An Introduction To Ho Chi Minh City

Most tourists traveling to lớn Vietnam always showroom Ho bỏ ra Minh đô thị (region code: 028) lớn their bucket list. The impressions of travelers when they come to lớn the 300-year-old cityare the abundant choices of delicious street foods & the millions ofmotorbike madness zooming around the city. Here are some facts about Ho chi Minh đô thị that you should know before visiting.

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Geography of Ho bỏ ra Minh City

Ho đưa ra Minh thành phố (formerly known as Saigon) is located at 10°10" - 10°38"N & 106°22" - 106°54"E in the southeastern part of Vietnam. It is enclosed by ba Ria - Vung Tau & Dong Nai Provinces khổng lồ the east, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong Provinces khổng lồ the north, Long An và Tien Giang Provinces khổng lồ the west.

The length of the thành phố from northwest to lớn southeast is 150 km, while from west to lớn east is 75 km. The city center is about 1,730 km lớn the south of Hanoi, 50 km khổng lồ the west of the Eastern Sea (meet with the sea at Can Gio District).

The total area is 2,061.4 square km; the urban area is only about 1/3 that of the suburban. The average height compared khổng lồ the sea surface in the center area is about 5 meters, in the northern suburban is about 16 meters.

Check our guide on Ho chi Minh District Mapand Ho đưa ra Minh đô thị Layout.

On hydrography, Ho chi Minh thành phố Vietnam has a wide network of rivers & canals, the most important rivers flowing through and near the đô thị are the Saigon River & Dong Nai River (the main freshwater).

With the central position in Southeast Asia, Ho bỏ ra Minh city is an important transport hub for overland routes, water routes & air routes, which connects the provinces in Southern Vietnam & is an international port.

Ho chi Minh City"s Population

Vietnam is a country with a population of over 96 million people as of 2017, according khổng lồ an estimate from The World Factbook, making it the top đôi mươi of the most populous country in the world. The biggest đô thị in Vietnam is Ho bỏ ra Minh đô thị with about 8.3 million individuals, according to the statistics in 2016. In fact, the total population of Ho chi Minh thành phố accounts for approximately 9% of all citizens of Vietnam.

Weather in Ho chi Minh City

Located in the tropical monsoon climate near the equator, Ho chi Minh đô thị is characterized by high tropical temperatures throughout the year with rainy và dry seasons. While the rainy season lasts from late April to lớn October, the dry season begins from November until early April.

On average, there are about 160 - 270 sunshine hours per month in Ho chi Minh đô thị with an average temperature of 27 degrees Celsius (80 Fahrenheit). The temperature may reach 40 degrees Celsius(104 Fahrenheit) around noon in late April, but it can go down khổng lồ nearly 14 degrees Celsius(57 Fahrenheit) during the morning hours in late December.

The average number of rainy days in Ho bỏ ra Minh city is around 159 days. The recorded volume of rainfall is especially high from June to lớn September with almost daily scattered showers.

In general, although Ho chi Minh thành phố is located in less directly affected areas of gale-force winds and typhoons, there are usually severe thunderstorms on a small scale from May to lớn August. Learn more about the best time lớn go khổng lồ Ho bỏ ra Minh City.

History of Ho đưa ra Minh City

The records of the formation of Ho chi Minh đô thị began in the early 17th century when Cambodia và Vietnam"s relation was strengthened by a marriage between a Vietnamese Princess & the King of Cambodia. King Chey Chettha II agreed with the idea of establishing a tax collection station by Nguyen Lord and allowed the Vietnamese refugees fleeing from the civil war in Vietnam to settle in Prey Nokor - a small fishing village of Khmer at that time. However, four decades later, the rapid increase of Vietnamese refugees, along with the weakness of the Cambodian Kingdom in the war with Thailand, made Prey Nokor become the Gia Dinh Citadel of Vietnam.

With the rules of French in 1874, Gia Dinh was renamed lớn Saigon; then it became an important center with multiple functions: economic, military, port, và harbor. Since the thành phố was influenced heavily by the French culture during the colonial era, it was called “Paris in the Orient” at that time. When you visit, you can still witness many old colonial buildings, landmarks, schools, hospitals, & villas. Saigon & Cholon, which were once divided into two regions in 1864, were combined into Saigon - Cholon again in 1931. However, this region soon became a single city called Saigon in 1957.

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After the Vietnamese took back their independence from the French thanks lớn the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, for đôi mươi years, Saigon was the capital of Southern Vietnam"s government. On 30th April1975, the war between the North & South of Vietnam formally ended (“Liberation of Saigon”). Upon theestablishment of the unified Communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam,Saigon was renamed khổng lồ Ho bỏ ra Minh city in 1976, under the governance of Ho chi Minh đô thị People"s Committee.

Culture in Ho chi Minh City

The Vietnamese community has 54 different ethnic groups. There are 50 out of 54 ethnic groups living in Ho đưa ra Minh City. The khiếp (also known as Viet) accounts for89.9% of the total population. The second largest group is the Chinese with approximately 9.8%. Apart from Vietnam’s ethnic-minority population, there is a minor number of people who are Thai and Hmong living in the mountainous regions, & under 0.1% of them contribute khổng lồ Ho bỏ ra Minh City"s population.

The religious practice in Ho bỏ ra Minh thành phố is quite diverse, including Mahayana, Theravada, folk religion, Catholicism, & a small percentage of Islam, Caodaism, Hoahaoism, và other religions. Ancestor worship is a popular khung of spirituality, practiced by the majority of the population. Most residents are strongly influenced by either one of these traditional beliefs.

Learn more about religions in Vietnam.

Food in Ho chi Minh đô thị Vietnam

If you are a food lover, we promise you will not be disappointed when you set foot in Ho bỏ ra Minh City. In addition to the world-famous Pho noodle soup & Goi Cuon, you must try these specialties listed below.

1. Com Tam (Broken Rice)

Broken Rice is made from rice with fractured rice grains, usually served with grilled pork, fried egg, bi (shredded pork skin) và leafy greens. There are some famous restaurants where serve this food in Ho chi Minh City, such as cha Nghien (84 Dang Van Ngu, Phu Nhuan District) and Thuan Kieu Broken Rice with many branches all over the city.

2. Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Pancake)

Banh Xeo is a savory pancake made of rice flour, turmeric powder, water, served with mustard leaves and lettuce leaves. The fragrant aroma of the cake shell interspersed with shrimps, unique meat, bean sprouts, và fatty green beans have a strong attraction khổng lồ those who crave culinary culture in Ho bỏ ra Minh City.

3. Banh Mi

Banh Mi is a quintessential Vietnamese dish that you should try when traveling in Ho chi Minh City. This dish includes the baguette sandwich và various stuff like bate, butter, cold cuts, heo con quay (roasted pork belly), fried egg, xa xiu(Chinese barbecued pork or char siu), vegetables & others.

4. Banh Cuon (Steamed rice roll)

Banh cuon is available almost everywhere in Ho chi Minh City. The filling contains a phối of cooked ground pork, minced wood ear mushroom, and minced shallots, rolled up in a thin and wide sheet of steamed rice batter.

5. Banh Trang Nuong

Banh trang nuong is a dish from domain authority Lat but is very popular in Ho đưa ra Minh City. It is rice paper topped with beaten egg, scallion, minced pork, and shrimp powder and grilled over charcoal. If you go around Turtle Lake (Ho bé Rua) in District 3 at night, you will find many rice paper snacks including this Banh Trang Nuong.

Attractions in Ho bỏ ra Minh City

There are numerous attractions in Ho chi Minh City, from historical, cultural to natural sites that represent different sides of Ho đưa ra Minh City. If you want more detailed itineraries, see our recommendedOne-day itineraries, Two-day itineraries, và Three-day itineraries in Ho chi Minh City.

1. The Museum of Vietnamese History

On the danh mục of 11 museums, Ho chi Minh city is the first position in the number of museums in Vietnam. The largest và oldest museum in the đô thị is the Museum of Vietnamese Historythat owns over 30,000 artifacts.

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Address: 2 Nguyen Binh Khiem, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1Opening hours: 8 AM – 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM -5 PM

Vietnam History Museum in Ho đưa ra Minh City

2. Can Gio Forest

The Can Gio Biosphere Reservein Can Gio District is a community of plant and animal species, formed on the large delta areas of rivers including Dong Nai River, Saigon, Vam teo Dong, & Vam co Tay. UNESCO recognized this place as the biosphere reserve around the world, which has unique systems of fauna & flora in the mangrove forest. Furthermore, the government has recognized this forest as a national tourist destination in Vietnam.