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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) Travel Information | ||||||||
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At the peak of the Vietnam War the city counted some 4.5 million inhabitants. After the reunification of Vietnam the Communist masters reduced the number of inhabitants. However, these measures were by far not as drastic as the according steps taken by the Khmer Rouge in Phnom Penh. By 1996, the population of Ho Chi Minh City has again grown to more than 4 million.
Saigon and the Mekong delta were inhabited by the Vietnamese only from the 17th century onwards. Before the arrival of the Vietnamese, the region was settled by the Khmer (Cambodians).
In 1859 the French conquered Saigon, and in 1862 they made it the capital of their colony Cochin China. Saigon was extended and rebuilt in French style, with broad boulevards and elegant architecture.
