Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh Market is a big marketplace in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in District 1. The market is one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and today is considered one of symbols of Ho Chi Minh City, popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, 'Ao dai', and souvenirs, as well as local cuisine.

Reunification Conference Hall

Previously on the ground of the present structure was Norodome Palace built in 1873 as a residence of the French Governor General of Indochina.

After 1954, President Ngo Dinh Diem of the Saigon administration and his family lived and worked in Norodome Palace. In February 1963, a dissident of the Diem regime launched an air bombardment of the palace and heavily damaged it. After that Diem decided to demolish the damaged structure and build a new one which was later replaced by the Independence Palace. The present Hoi Truong Thong Nhat was the former Independence Palace.

At 11:30 on April 30,1975, tanks of the Liberation Army overran the palace. The then Saigon president, Mr Duong Van Minh, who had just assumed the post of presidency, together with his 45-member cabinet surrendered unconditionally.

After the liberation of Saigon, the Independence Palace was turned into the Headquarters of the Municipal Military Administrative Committee. In December 1975 the palace was the venue of a consultative conference for national reunification. To mark the historical significance of the event the building was renamed Hoi Truong Thong Nhat.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Notre Dame Cathedral or Grand Cathedral is a magnificent building in the heart of the city. The cathedral was built between October 1877 and April 1880 in a French style at a cost of 2.5 million French francs.

With the approval of the Vatican the cathedral was named Notre Dame during ceremonies held on December 7-8, 1959. Its neo-Romanesque architecture with two-40m square bell towers crown the Paris Commune Square where it is located.

The War Remnants Museum

The War Remnants Museum is a war museum at 28 Vo Van Tan, in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. It primarily contains exhibits relating to the American phase of the Vietnam War, and is a major tourist attraction.

Operated by the Vietnamese government, the museum was opened in September 1975 as the "The House for Displaying War Crimes of American Imperialism and the Puppet Governrment [of South Vietnam]." Later it was known as the Museum of American War Crimes, then as the War Crimes Museum until as recently as 1993. Its current name follows liberalization in Vietnam and the normalization of relations with the United States, but the museum does not attempt to be politically balanced and has been criticized for being full of Government propaganda, and embellished and sometimes outright wrong facts.

The museum comprises a series of eight themed rooms in several buildings, with period military equipment located within a walled yard. The military equipment include a UH-1 "Huey" helicopter, an F-5A fighter, a BLU-82 "Daisy Cutter" bomb, M48 Patton tank, and an A-1 attack bomber.

One building reproduces the "tiger cages" in which the South Vietnamese government housed political prisoners. Other exhibits include graphic photographs, accompanied by short copy in English, Vietnamese and Japanese, covering the effects of Agent Orange and other chemical defoliant sprays, the use of napalm and phosphorus bombs, and atrocities such as the My Lai massacre. Curiosities include a guillotine used by the French and the South Vietnamese to execute prisoners, last in 1960, and three jars of preserved human fetuses deformed by exposure to dioxin.

There are a number of unexploded ordnance stored in the corner of the yard, seemingly with their charges removed.

The Saigon Opera House

The Saigon Opera House an opera house in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is an example of French Colonial architecture in Vietnam. 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.

Saigon Opera House is a smaller counterpart of the Hanoi Opera House (built from 1901 to 1911, and shaped like the Opera Garnier in Paris). The Saigon Opera House owes its specific characteristics to the work of architect Félix Olivier, while construction was under supervision of architects Ernest Guichard and Eugene Ferret in 1900.

Its architectural style is influenced by the flamboyant style of the French Third Republic with the facade shaped like the Petit Palais which was built in the same year in France. The house had a main seating floor plus two levels of seating above, and was capable of accommodating 1,800 people. The design of all the inscriptions, decor, and furnishings were drawn by a French artist and sent from France.

However, the decor of the facade faced some criticisms. In accordance with Gothic style, the house facade was decorated with inscription and reliefs (like City Hall), but it was criticized as being too complicated. In 1943, some of the complicated decoration was removed. On the occasion of 300th anniversary of Saigon in 1998, the city government had some façade decor restored.

Saigon Central Post Office

Saigon Central Post Office is a post office in the downtown Hochiminh City, near Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, the city's main church. The building was constructed when Vietnam was part of French Indochina in the early 20th century. It has a Gothic architectural style. It was designed and constructed by the famous architect Gustave Eiffel in harmony with the surrounding area. Today, the building is a tourist attraction.

Nha Rong Whart

It is situated in the forked junction of the Saigon River (at an end of Nguyen Tat Thanh Road) . The main three- stories building was constructed in 1862 as an office for a sea transport company. The building was a combination of western and eastern architectures with the roof decorated by carvings of dragons. In 1911 a young man called Nguyen Tat Thanh (president Ho Chi Minh in his boyhood) left Nha Rong on board of a French ship to seek ways to secure national salvation. At present Nha Rong is a place of memorial to President Ho Chi Minh.

Cu Chi Tunnel

It is a suburban district some 30km northwest of the city. The district lies between the Saigon and Vam Co Dong rivers. Located at the threshold of Saigon and adjacent to the revolutionary base, Cu Chi play an important role in the two wars of resistance against the old and new colonial powers.

Cu Chi was an "underground village" with its labyrinth of interlaced tunnels having a combined length of more than 200km. The main tunnel is 60cm-70cm wide and 80cm-90cm high. The structure has either a delta-shaped or vaulted ceiling. Above the tunnel is a layer of earth about 3m-4m thick, enough to sustain the weight of 50-tonne tanks or heavy artillery as well as the destruction of bombs up to 100kg. Although it is an underground communication network, the runnel is enlarged here and there into rooms large enough to hold large meetings, a medical station or art performances.

Mr Huller of the Associated Press in Saigon, who visited Cu Chi on February 14, 1966, wrote that Viet Cong (South Vietnamese guerrillas) had dug a lot of underground tunnels and shelters throughout the country, but none were as large and intricate as that network. He added that those who had set foot in that tunnel network should greatly admire the talent, determination and endurance of the communist guerrillas. The soil in Cu Chi was as hard as stone, but with only rudiment hand stools such as hoes and shovels, they had dug and removed tens of thousands of tones of earth and stone, and camouflaged the openings so well that nobody could find them.

The Cu Chi tunnels are open to local and foreign visitors. Some have called it a wonder of the 20th century.

Vinh Nghiem Pagoda

In the old days there was a pagoda named Vinh Nghiem in the former Bac Giang province, now Ha Bac province, in the North. The pagoda belonged to the Truc Lam Buddhist Sect whose three founders were King Tran Nhan Tong, Phap Loa and Huyen Ton Quang Da. In 1964, the Buddhist movement against had many Buddhist followers, descendants of Vinh Nghiem from the North. That is why the constitution of the former Vietnam United Buddhist Church allowed the Buddhists of northern origin to establish a region called Vinh Nghiem.

Lai Thieu Fruit Tree Gardens

Starting from Ho Chi Minh City, you pass the Binh Trieu Railway Station and travel for a further 20km until you reach Lai Thieu fruit tree gardens in Thuan An district, Song Be province. Lai Thieu covering an area of 1,230 ha has been famous for hundreds of years for its beautiful fruit tree gardens.