Ho Chi Minh City history

Ho Chi Minh City has enjoyed over 35 years of peace following decades of unrest in the 20th century. After the defeat of French colonialists in 1954, Vietnam was divided into two. Saigon became the capital of the Republic of South Vietnam but almost immediately Communist North Vietnam, under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh, began an attempt to unify the country.

The USA, fearing the spread of Communism, stepped in, sparking the bloody Vietnam War that coloured much of the cultural, social and political climate of the 1960s. Driven back by tenacious North Vietnamese defence and jungle warfare they were ill-equipped to deal with, the Americans left in 1973 and the whole of Vietnam came under Communist rule.

Massive inflation and poverty followed until 1986 when the government introduced doi moi, the Vietnamese equivalent of perestroika, relaxing its hold on the people and allowing them to run their own businesses. The last two decades has seen a steady transformation and a rise in the city's fortunes, which has enabled it to become one of the most exciting places to visit in south-east Asia.