On July 2, 1976, at the first session of the 6th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Saigon–Gia Dinh was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City, in memory of President Ho Chi Minh — the great leader who devoted his entire life to the independence and reunification of his homeland.
President Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969) was born in Nghe An province, left home at age 21 to seek a path to national salvation, and spent more than 30 years abroad in France, the Soviet Union, China, and many other countries. He read the Declaration of Independence founding the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945 in Hanoi, and led the resistance against France to victory at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. He died on September 2, 1969 — six years before the country's reunification.
Naming Vietnam's largest southern city after President Ho Chi Minh was a deeply symbolic decision — honoring the leader who had spent his whole life fighting for the historic reunification he never lived to see. On the same day, North and South Vietnam were officially unified into a single state.
However, the name 'Saigon' never disappeared. In everyday life, residents continue to use 'Saigon' to refer to the city's central area (especially District 1), and the name lives on as a special layer of cultural memory for millions of people. Phrases like 'Saigon people', 'Saigon rice', and 'Saigon style' remain in wide use without political connotation.
Ho Chi Minh City today is Vietnam's largest metropolis, covering more than 2,000 km² with an official population of around 9.3 million people (with an estimated real population exceeding 13 million). The city contributes approximately 22–27% of the national GDP and is Vietnam's leading center of finance, commerce, culture, and one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic cities.