Ho Chi Minh City City Map Poster

About Ho Chi Minh City

The origin of the name is unclear, with some sources saying that it was derived from a former temple in the area dedicated to "Goddess Saigon", and others saying that it was named after Champa or Cham people. Another story says that Gia Long gave city its name when he founded Đà Nẵng on the eve of his enthronement. The official Vietnamese history books hold that Sài Gòn means 'the capital city', referring to Thăng Long (Hanoi), which is derived from Nam Tư, a vassal state under early Lê Dynasty rule based around modern-day Beijing in China's northeast; this view has been disputed by some historians since Vietnam already had several other port cities at similar strategic locations along both banks of the Mekong River Delta prior to French intervention during their colonization period.