Tây Sơn forces for their support of the Nguyễn lords. In 1782, they were again massacred by the Tây Sơn and had to rebuild. They built high embankments against the flows of the river, and called their new settlement Tai-Ngon (meaning 'embankment' in Cantonese).<br/><br/> Cholon was incorporated as a city in 1879, 11 km from Saigon. By the 1930s, it had expanded to the city limit of Saigon. On April 27, 1931, the two cities were merged to form Saigon-Cholon. In 1956, 'Cholon' was dropped from the name and the city became known as Saigon.
Conquered by France in 1859, Saigon was influenced by the French during their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical Western-style buildings and French villas in the city reflect this. Saigon had, in 1929, a population of 123,890, including 12,100 French.
Conquered by France in 1859, Saigon was influenced by the French during their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical Western-style buildings and French villas in the city reflect this. Saigon had, in 1929, a population of 123,890, including 12,100 French.
Hoa Hao is a religious tradition, based on Buddhism, founded in 1939 by Huynh Phu So, a native of the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam. Adherents consider So to be a prophet. Hoa Hao stresses the practice of Buddhism by lay people in the home, rather than focusing primarily on temple worship and ordination. Aid to the poor is favored over pagoda-building or expensive rituals; religious and social ceremonies are ideally simple and modest, and are not to include the food offerings, divination services, and elaborate wedding and funeral customs found in some manifestations of Southeast Asian life. These are viewed as a waste of money which would be better spent helping the needy. There are around two million adherents in Vietnam.
Hoa Hao is a religious tradition, based on Buddhism, founded in 1939 by Huynh Phu So, a native of the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam. Adherents consider So to be a prophet. Hoa Hao stresses the practice of Buddhism by lay people in the home, rather than focusing primarily on temple worship and ordination. Aid to the poor is favored over pagoda-building or expensive rituals; religious and social ceremonies are ideally simple and modest, and are not to include the food offerings, divination services, and elaborate wedding and funeral customs found in some manifestations of Southeast Asian life. These are viewed as a waste of money which would be better spent helping the needy. There are around two million adherents in Vietnam.
Nguyen Van Troi (1947 – October 15, 1964) was a Viet Cong (National Liberation Front) fighter. He became known after being captured by the South Vietnamese when trying to assassinate United States Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and future ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. who were visiting South Vietnam in May 1963. He was executed by firing squad aged 17 years. His execution was filmed, and he remained defiant to the end.<br/><br/> His last words before his execution in Saigon to correspondents were 'It is the Americans who have committed aggression on our country, it is they who have been killing our people with planes and bombs.... I have never acted against the will of my people. It is against the Americans that I have taken action.' When a priest offered him absolution, he refused, saying: 'I have committed no sin. It is the Americans who have sinned.' He refused to have his eyes covered before volleys hit him saying 'Let me look at our beloved land' and as the first shots were fired, he called out, 'Long live Vietnam!'.
Bình Xuyên, often linked to its infamous leader, General Le van 'Bay' Vien, was an independent military force within the Vietnamese National Army whose leaders once had lived outside the law and had sided with the Viet Minh. During its heyday, Binh Xuyen funded itself with organized crime activities in Saigon while effectively battling Communist forces. Binh Xuyen was located in Nha Be, in the marshes and canals along the southern fringes of Saigon-Cholon.<br/><br/> In 1949 Bay Vien, a former brigand and a revolutionary, was given the rank of major general of the Vietnamese National Army and his troops became the Binh Xuyen. The Binh Xuyen was a self-funded army with revenues from legally-run brothels and casinos. General Vien made arrangements with Emperor Bao Dai giving them control of their own affairs in return for their nominal support of the regime. The Binh Xuyen's military forces were mostly wiped out by the Vietnamese National Army under Big Minh's command in Operation Rung Sat in 1955. Bay Vien, the leader of the organization, was exiled to Paris after his unsuccessful attempt to take power from Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in May 1955.
Hoa Hao is a religious tradition, based on Buddhism, founded in 1939 by Huynh Phy Sy, a native of the Mekong River Delta region of southern Vietnam. When America began intervening in South Vietnam, the most powerful groups to concern the Americans were the Cao Dai, the Binh Xuyen and the Hoa Hao, which had formed a small private army under General Ba Cụt. O.S.S. Colonel Edward Lansdale used bribery with CIA funds to split the Hoa Hao and in 1956 General Duơng Van Minh crushed the Hoa Hao and General Ba Cụt was captured and beheaded in public. This was the end of the Hoa Hao as an armed group, some later joining the Viet Cong in opposition to the Diem regime. After Diem was deposed and killed, the Hoa Hao changed their emphasis from anti Diem to anti Communist.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
Chua Ngoc Hoang or ‘Pagoda of the Jade Emperor’ was built in 1909, this is a spectacularly colourful Chinese temple dedicated to Ngoc Huang, Jade Emperor of the Taoist pantheon.<br/><br/> The Jade Emperor is the Daoist ruler of Heaven and all realms of existence below including that of Man and Hell, according to Daoist mythology. He is one of the most important gods of the Chinese traditional religion pantheon. In Daoist belief, the Jade Emperor governs all of the mortals' realm and below, but ranks below the Three Pure Ones.
The Fall of Saigon was the capture / liberation of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975. The event marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam under communist rule.<br/><br/> North Vietnamese forces under the command of the Senior General Văn Tiến Dũng began their final attack on Saigon, which was commanded by General Nguyen Van Toan on April 29, with a heavy artillery bombardment.<br/><br/> By the afternoon of the next day, North Vietnamese troops had occupied the important points within the city and raised their flag over the South Vietnamese presidential palace. South Vietnam capitulated shortly after. The city was later renamed Ho Chi Minh City, in posthumous honour of the communist leader Ho Chi Minh who had died in 1969.
Hát tuồng (also called hát bội, or simply tuồng) is a form of Vietnamese theatre. Hát tuồng is often referred to as classical 'Vietnamese opera' influenced by Chinese opera.<br/><br/> It is believed that tuồng was imported from China around the 13th century when Vietnam was warring against the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. A famous actor named Lý Nguyên Cát (李元吉) was imprisoned by the Vietnamese. The imperial court asked him to spread his knowledge of Chinese theatre to the children of the elite, thus explaining how tuồng had first had its beginnings in Vietnam in the royal court. Later on, it was adapted to travelling troupes who entertained commoners and peasants.
The first railways in Vietnam were established in the 1880s; these included a tram running between the ports of Saigon and Cholon, and a regional rail line connecting Saigon with Mỹ Tho in the Mekong Delta. Railway construction flourished soon afterwards, during the administration of Paul Doumer as Governor-General of French Indochina from 1897 to 1902.
Rickshaws (or rickshas) are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons. Rickshaws are commonly made with bamboo. The word rickshaw came from Asia, where they were mainly used as means of transportation for the social elite. In recent times the use of rickshaws has been discouraged or outlawed in many countries due to concern for the welfare of rickshaw workers.<br/><br/> Runner-pulled rickshaws have mainly been replaced by cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws. The term 'rickshaw' is today commonly used for those vehicles as well.<br/><br/> The word 'rickshaw' originates from the Japanese word jinrikisha, which literally means 'human-powered vehicle'. In 1874, The word jinricksha / jinrikisha was first published in the Oxford English Dictionary.
Conquered by France in 1859, Saigon was influenced by the French during their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical Western-style buildings and French villas in the city reflect this. Saigon had, in 1929, a population of 123,890, including 12,100 French.
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
Conquered by France in 1859, Saigon was influenced by the French during their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical Western-style buildings in the city reflect this, so much so that Saigon was called the 'Pearl of the Far East' or the 'Paris in the Orient'. In 1929, Saigon had a population of 123,890, which included 12,100 French.
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).<br/><br/> Former Emperor Bảo Đại made Saigon the capital of the State of Vietnam in 1949 with himself as head of state. After the Việt Minh gained control of North Vietnam in 1954, it became common to refer to the Saigon government as 'South Vietnam'.<br/><br/> The government was renamed the Republic of Vietnam when Bảo Đại was deposed by his Prime Minister Ngo Dinh Diem in a fraudulent referendum in 1955. Saigon and Cholon, an adjacent city with many Sino-Vietnamese residents, were combined into an administrative unit called Đô Thành Sài Gòn (Capital City Saigon).
The ao dai (Vietnamese: áo dài) is a Vietnamese national costume, now most commonly for women. In its current form, it is a tight-fitting silk tunic worn over pantaloons. The word is pronounced ow-zye in the north and ow-yai in the south, and translates as 'long dress'.<br/><br/> The name áo dài was originally applied to the dress worn at the court of the Nguyễn Lords at Huế in the 18th century. This outfit evolved into the áo ngũ thân, a five-paneled aristocratic gown worn in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Inspired by Paris fashions, Nguyễn Cát Tường and other artists associated with Hanoi University redesigned the ngũ thân as a modern dress in the 1920s and 1930s.<br/><br/> The updated look was promoted by the artists and magazines of Tự Lực văn đoàn (Self-Reliant Literary Group) as a national costume for the modern era. In the 1950s, Saigon designers tightened the fit to produce the version worn by Vietnamese women today. The dress was extremely popular in South Vietnam in the 1960s and early 1970s, frowned upon as frivolous and borgeois in the North between 1952 and 1986, but is today increasingly popular nationwide, having become once again a symbol of Vietnamese nationalism and Vietnamese female beauty.
The Saigon Opera House (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh), an opera house in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is an example of French Colonial architecture in Vietnam.<br/><br/> Built in 1897 by French architect Ferret Eugene, the 800 seat building was used as the home of the Lower House assembly of South Vietnam after 1956. It was not until 1975 that it was again used as a theatre, and restored in 1995.
Conquered by France in 1859, Saigon was influenced by the French during their colonial occupation of Vietnam, and a number of classical Western-style buildings in the city reflect this. Saigon had, in 1929, a population of 123,890, including 12,100 French.
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnamese: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, better known as Saigon (Vietnamese: Sài Gòn) is the largest city in Vietnam. It was once known as Prey Nokor, an important Khmer sea port prior to annexation by the Vietnamese in the 17th century.<br/><br/> Under the name Saigon, it was the capital of the French colony of Cochin-china and later of the independent state of South Vietnam from 1955 to 1975. In 1976, Saigon merged with the surrounding Gia Định Province and was officially renamed Hồ Chí Minh City after Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam's great wartime leader (although the name Sài Gòn is still commonly used).<br/><br/> The city center is situated on the banks of the Saigon River, 60 kilometers (37 mi) from the South China Sea and 1,760 kilometers (1,090 mi) south of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
In 1858, France launched an attack on Đà Nẵng, starting its invasion of Vietnam. In 1867, France completed its conquest of southern Vietnam (Cochinchina), comprising the provinces of Biên Hoà, Gia Định, Định Tường, Vĩnh Long, An Giang, and Hà Tiên. To consolidate the newly established colony, on 23 February 1868, Lagrandière, Governor of Cochinchina, held a ceremony to lay the foundation stone of a new palace to replace the old wooden palace built in 1863.<br/><br/> The new palace was designed by Hermite, who was also the architect of the Hong Kong City Hall. The first cubic stone, measuring 50 cm along each edge, with indentations containing French gold and silver coins bearing Napoleon III's effigy, came from Biên Hòa. The complex covered an area of 12 hectares, including a palace with an 80-meter-wide façade, a guest-chamber capable of accommodating 800 people, with a spacious gardens covered by green trees and a lawn. Most of the building materials were imported from France. Owing to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, construction fell behind schedule and was not completed until 1873. The palace was named Norodom Palace after the then king of Cambodia, Norodom (1834–1904).<br/><br/> On 27 February 1962, two pilots of Ngo Dinh Diệm’s Vietnam Air Force rebelled and flew two A-1 Skyraider aircraft towards the palace and bombed it, instead of going on a raid against the Việt Cộng. As a result, almost the entire left wing was destroyed. However, Diệm and his family escaped the assassination attempt. As it was almost impossible to restore the palace, Diệm ordered it demolished and commissioned a new building - the current Reunification Palace - in its place.
The Hôtel Continental is a hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was named after the prestigious Hôtel Continental in Paris, and is located in District 1, the central business district of the city (Saigon). The hotel is situated by the Saigon Opera House and was built in 1880 by the French. The hotel has undergone a few refurbishments over the years, whilst still maintaining the essence of its original architecture and style.<br/><br/> The Ho Chi Minh City Hotel Continental has also been featured in the Hollywood movie The Quiet American, an adaptation of Graham Greene's novel with the same name. Another movie in which it was featured was Indochine. This film and Greene's Quiet American illustrate the central place the Continental had in the social and political life of Saigon during the French Colonial Era. It is located near the City Post Office, built in 1891, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Building (1898, formerly the Hotel De Ville) and Notre Dame Cathedral (1880).<br/><br/> Graham Greene lived in the Continental while writing 'The Quiet American' and working as a journalist during the latter days of the French Colonial period. It is located on the intersection of Le Loi street and the bustling Dong Khoi Street, Rue Catinat during the days of the French.<br/><br/> The Continental was also home to the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore (1913 Nobel Prize for Literature) and Andre Malraux (1933 Prix Goncourt for 'Man's Fate'), as well as other journalists, celebrities, politicians and heads of state.
Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.<br/><br/> The Vietnamese name Cholon literally means 'big' (lớn) 'market' (chợ). The Chinese name (and original name) of Cholon is 堤岸 (pronounced Tai-Ngon in Cantonese and Dī'àn in Mandarin, which means 'embankment' (French: quais). The Vietnamese reading of the Chinese name is Đê Ngạn, but this is rarely used. Vietnamese speakers exclusively use the name Chợ Lớn, while Chinese speakers (both inside Vietnam and in China) are the only users of the latter.
Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.<br/><br/> The Vietnamese name Cholon literally means 'big' (lớn) 'market' (chợ). The Chinese name (and original name) of Cholon is 堤岸 (pronounced Tai-Ngon in Cantonese and Dī'àn in Mandarin, which means 'embankment' (French: quais). The Vietnamese reading of the Chinese name is Đê Ngạn, but this is rarely used. Vietnamese speakers exclusively use the name Chợ Lớn, while Chinese speakers (both inside Vietnam and in China) are the only users of the latter.
Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.<br/><br/> The Vietnamese name Cholon literally means 'big' (lớn) 'market' (chợ). The Chinese name (and original name) of Cholon is 堤岸 (pronounced Tai-Ngon in Cantonese and Dī'àn in Mandarin, which means 'embankment' (French: quais). The Vietnamese reading of the Chinese name is Đê Ngạn, but this is rarely used. Vietnamese speakers exclusively use the name Chợ Lớn, while Chinese speakers (both inside Vietnam and in China) are the only users of the latter.
Cinnamon is the name for perhaps a dozen species of trees and the commercial spice products that some of them produce. All are members of the genus Cinnamomum in the family Lauraceae. Only a few of them are grown commercially for spice. In Sri Lanka, the major production region, only <i>Cinnamomum verum</i> (synonym <i>Cinnamomum zeylanicum</i>) is cultivated.<br/><br/> Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.
Cinnamon is the name for perhaps a dozen species of trees and the commercial spice products that some of them produce. All are members of the genus Cinnamomum in the family Lauraceae. Only a few of them are grown commercially for spice. In Sri Lanka, the major production region, only <i>Cinnamomum verum</i> (synonym <i>Cinnamomum zeylanicum</i>) is cultivated.<br/><br/> Chợ Lớn is a Chinese-influenced section of Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). It lies on the west bank of the Saigon River, having Bình Tây Market as its central market. Cholon consists of the western half of District 5 as well as several adjoining neighborhoods in District 6.