Welcome to HoChiMinh City

Photo by Thủy Hiền

My hometown has being named of our talent and respected leader, Ho Chi Minh who led the Vietnamese people and the country to a glorious and proud victory in the revolution for the national liberty and reunification, sine 1976. It is one of the biggest and most developed cities of Vietnam. The Politburo’s Resolution 01 (1982) positioned Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) as a political importance just behind Hanoi. In recent years, the growth rate of HCMC is over 100% with the balance at different fields, its GDP accounts for nearly one-third of that of the whole country and its GDP value in comparing with the national GDP value in 2004 was more than VND 131.5 trillion/362.1 trillion. The gross fiscal budget input of HCMC in 2005 and 2006 reached VND 60,487 billion and 69,394 billion respectively.
Concerning the geography configuration, HCMC is located in the middle of the South of Vietnam. It borders Dong Nai at the eastern side, Long An at the western side, Binh Duong and Tay Ninh at the north and Tien Giang and Ba Ria-Vung Tau at the south. The total area of HCMC is about 2,095 km2. It consists of 19 districts (quận) and 5 suburbs (huyện). District 1 is the central one where many administrative authorities are sited and many commercial activities/events are taken place. I would like to introduce Cu Chi suburb which is of historic places, too. Cu Chi is famous with tunnels and real legends of the fight for the motherland’s freedom and independence. The Saigon River is like a green galaxy separating the flat area of the city. It brings cool breezes in order to calm the city’s tropical heat and rushing life down. It must be really great if we sit in a boat, enjoy the delicious meals served by the friendly and lovely crew and take a tour on this river at night.

HCMC belongs to the South of Vietnam therefore it is closer to the equator than the others. Indeed, it is cooler than the others instead of being really hot because of its position next to sea. Differing from the North, there are 4 obvious seasons, HCMC solely has 2 seasons, the raining and the drying. Even though which season it is, the land here is very fertile and good for many classes of plants. There is plenty of fruits through full year such as durians, rambutans, longans,mangoes, dragon fruits, avocados, coconuts, more and more...

Telling here, I am very keen on telling you about Vietnamese foods. Wow... Yum...Yummy... There are hundreds, I suppose thousands, of Vietnamese meals, remarkably are Phở (Vietnamese rice noodles), Chả giò (Spring rolls), Bánh xèo (a kind of pancake)... The meals from several areas and zones likewise are served in small shops to more luxurious restaurants. By night, visitors also enjoy Vietnamese foods at trading streets while go shopping there. HCMC has a busy night life, shops and trading centres may keep opening during night.... Wo...oow... the visitors and tourists can be free for shopping. There are so many entertainments at night – bars, clubs, theatres, cinemas, etc. are other choices if you are not interested in shopping and foods.

Turned over the normal life, HCMC had more than 7 million people, the population density is about 3,401 people/km2 up to August 2009. It seems to be so crowded here. The per capita in 2007 was about 2,100 USD/year which is much more than the average of the comprehensive country. With such population, the daily life in HCMC is rather rushing and stuffy. It is ridiculously said that traffic jams are of the characteristics of HCMC. As the result, the HCMC People’s Council has dynamically supported to the projects to improve the infrastructure as Dai lo Dong Tay (East-West freeway), Duong ham Thu Thiem (Thu Thiem Subway). These show the growth of the city in part.

About culture, HCMC is a city which is pretty active and original but people and the City Council also pay attention on preserving and improving traditional cultural values as well as enriching it by exchange of the quintessence of others’ culture. Have you ever heard about Cai Luong? It is a vivid demonstration. Cai Luong is a traditional form of opera of the south of Vietnam, especially Saigon in past and HCMC at present. It appeared nearly 100 years ago and it was the combination of the Vietnamese culture (Tuong from the North – a kind of opera) and the Oriental and Western culture (French modern drama then China’s Guangdong opera). In particular, it is Vietnamese language which is the latinization of the former national linguistic. Nowadays, HCMC shows a traditional Vietnamese culture with its own characteristics of the southern countryside regions (such as Vietnamese, Chinese, Cham, Khmer, Indian constructions, Fork tunes, Ao dai, etc.) and a modern Vietnamese culture which precisely influenced of the French and American cultures (for instance the architectural structures of Nha Rong Wharf, the City Post Office, Grand Theatre, City Hall, Ben Thanh Market, Independent Palace, the fashion and music of Jeans, Hip-Hop and so on). The freedom on religion is respected and the abundance on religion is also considered a typical characteristic of HCMC. The Notre Dame in Paris is very famous. So, do you know that there is another Notre Dame in HCMC? It is a famous Christian church of HCMC, located in the heart of the city. The Vinh Nghiem temple is deemed to be a big and popular pagoda for the Buddhists.

HCMC is deemed as the national centre for education, science, technology and healthy care. The statistical indicators in 2005 disclosed the number of university-college teachers and students respectively were 9,631 and 297,100. Moreover, the City Council gave the practical programme in order to develop the human resource the “300 masters and doctorates”. And up to 2008, HCMC had 71 universities and colleges within the total of 369 universities and colleges. The HCMC University of Technology, the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, the University of Education are of the oldest and famous universities at HCMC. It is also necessary to mention the HCMC University of Law, where the Moot Competition 2009 is going to start in November 2009, it is the official and professional university educating and training different legal majors within the Southern region. There are 65 institutes and sub-institutes of science and technology, and 36 centres for researching and applying science with around 8,300 scientists. HCMC is the largest health care centre in Vietnam with many well-equipped hospitals and well-trained doctors. There are 36 hospitals now in the city and Cho Ray hospital is assessed as the leading and up-dated hospital in specific technology and medical knowledge and skills .
Overall, HCMC is constantly changing and developing in all fields. HCMC’s appearance being the energetic and modern city is the worthy proof. The achievements which HCMC gained during the Doi Moi (Revolution) process are the pride of the whole urban people and those deserve its name, HO CHI MINH –the name of our beloved chief.

Come and discover my hometown! You must be delighted and breathtaking. Ho Chi Minh City is always welcome all of you. In particular, by this November, HCMC University of Law is very glad and joyful to welcome the candidates of the Moot Competition 2009. We hope you would have a great time and the considerable experience here. Now, be ready and work up!

Compiled by Trần Thị Phương Hạnh
Lecturer, Faculty of Commercial Law
HCMC University of Law