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HO CHI MINH
Cu Chi Tunnels, Suoi Tien ,
Giac Vien Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum,
Thong Nhat Palace,
Notre Dame Cathedral, Municipal Revolutionary Museum,
Zoo And Botanical Gardens
 HO CHI MINH CITY
Area: 2,090sq.km Population: 5.037.155. Districts: 1st to 12th,
Tan Binh, Binh Thanh, Phu Nhuan, Thu Duc, Go Vap and six rural
districts: Nha Be, Can Gio, Hoc Mon, Cu Chi, Binh Chanh.
Economic potentialities: Ho Chi Minh City is not only a
commercial center but also a scientific, technological,
industrial and tourist center.
 Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known
as Saigon, lies between the Mekong Delta and South Vietnam. It
is 1,730 km from Hanoi and 50 km from the East Sea. The city is
the second most important in Vietnam after Hanoi. The main
ethnic groups populating the area are Kinh and Hoa. Its land is
crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers and canals, the largest being
the Saigon River. The Port of Saigon, established in 1862, is
accessible to ships of up to 30,000 tones, a rare advantage for
an inland river port. The climate is generally hot and humid.
The annual average temperature is 27oC. The hottest month is
April and the coldest, December. Over the past centuries,
Saigon, once praised as the "Pearl of the Far East," was known
as an important trading center to for Chinese, Japanese, and
Western merchants who traveled upstream the Saigon River to Pho
Island. Now, Ho Chi Minh City is not only a commercial center,
but also a scientific, technological, industrial and tourist
one.
CU CHI TUNNELS
 Cu Chi Tunnels are located approximately 30 km northwest of Ho
Chi Minh City in Cu Chi district. This district is known
nationwide as the base where the Vietnamese mounted their
operations of the Tet Offensive in 1968. Cu Chi Tunnels consist
of more than 200 km of underground tunnels. This main axis
system has many branches connecting to underground hideouts,
shelters, and entrances to other tunnels. The tunnels are
between 0.5 to 1 m wide, just enough space for a person to walk
along by bending or dragging. However, parts of the tunnels have
been modified to accommodate visitors. The upper soil layer is
between 3 to 4 m thick and can support the weight of a 50-ton
tank and the damage of light cannons and bombs. The underground
network provided sleeping quarters, meeting rooms, hospitals,
and other social rooms. Visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels provides a
better understanding of the prolonged resistance war of the
Vietnamese people and also of the persistent and clever
character of the Vietnamese nation. For years, Cu Chi Tunnels
have been visited by thousands of tourists from all over the
world.
SUOI TIEN TOURIST (FAIRIES STREAM)
GIAC VIEN PAGODA
 Giac Vien Pagoda is located on Lac Long Quan Street in Ho Chi
Minh City. Master Huong Dang built it in 1805 in honor of
Emperor Gia Long. At first it was a thatch-roof hut used for
worship of Bodhisattva and was named Kwan-Yin. In 1850, it was
renamed Giac Vien Pagoda by Ch'an Master Hai Tinh. The pagoda
has conserved more than 150 statues and engravings, most of them
dating from the late 19th century and early 20th century.HO CHI
MINH CAMPAIGN MUSEUM:
2 Le Duan Street, District 1The Ho Chi Minh Campaign Museum
introduces the determination of the Party, and the people as a
whole, to liberate the South and reunify the country. The events
of April 30, 1975 are reflected in the following themes of
exhibitions: the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the Phuoc Long Campaign, the
Buon Me Thuot Campaign, the Hue-Danang Campaign and the Ho Chi
Minh Campaign. Furthermore, the museum has a film room, an
exhibition room about the staff of Saigon's government and a
display of heavy weapons. There are also works of art giving a
complete view of the final period of national resistance.
HO CHI MINH CITY FINE ARTS MUSEUM
97A Pho Duc Chinh Street, District 1The Ho Chi Minh City Fine
Arts Museum was set up as the result of a decision made by the
City's People's Committee in September 1987, but was not
officially opened until 1991. The first floor and second floors
hold exhibitions of work by Vietnamese and foreign artists. On
the third floor are rooms where works dated between the 7th and
early 20th century are on display: Champa and Oc Eo art work,
Vietnamese antiques (ceramics, red-lacquered and gilded
products, mother-of-pearl inlaid wood, etc.), traditional
handicrafts of the Vietnamese ethnicities and Western art.
THONG NHAT PALACE
 Thong Nhat Palace is situated at 106 Nguyen Du Street in Ho Chi
Minh City. Originally called Norodom Palace and Palace of
Indochina Governor General, it was built in 1865. Until 1954,
Ngo Dinh Diem, South Vietnam's President, and his family lived
and worked in Norodom Palace. In 1963, bombs heavily destroyed
this palace. President Diem commanded the remains to be
destroyed and to build a new palace to be called Doc Lap Palace
or Independence Palace. The new palace was built on a 120,000-m2
area and covered 4,500 m2. It included a basement, 3 main
floors, 2 mezzanines, one terrace, and one upper floor. There
are a total of 95 rooms in the Palace; each decorated according
to its function. The Palace also features two exhibition rooms,
a 33-room guesthouse, and numerous entertainment services such
as tennis courts and stilt houses. On April 30, 1975, the tanks
of the liberation army entered the Independence Palace, and the
government, including 45 members and president Duong Van Minh,
surrendered without condition.After the liberation, the
Independence Palace became the headquarters of the city's
military administration committee. The political consultation
for national unification was held in this palace which was
renamed Thong Nhat Conference Hall. Nowadays, Thong Nhat
Conference Hall has become a historic, cultural relic attracting
domestic as well as international visitors.
NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL
Notre Dame Cathedral is situated in Paris Square in the heart of
Ho Chi Minh City. A French priest set down the first brick for
construction in October 1877 and the last one in April 1880. The
cathedral was built in accordance with specific designs and
drawings. Arrangements made with France required the
construction work to be managed by a French engineer named
Baurad. The total cost of the construction was 2.5 million
francs.
MUNICIPAL REVOLUTIONARY MUSEUM
65 Ly Tu Trong Street, District I From 8.00 to 11.30 am 2 to
4.30 pm Tuesday to SundayThe construction of the museum started
in 1885 and was completed in 1890 under the design of French
architect Alfred Foulhoux, who also designed Saigon Court. It
was originally intended that the museum display items from Nam
Ky (the former name of South Vietnam), but the Governor of Nam
Ky mobilized it as his residence. Following that, the building
became the residence of Japanese Governor Minoda. It was also
the office of the Nam Bo Provisional Administrative Committee
(1945) and of the Republic of France High Commissioner. The
building was later reconverted into the residence of the
Governor of Nam Ky. It wasn't until August 1978 that it was
finally turned into the Ho Chi Minh City Revolutionary Museum.
The museum displays items related to the French colonialists'
invasion of Vietnam, the founding of the Vietnam Communist
Party, the anti-French resistance in Saigon-Gia Dinh (1945 to
1954), the anti-American movement, the national resistance of
Saigon-Gia Dinh and the Ho Chi Minh Campaign.
ZOO AND BOTANICAL GARDENS
2 Nguyen Binh Khiem (District center one, HCM city. Ho Chi Minh
City Zoo and Botanical Gardens opened in 1865 on a 20-ha area
and was founded by JB Louis Pierre, a famous French botanist.
The zoo contains more than 520 animals representing 120 species.
The botanical gardens feature 1830 trees and plants representing
260 species of valuable plants, some of which are over 100 years
old. Twenty species of orchids, 32 species of cactus, and 34
species of bonsai are being grown to the delight of millions of
tourists who come to admire the beauty of the Vietnamese flora
and fauna. Ho Chi Minh Zoo and Botanical Gardens is a member of
the Southeast Asian Zoological Association.
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