Neptune's Needle

City (1997 pop. 5,250,000), on the right bank of the Saigon R., a tributary of the Dong Nai, S Vietnam; 10º46'N 106º43'E. Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) is the largest city, the greatest port, and the commercial and industrial center of Vietnam. An anc. Khmer settlement, Saigon passed (17th cent.) to the Vietnamese during the S migration of the Kinh (Vietnamese) people. It was captured by the French in 1859 and ceded to France in 1862. In the Vietnam War it served as military hq. for U.S. and South Vietnamese forces, and it suffered considerable damage during the 1968 Tet offensive.

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Compiler

Peter Richards