Formerly, this city was the capital of
Republic of Vietnam. Saigon was called "the Pearl of the Far East" or "Paris in the Orient". In 1976, upon the establishment of the unified communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the city of Saigon (including Cholon), the province of Gia Ðịnh and two suburban districts of two other nearby provinces were combined to create Hồ Chí Minh City in honour of the late
communist leader. Now, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Sai Gon, is very cosmopolitan. Here in
HCMC, you can find a lot of communities such as the Chinese one in Cho Lon area, the working-classes near the industrial zones, the upper class in District 7, to name but a few.
You call those things happiness", the Vietnamese said, "then you two still don't understand life at all. Imagine this. You are sleeping soundly at night in Saigon. Then suddenly you loud voices of the friends, 'man, wake up and
open the door!'. Awaked with curiosity, you
rush out and open the door. Right there, your
pals ask you to join them and drink at a pavement diner over night.