After 50 years, a modern Ho Chi Minh City has preserved valuable memories that shape the identity and soul of Vietnam’s largest metropolis.

Built in 1913, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School is one of Ho Chi Minh city’s oldest schools, with classic French architecture. Photo: Tran The Phong

The memories of Ho Chi Minh City do not just live on the pages of history books, but are etched into street corners, alleyways, and places that are familiar to generations of locals. Amidst relentless urban transformation, these places quietly endure as living witnesses to time.

On Le Loi Street, the apartment building at No. 26 stands silently in the heart of the bustling downtown. Behind its modest facade is a sunlit atrium, where white walls and weathered floor tiles remind one of an elegant city decades ago. Not far away, the General Sciences Library tells a different story. Built on the ground of the former Saigon Grand Prison, which once held patriots, it is now a cultural landmark where past and present seamlessly converge.

Street fronts of old apartment buildings in the city used to be repurposed into shops and businesses. Photo: Tran The Phong

Life along the banks of the Saigon River in the early 2000s. Photo: Tran The Phong

Urban memories are also present in the daily life of locals. On Hai Ba Trung Street, Tan Dinh Market with a history spanning nearly a century remains one of the city's busiest traditional markets. Far more than a trading hub, it preserves the authentic cultural flavor of the city, being an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists alike.

The French architectural facade of Tan Dinh Market. Photo: Nguyen Luan/VNP

Small streets are known for food like hu tieu (thin rice noodle soup), com tam (broken rice), and bun mam (fermented fish noodle soup). Photo: Tran The Phong

An old newsstand on a sidewalk. Photo: Tran The Phong

In another corner of town, Cheo Leo Café still keeps the old way of brewing coffee using a cloth strainer and clay pots, a rare, nostalgic sight in today's fast-paced world. The rustic space and familiar aroma offer patrons a gentle sensory journey back to the city of yesteryear.

Further out in Thu Duc, the steady clang of the hammer rings daily from the Phuong Blacksmith Shop. Four generations here have kept their family’s craft with their time-honored techniques. At a time when machinery and automation prevail, the glowing red embers of their forge have become a symbol of resilience of traditional values.

A street in the early 2000s. Photo: Tran The Phong

 

As Ho Chi Minh City celebrates 50 years of bearing the late President's name, these heritages remind us that the city’s true appeal stems from more than just sleek infrastructure or rapid growth. It is the carefully guarded memories, weathered through the years, that forge the soul of a metropolis that is moving toward the future./.  

Story: Nguyen Luan

Photos: Nguyen Luan/VNP, Tran The Phong