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/>
Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Nội), is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. It has an estimated population of nearly 6.5 million (2009), (but only 2.6 million (2009) in urban areas). From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam.<br/><br/> It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyễn dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Nội), is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. It has an estimated population of nearly 6.5 million (2009), (but only 2.6 million (2009) in urban areas). From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam.<br/><br/> It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyễn dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Nội), is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. It has an estimated population of nearly 6.5 million (2009), (but only 2.6 million (2009) in urban areas). From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam.<br/><br/> It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyễn dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Nội), is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. It has an estimated population of nearly 6.5 million (2009), (but only 2.6 million (2009) in urban areas). From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam.<br/><br/> It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyễn dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
Hanoi (Vietnamese: Hà Nội), is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. It has an estimated population of nearly 6.5 million (2009), (but only 2.6 million (2009) in urban areas). From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam.<br/><br/> It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyễn dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
The French colonial administration built Hoa Lo Prison in 1896. Originally intended to hold 450 prisoners, by the 1930s the number of detainees had soared to almost 2,000, the great majority political prisoners.<br/><br/> Hoa Lo Prison achieved notoriety during the Second Indochina War as a place of incarceration for downed US pilots, who ironically nicknamed the prison the ‘Hanoi Hilton’. American prisoners of war held at Hoa Lo between 1964 and 1973 include Pete Peterson, who would later become the first US Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1995; and John McCain, currently senior Republican Senator for Arizona and a recent presidential candidate, who was shot down over Hanoi in October, 1967.
The French colonial administration built Hoa Lo Prison in 1896. Originally intended to hold 450 prisoners, by the 1930s the number of detainees had soared to almost 2,000, the great majority political prisoners.<br/><br/> Hoa Lo Prison achieved notoriety during the Second Indochina War as a place of incarceration for downed US pilots, who ironically nicknamed the prison the ‘Hanoi Hilton’. American prisoners of war held at Hoa Lo between 1964 and 1973 include Pete Peterson, who would later become the first US Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1995; and John McCain, currently senior Republican Senator for Arizona and a recent presidential candidate, who was shot down over Hanoi in October, 1967.
The French colonial administration built Hoa Lo Prison in 1896. Originally intended to hold 450 prisoners, by the 1930s the number of detainees had soared to almost 2,000, the great majority political prisoners.<br/><br/> Hoa Lo Prison achieved notoriety during the Second Indochina War as a place of incarceration for downed US pilots, who ironically nicknamed the prison the ‘Hanoi Hilton’. American prisoners of war held at Hoa Lo between 1964 and 1973 include Pete Peterson, who would later become the first US Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1995; and John McCain, currently senior Republican Senator for Arizona and a recent presidential candidate, who was shot down over Hanoi in October, 1967.
French Indochina (French: Indochine française; Khmer: សហភាព​ឥណ្ឌូចិន, Vietnamese: Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, frequently abbreviated to Đông Pháp) was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin (North), Annam (Central), and Cochinchina (South), as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887.
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).
The French colonial administration built Hoa Lo Prison in 1896. Originally intended to hold 450 prisoners, by the 1930s the number of detainees had soared to almost 2,000, the great majority political prisoners.<br/><br/> Hoa Lo Prison achieved notoriety during the Second Indochina War as a place of incarceration for downed US pilots, who ironically nicknamed the prison the ‘Hanoi Hilton’. American prisoners of war held at Hoa Lo between 1964 and 1973 include Pete Peterson, who would later become the first US Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1995; and John McCain, currently senior Republican Senator for Arizona and a recent presidential candidate, who was shot down over Hanoi in October, 1967.
The French colonial administration built Hoa Lo Prison in 1896. Originally intended to hold 450 prisoners, by the 1930s the number of detainees had soared to almost 2,000, the great majority political prisoners.<br/><br/> Hoa Lo Prison achieved notoriety during the Second Indochina War as a place of incarceration for downed US pilots, who ironically nicknamed the prison the ‘Hanoi Hilton’. American prisoners of war held at Hoa Lo between 1964 and 1973 include Pete Peterson, who would later become the first US Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1995; and John McCain, currently senior Republican Senator for Arizona and a recent presidential candidate, who was shot down over Hanoi in October, 1967.
The French colonial administration built Hoa Lo Prison in 1896. Originally intended to hold 450 prisoners, by the 1930s the number of detainees had soared to almost 2,000, the great majority political prisoners.<br/><br/> Hoa Lo Prison achieved notoriety during the Second Indochina War as a place of incarceration for downed US pilots, who ironically nicknamed the prison the ‘Hanoi Hilton’. American prisoners of war held at Hoa Lo between 1964 and 1973 include Pete Peterson, who would later become the first US Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1995; and John McCain, currently senior Republican Senator for Arizona and a recent presidential candidate, who was shot down over Hanoi in October, 1967.
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.
Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (born 7 February 1837 in Brussels, died 11 September 1902, Buyat-Beayeau, France) was a French colonial administrator, diplomat and scholar.<br/><br/> Philastre graduated from the French naval academy in 1857 and took service on the Avalanche, arriving in Cochinchina in 1861. In 1863, Philastre was appointed inspector of native affairs in a village in the Mekong river delta and two years later he obtained the position of director of native legal affairs. In 1868, he became ill and was forced to return to France.<br/><br/> In 1873, Philastre returned to the French colonial service in Indochina. Philastre played an important role in mediating between the French colonial authorities in Annam and the royal court in Huế. In 1874, Philastre negotiated the Second Treaty of Saigon with the Annamese court. He also served in Cambodia. He left Indochina in 1889.<br/><br/> Philastre authored a number of works on Chinese and Vietnamese studies, the most important of which are the first French translation of the Yijing and a complete translation of Emperor Gia Long's Code, which was based on the Qing Code.
Adverisement for Pachod Freres d'Indochine - Saigon, Hanoi, Haiphong. Saigon, and especially Rue Catinat, was known for its parfumeries.
The French colonial administration built Hoa Lo Prison in 1896. Originally intended to hold 450 prisoners, by the 1930s the number of detainees had soared to almost 2,000, the great majority political prisoners.<br/><br/> Hoa Lo Prison achieved notoriety during the Second Indochina War as a place of incarceration for downed US pilots, who ironically nicknamed the prison the ‘Hanoi Hilton’. American prisoners of war held at Hoa Lo between 1964 and 1973 include Pete Peterson, who would later become the first US Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1995; and John McCain, currently senior Republican Senator for Arizona and a recent presidential candidate, who was shot down over Hanoi in October, 1967.
Hanoi's Old Quarter lies immediately north of Ho Hoan Kiem lake. It's better known locally as Bam Sau Pho Phuong or the ‘Thirty Six Streets’. 'Phuong' means a trade guild, and most of the streets begin with the word 'hang' meaning merchandise. This ancient section of the city has long been associated with commerce, and it remains very much so today.
Son La Prison Museum stands on a wooded hill rising over the town of Son La to the west of the Nam La River. It is an infamous prison dating from colonial times. A faded sign bearing the French word ‘Pénitencier’ still hangs above the menacing arched entrance. Son La was chosen by the French as the site for this former high security prison because of the town’s isolation, cold weather and unhealthy climate. It was intended as a place not just of incarceration, but also of punishment, and it soon earned Son La a reputation among nationalists and revolutionaries as ‘Vietnam’s Siberia’.<br/><br/> The prison also functioned as a clandestine revolutionary academy, and the list of political prisoners held here at one time or another includes such communist luminaries as Truong Chinh and Le Duan, both of whom would later serve as General Secretaries of the Vietnamese Communist Party.<br/><br/> The French bombed and partially destroyed the prison in 1952 during an attempt to expel Viet Minh forces that had seized Son La, but enough survives or has been rebuilt to show that it was a truly dreadful place. Recalcitrant prisoners were tightly shackled and confined in windowless punishment cells. Deaths from malaria and other infections were high, while the prison guillotine saw frequent use.
Son La Prison Museum stands on a wooded hill rising over the town of Son La to the west of the Nam La River. It is an infamous prison dating from colonial times. A faded sign bearing the French word ‘Pénitencier’ still hangs above the menacing arched entrance. Son La was chosen by the French as the site for this former high security prison because of the town’s isolation, cold weather and unhealthy climate. It was intended as a place not just of incarceration, but also of punishment, and it soon earned Son La a reputation among nationalists and revolutionaries as ‘Vietnam’s Siberia’.<br/><br/> The prison also functioned as a clandestine revolutionary academy, and the list of political prisoners held here at one time or another includes such communist luminaries as Truong Chinh and Le Duan, both of whom would later serve as General Secretaries of the Vietnamese Communist Party.<br/><br/> The French bombed and partially destroyed the prison in 1952 during an attempt to expel Viet Minh forces that had seized Son La, but enough survives or has been rebuilt to show that it was a truly dreadful place. Recalcitrant prisoners were tightly shackled and confined in windowless punishment cells. Deaths from malaria and other infections were high, while the prison guillotine saw frequent use.
The Tonkin Campaign (French: Campagne du Tonkin) was an armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and entrench a French protectorate there.<br/><br/> The campaign, complicated in August 1884 by the outbreak of the Sino-French War and in July 1885 by the Can Vuong nationalist uprising in Annam, which required the diversion of large numbers of French troops, was conducted by the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, supported by the gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla. The campaign officially ended in April 1886, when the expeditionary corps was reduced in size to a division of occupation, but Tonkin was not effectively pacified until 1896.
The Tonkin Campaign (French: Campagne du Tonkin) was an armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and entrench a French protectorate there.<br/><br/> The campaign, complicated in August 1884 by the outbreak of the Sino-French War and in July 1885 by the Can Vuong nationalist uprising in Annam, which required the diversion of large numbers of French troops, was conducted by the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, supported by the gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla. The campaign officially ended in April 1886, when the expeditionary corps was reduced in size to a division of occupation, but Tonkin was not effectively pacified until 1896.
Tourism poster advertising French Indochina or Indochine Francaise from c.1930. French Indochina included Vietnam (Tonkin, Annam and Cochin China) as well as Laos and Cambodia.
Ypres occupied a strategic position during World War I because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France. In the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April to 25 May 1915), the Germans used poison gas for the first time on the Western Front (they had used it earlier at the Battle of Bolimov on 3 January 1915) and captured high ground east of the town. The first gas attack occurred against Canadian, British, and French soldiers including both metropolitan French soldiers as well as colonial tirailleurs. The gas used was chlorine gas. Mustard gas, also called Yperite from the name of this city, was also used for the first time near Ieper in the autumn of 1917
Japanese prostitutes were commonplace across Southeast Asia at this time, some working as spies for the Japanese Imperial authorities. From 1895 to 1918, Japanese authorities turned a blind eye to the emigration of Japanese women to work in brothels in Southeast Asia. According to the Japanese consul in Singapore, almost all of the 450 to 600 Japanese residents of Singapore in 1895 were prostitutes and their pimps, or concubines; fewer than 20 were engaged in ‘respectable trades’.<br/><br/> Prostitutes – known locally as ‘karayuki’ – were the vanguard of what has been described as describes as a ‘karayuki-led economic advance into Southeast Asia.’ It was specifically seen by the authorities as a way to develop a Japanese economic base in the region; profits extracted from the prostitution trade were used to accumulate capital and diversify Japanese economic interests. The prostitutes, known as karayuki-san or 'Miss Gone-Abroad', served as both creditors and customers to other Japanese: they loaned out their earnings to other Japanese residents trying to start businesses, and patronised Japanese tailors, doctors, and grocery stores. In 1918, after World War I, the custom began to decline.
Ypres occupied a strategic position during World War I because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France. In the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April to 25 May 1915), the Germans used poison gas for the first time on the Western Front (they had used it earlier at the Battle of Bolimov on 3 January 1915) and captured high ground east of the town. The first gas attack occurred against Canadian, British, and French soldiers including both metropolitan French soldiers as well as colonial tirailleurs. The gas used was chlorine gas. Mustard gas, also called Yperite from the name of this city, was also used for the first time near Ieper in the autumn of 1917
The French established an opium franchise to put their new colony on a paying basis only six months after they annexed Saigon in 1862. Opium was imported from India, taxed at 10 percent of value, and sold by licensed Chinese merchants to all comers. Opium became an extremely lucrative source of income, and this successful experiment was repeated as the French acquired other areas in Indochina.<br/><br/> Shortly after the French established a protectorate over Cambodia (1863) and central Vietnam (1883), and annexed Tonkin (northern Vietnam, 1884) and Laos (1893), they founded autonomous opium monopolies to finance the heavy initial expenses of colonial rule. While the opium franchise had succeeded in putting southern Vietnam on a paying basis within several years, the rapid expansion of French holdings in the 1880s and 1890s created a huge fiscal deficit for Indochina as a whole.<br/><br/> Governor-General Paul Doumer reorganized the opium business in 1899, expanding sales and sharply reducing expenses. After consolidating the five autonomous opium agencies into the single Opium Monopoly, Doumer constructed a modern, efficient opium refinery in Saigon to process raw Indian resin into prepared smoker's opium. The new factory devised a special mixture of prepared opium that burned quickly, thus encouraging the smoker to consume more opium than he might ordinarily.<br/><br/> Under Doumer's direction, the Opium Monopoly made its first purchases of cheap opium from China's Yunnan Province so that government dens and retail shops could expand their clientele to include the poorer workers who could not afford the high-priced Indian brands. More dens and shops were opened to meet expanded consumer demand (in 1918 there were 1,512 dens and 3,098 retail shops).
Originally named after a French archeologist and researcher, the Louis Finot Museum is located in the Hoan Kien district of Hanoi. It is housed in a colonial French building which was completed in 1932. The building, designed by the architect Ernest Hebrard, is considered a successful blend of French colonial and traditional Vietnamese architecture known as Indochina architecture. Hebrard created double walls and balconies for a natural ventilation system and protection from sunshine. Today, it is a museum showcasing Vietnam's history with very large displays covering every period.
Ypres occupied a strategic position during World War I because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France. In the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April to 25 May 1915), the Germans used poison gas for the first time on the Western Front (they had used it earlier at the Battle of Bolimov on 3 January 1915) and captured high ground east of the town. The first gas attack occurred against Canadian, British, and French soldiers including both metropolitan French soldiers as well as colonial tirailleurs. The gas used was chlorine gas. Mustard gas, also called Yperite from the name of this city, was also used for the first time near Ieper in the autumn of 1917
A colonial view of a vampish Vietnamese woman in tight-fitting ao dai ('long dress'); she is smoking a cigarette which also betokens an easy or loose manner.
Ypres occupied a strategic position during World War I because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France. In the Second Battle of Ypres (22 April to 25 May 1915), the Germans used poison gas for the first time on the Western Front (they had used it earlier at the Battle of Bolimov on 3 January 1915) and captured high ground east of the town. The first gas attack occurred against Canadian, British, and French soldiers including both metropolitan French soldiers as well as colonial tirailleurs. The gas used was chlorine gas. Mustard gas, also called Yperite from the name of this city, was also used for the first time near Ieper in the autumn of 1917
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.
The Tonkin Campaign (French: Campagne du Tonkin) was an armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and entrench a French protectorate there.<br/><br/> The campaign, complicated in August 1884 by the outbreak of the Sino-French War and in July 1885 by the Can Vuong nationalist uprising in Annam, which required the diversion of large numbers of French troops, was conducted by the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, supported by the gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla. The campaign officially ended in April 1886, when the expeditionary corps was reduced in size to a division of occupation, but Tonkin was not effectively pacified until 1896.
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.