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Since North Vietnam took over the South in 1975, official papers, administrative documents, cards, and plane tickets refer to Ho Chi Minh City. Variously called the "Paris" or "Pearl of the Orient", the "Marseille of Vietnam" or "Balcony of the Pacific", the name Saigon remains etched in people's memories and is the name used in everyday speech.
Formerly the capital of Cochin Chine that became a French possession in 1867, its downtown is home to many restored colonial buildings including the theater, town hall, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Majestic Hotel, the Continental Hotel, main post office, etc... and the list goes on. Beside them are modern skyscrapers, luxury hotels and huge billboards. Economic activity is growing at breakneck speed. The city's population of over four million is constantly on the go. The American embargo of Vietnam was lifted ten years ago and the metropolis of the South literally exploded. Despite the omnipresence of communism, a new land of opportunity is being born, between the charm of the past and western-style development that is so much a part of its present.
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