Ho Chi Minh City Hall, Notre Dame Cathedral, Central Post Office, Reunification Palace, Pham Ngu Lao Street 5 must-see places

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is the largest city in Vietnam. Since the 19th century, Ho Chi Minh City has been the center of Vietnam's economy, politics, and education. Its social and economic development has been influenced by the West, and its business is extremely developed. It was once known as the "Paris of the East". In addition to its economic prosperity, Ho Chi Minh City's tourism industry is also booming. Although Ho Chi Minh City does not have as many tourist attractions as Hanoi, and its historical atmosphere is not as good as Hanoi, it has a unique charm that attracts countless tourists. Below, we will introduce to you the ranking of Ho Chi Minh City attractions.



TOP5: Ho Chi Minh City Hall

Saigon City Hall was built in 1902 and put into use in 1908. It took a total of 5 years to complete and has a history of more than 100 years. The main body of the City Hall is a two-story French-style building with simple and clear outlines. There is a towering clock tower in the middle and two protruding roofs on both sides. Many lifelike Western mythological figures are carved on the pale yellow walls. Looking from the bottom up, it is very beautiful and exquisite. Although the City Hall is not open to the public, it is located in the core of the city, surrounded by high-rise buildings and large shopping malls.



TOP4: Pham Ngu Lao Street

Most of the streets in Vietnam are named after people. Pham Ngu Lao Street is named after Pham Ngu Lao, a famous general of the Tran Dynasty in Vietnam. Pham Ngu Lao was born in 1255 AD. According to Vietnamese historical records, Pham Ngu Lao was an "ever-victorious general" with no record of defeat. He led his troops to fight many battles in the south and the north. He not only repelled the attack of the Yuan Dynasty army, but also defeated the Champa army in the south.

Hundreds of years have passed, and Pham Ngu Lao's deeds are still talked about by people on Pham Ngu Lao Street. If Pham Ngu Lao Street is considered a tourist attraction, then it must be the first tourist attraction in Saigon. In fact, it is indeed the first destination for many people to travel to Saigon, because it has the title of "Saigon Tourism Distribution Center".

TOP3: Reunification Palace

The Reunification Palace, formerly known as the "Norodom Palace", was built in 1869 and was originally the Governor's Office of France in southern Vietnam. In 1954, the French evacuated and handed over the "Norodom Palace" to the then South Vietnamese government. The South Vietnamese government renamed it "Independence Palace" to show that Vietnam had gotten rid of French colonial rule and regained independence. Since then, "Independence Palace" has become the presidential palace of South Vietnam. In 1975, the revolutionary army of North Vietnam occupied the South Vietnamese presidential palace, declared the demise of the South Vietnamese regime, and Vietnam achieved the unification of the two countries. Subsequently, the "Independence Palace" was renamed "Reunification Palace" as a symbol of the Vietnamese people's struggle for national independence and national unification.

TOP2: Centennial Central Post Office

The Central Post Office, located in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, is an old building left over from the French colonial rule. The post office was built in 1886 by a French architect who designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was officially opened in 1892 and has a history of more than 100 years. Therefore, the Central Post Office is also known as the Centennial Post Office.

More than a hundred years have passed, and the Central Post Office still undertakes its mission, and the delivery work is still proceeding in an orderly manner. The most common scene here is tourists holding a large stack of postcards and writing furiously. From here you can send postcards to all parts of the world. The postage back to China is 8,000 Vietnamese dong, which is about 2.3 yuan in RMB.



TOP1: Notre Dame Cathedral

Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, located next to the Centennial Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City, took 6 years to build. The church has a unique shape, solemn and magnificent, with two 40-meter-high bell towers, the spires of which are really reaching the sky. It can be said to be the best souvenir left by France in Vietnam. The exterior walls of Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral are all made of Marseille red bricks produced in France. Each brick was shipped from France, so the people of Saigon also affectionately call it the Red Church. Today, more than a hundred years have passed, and the exterior walls of Notre Dame Cathedral are still as bright red as before, and the color remains the same.