Bn Thnh Market is a large marketplace in central H Ch Minh City, Vietnam in District 1.

The
market is one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and one of symbols of H Ch Minh
City, popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, o di and souvenirs, as well as local
cuisine.
The market developed from informal markets created by early 17th century street vendors
gathering together near the Saigon River. The market was formally established by the French
colonial powers after taking over the Gia nh citadel in 1859 (see Citadel of Saigon). This market
was destroyed by fire in 1870 and rebuilt to become Saigon's largest market. In 1912 the market
was moved to a new building and called the New Bn Thnh Market to distinguish over its
predecessor. The building was renovated in 1985

Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica (Vietnamese: Vng cung thnh ng c B Si Gn or Nh
th c B Si Gn,French: Cathdrale Notre-Dame de Sagon), officially Basilica of Our Lady
of The Immaculate Conception(Vietnamese: Vng cung thnh ng Chnh ta c M V
nhim Nguyn ti) is a cathedral located in the downtown ofHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. It has
two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).
Following the French conquest of Cochinchina and Saigon, the Roman Catholic
Church established a community and religious services for French colonialists. The first church
was built on today's Ngo Duc Ke Street. There had been a Vietnamese pagoda, which had been
abandoned during the war. Bishop Lefevre decided to make this pagoda a church.
The last church was too small. Thus, in 1863, Admiral Bonard decided to build a wooden church
on the bank of Charner canal (Kinh Ln). Lefevre put the first stone for construction of the church
on 28 March 1863. The construction was completed two years later and was called "Saigon
Church". When the wooden church was damaged by termites, all church services were held in
the guest-chamber of the French Governor's Palace. This palace would later be turned into a
seminary until the Notre-Dame Cathedral was completed.
After the design competition, bids were accepted for construction. Again, J. Bourard was the
successful bidder and became supervisor of constructions.
Originally, there were three proposed sites for construction:
On the site of the former test school (today, this is at the corner of Le Duan Boulevard
and Hai Ba Trung Street).
At Kinh Lon (today it is Nguyn Hu Boulevard)
At the present site where the cathedral is situated.
All building materials were imported from France. The outside wall of the cathedral was built with
bricks from Marseille. Although the contractor did not use coated concrete, these bricks have
retained their bright red color until today.
On 7 October 1877, Bishop Isidore Colombert laid the first stone in an inaugural ceremony. The
construction of the cathedral took three years. On Easter Day, 11 April 1880, a blessing
ceremony and ceremony of completion were solemnly organized in presence of the Governor of
Cochinchina Charles Le Myre de Vilers. One can see the granite plate inside the main entry gate
commemorating the start and completion dates and designer. The total cost was 2,500,000
French francs (at that time price). At the beginning, the cathedral was called State Cathedral due
to source of the construction cost.
In 1895, two bell towers were added to the cathedral, each 57.6 m high with six bronze bells with
the total weight of 28.85 metric tonnes. The crosses were installed on the top of each tower of 3.5
m high, 2 m wide, 600 kg in weight. The total height of the cathedral to the top of the Cross is
60.5 m.
In the flower garden in front of the cathedral, there was a bronze statue of Pigneau de
Behaine (also called Bishop of Adran) leading Prince Cnh, the son of Emperor Gia Long by his
right hand. The statue was made in France. In 1945, the statue was removed, but the foundation
remains.
In 1959, Bishop Joseph Pham Van Thien, whose jurisdiction included Saigon parish, attended the
Marian Congress held in Vatican and ordered a statue of Our Lady of Peace made with granite in
Rome. When the statue arrived in Saigon on 16 February 1959, Bishop Pham Van Thien held a
ceremony to install the statue on the empty base and presented the title of "Regina Pacis". It was
the same bishop who wrote the prayers "Notre-Dame bless the peace to Vietnam". The next day,
Cardinal Aganianian came from Rome to chair the closing ceremony of the Marian Congress and
solemnly chaired the ceremony for the statue, thus the cathedral was then-on called Notre-Dame
Cathedral.
During October 2005, the statue was reported to have shed tears, attracting thousands of people
and forcing authorities to stop traffic around the Cathedral. However, the top clergy of
the Catholic Church in Vietnam confirmed that the Virgin Mary statue in front of a cathedral did
not shed tears, which nevertheless failed to disperse the crowd flocking to the statue days after
the incident. The reported 'tear' flowed down the right cheek of the face of the statue.

In 1960, Pope John XXIII erected Roman Catholic dioceses in Vietnam and assigned
archbishops to Hanoi, Hu and Saigon. The cathedral was titled Saigon Chief Cathedral. In
1962, Pope John XXIII anointed the Saigon Chief Cathedral, and conferred it the status of a
basilica. From this time, this cathedral was called Saigon Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica.
All the original building materials were imported from France. Tiles have been carved with the
words Guichard Carvin, Marseille St Andr France (perhaps stating the locality where the tiles
were produced). Some tiles are carved with the words "Wang-Tai Saigon". Many tiles have since
been made in Ho Chi Minh City to replace the tiles that were damaged by the war. There are 56
glass squares supplied by the Lorin firm of Chartres province in France. The cathedral foundation
was designed to bear ten times the weight of the cathedral.

HO CHI MINH MUSEUM - DRAGON HOUSE WHARF
Location and history

A figure of vast Importance to Vietnam's modern history, Ho Chi Minh has his memory spread
everywhere throughout the country, including the place which bears his name Ho Chi Minh City.
The most highlighted moment of his life that is often tied with this city was in June 1911, when he
set sail on a French ship named Admiral Latouche Treville at Dragon House Wharf and departed
Vietnam for his 30-year journey around the world.
Dragon Wharf is at first a large trading harbor of Saigon (the old name of Ho Chi Minh City). In
1862, the French colonist built this harbor to meet the demand of transportation between the
colonized Vietnam and the world. In September 1979, the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh
City reformed it into a Ho Chi Minh Museum branch in a city of the same name.
Located on the junction of Saigon River, today tourists can find it at the beginning of Nguyen Tat
Thanh Street (District 4).
Architecture and its collection

The harbor is well-known for its unique architecture which combines Vietnamese style
and French style. This characteristic is well reflected through the design of a main French-style
building, which has 2 Vietnamese-dragon-shaped statues on its roof top, a detail that can be
easily found in the architecture of Vietnam traditional temples and pagodas. Its said that the
name of the wharf came from this decoration.
This historical site is home to a rich collection of 3,000 pictures and 700 artifacts relating to
President Ho Chi Minh, including his personal belongings and journals as well as many scripts
and publications documenting his wondrous life.
Today, even though this destination no longer functions as a dock, it has become a tourist-
magnet attracting millions of people annually from both inside and outside the country, where
tourists can expect to learn about the rich culture and history of Vietnam and a life that has
inspired millions of people in the world.
How to get there

Ham Rong or Dragon House Wharf sits near the end of Ham Nghi or Nguyen Hue Street, close to
Bach Dang Tourist Wharf. It is open daily except on Monday from 8am to 11.30am and 1.30pm to
5pm. Visitors are suggested to travel there by taxi or motorbike.

Museum of Ho Chi Minh City
The building now occupied by the museum was built during the French colonial era and was the
residence of high-ranking French colonial officers. Called Gia Long Palace before the fall of
Saigon, it was the last residence of President of the Republic of Vietnam Ng nh Dim,
beginning 27 February 1962. Dim had been Prime Minister since 1954, and president since
1955, but originally lived in Independence Palace until it was bombed by two mutinous pilots of
the Vietnam Air Force. As a result, Dim had to relocate, and ordered a new palace to be built,
moving to Gia Long Palace in the interim. It was the last place Dim worked before his
assassination on 2 November 1963 in a coup d'etat.
Dim ordered the construction of three extremely deep underground tunnels leading from the
palace to other parts of the city so that he could escape in the event of a coup. During his
downfall, Dim is widely believed to have used one of these escape routes to escape the siege
on the palace, which caused considerable damage. He fled to a supporter's house in Cholon but
was captured and executed a day later. The successor presidents still worked there until the
completion of re-built Independence Palace, now Reunification Palace, in 1966. After the fall of
Saigon on 30 April 1975, Gia Long Palace was turned into a museum.

Municipal Theatre, Ho Chi Minh City
The Municipal Theatre of Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon Opera
House (Vietnamese: Nh ht ln Thnh ph H Ch Minh; French: Opra de Saigon), is an opera
house in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It is an example of French Colonialarchitecture in Vietnam.
Built in 1897 by French architect Eugne Ferret as the Opra de Saigon, the 800 seat building
was used as the home of the Lower House assembly of South Vietnam after 1956. It was not until
1975 that it was again used as a theatre, and restored in 1995.
Architecture
The Municipal Theatre is a smaller counterpart of the Hanoi Opera House, which was built
between 1901 and 1911, and shaped like the Opra Garnier in Paris. The Municipal Theatre
owes its specific characteristics to the work of architect Flix Olivier, while construction was under
supervision of architects Ernest Guichard and Eugne Ferret in 1900.
Its architectural style is influenced by the flamboyant style of the French Third Republic, with the
faade shaped like the Petit Palais which was built in the same year in France. The house had a
main seating floor plus two levels of seating above, and was capable of accommodating 1,800
people. The design of all the inscriptions, dcor, and furnishings were drawn by a French artist
and sent from France.
In accordance with the style employed, the faade of the theatre was decorated with inscription
and reliefs (like the Ho Chi Minh City Hall), but it was criticized as being too ornate. In 1943 some
of this decoration was removed, but a portion was restored by the city government for the 300th
anniversary of Saigon in 1998.
History[edit]
After the invasion of Cochinchina, in 1863 French colonists invited a theatre company to Saigon
to perform for the French legion in the villa of the French admiral at the Clock Square (Place de
l'Horloge) (presently the corner of Nguyen Du and Dong Khoi streets). After a short time, a
temporary theatre was built at the site of what is now the Caravelle Hotel. In 1898, the
construction of the new theatre commenced on the site of the old one, and it was completed by 1
January 1900.
Between World War I and World War II, all costs of mobilization and demobilization as well as
other costs for the theatre companies from France to Saigon were paid by the municipal
government. Despite the fact that the theatre was planned as an entertainment venue for the
growing middle class, its audience declined as more and more night clubs and dance halls
boomed in the city. During this period, performances were presented only occasionally, some
being concerts and others cai luong programs.
Following criticisms of the theatre's faade and the high costs of organizing performances, the
municipal government intended to turn the theatre into a concert hall (Salle de Concert), but this
was never carried out. Instead, decorations, engravings and statues were removed from the
theatre faade in 1943 to make the theatre look more youthful. In 1944, the theatre was damaged
by the Allied aerial attacks against Japanese Imperial Army, and the theatre stopped functioning.
As Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, France returned to Cochinchina. In 1954, the French
army surrendered to Viet Minh during the Battle of Dien Bien Phu which led to the Geneva
Accords in the same year. The theatre was then used as a temporary shelter for French civilians
arriving from North Vietnam.
In 1955, the theatre was restored as the seat of the Lower House of the State of Vietnam, then
the Republic of Vietnam. After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, the building was restored to its original
function as a theatre. In 1998, on the occasion of 300th anniversary of the founding of Saigon, the
municipal government had the theatre faade restored.