On this date in 1975 Saigon was re-named Ho Chi Minh City. 10 things you might not know about Ho Chi Minh City.
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam. It accounts for about 0.6% of the country’s total land area and its population was around 10 million in 2023.
The first known human habitation in the area was a Cham settlement called Baigaur. It has been through a number of name changes since then. It became a fishing village which was called Prey Nokor ("Forest City") or Preah Reach Nokor ("Royal City"). When the Vietnamese took the area, they named it Gia Dinh. The name Saigon was given to it by the French. At the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the city was renamed after the communist government’s first leader, Ho Chi Minh, although parts of the city are still sometimes referred to as Saigon.
During the Second Indochina War (or Vietnam War) in the 1960s and early ’70s, Saigon was the headquarters of U.S. military operations. Running under the city are the Cu Chi Tunnels, a network of underground tunnels used by Vietcong guerrillas during the Tet Offensive in 1968. These tunnels served as hiding places, supply routes, and living quarters for many North Vietnamese fighters. Nowadays, they are a tourist attraction with guided tours available.
There is a lot of French influence in the city’s architecture, including the Saigon Central Post Office, which was designed by Gustave Eiffel in 1886.
Around 1.5 million motorbikes enter Ho Chi Minh City every day. There are about 25 motorbikes for every car.
A Yellow Traffic Light in Ho Chi Minh City means the opposite of what it does in the UK. Rather than slow down and be prepared to stop, here it means drive faster and clear the junction.
Who was Ho Chi Minh? He helped establish the Indochinese Communist Party in 1930 and the League for Independence in 1941. After living in France for many years, he travelled to the Soviet Union, having been inspired by the Bolshevik Revolution. He returned to Vietnam to bring Communism to his homeland. At the end of World War II he seized the northern Vietnamese city of Hanoi and declared a Democratic State of Vietnam with himself as president. Known as ‘Uncle Ho’ he served as president for the next 25 years.
The city is twinned with numerous others, including: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Bangkok, Thailand; Leipzig, Germany; Lyon, France; Manila, Philippines; Minsk, Belarus; New York City and San Francisco, USA; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Moscow and St Petersburg, Russia; Shanghai, China and Sofia, Bulgaria.
It’s the setting for the musical, Miss Saigon, which is loosely based on Puccini’s Madam Butterfly. The London production of Miss Saigon ran from 1989-1999 and was the longest running London musical of the 20th century. Miss Saigon has been produced in 25 countries, 12 languages and 256 cities; but never in Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh City is Asia’s 50th most expensive city to live in. It is the 201st most expensive city in the world.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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