Photos of the past and present tell the story of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City on the path of development

Foreign tourists are impressed with the way the photos are arranged, helping viewers easily visualize a Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City that is constantly growing. Photo: H.Pham — Foreign tourists are impressed with the way the photos are arranged, helping viewers easily visualize a Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City that is constantly growing. *Photo: Ha Pham*

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025), on April 28, at Ben Thanh metro station (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City), Urban Railway Company No. 1 (HURC1) together with Sacombank organized an exhibition to introduce beautiful and modern images of Ho Chi Minh City.

The representative of the Organizing Committee said that the photo exhibition is a space where the past - present - future intersect, where people can come to experience and look back on the proud 50-year historical journey of the nation and the remarkable changes of Ho Chi Minh City. In particular, the arrangement of two photos in the same location but at two different times between the past and present helps viewers easily visualize the development of the city.

Along with that is the combination of propaganda and encouragement of cashless payment for public transport in the city.

The soldiers of Uncle Ho's Army in the past felt like they were returning to their youth when looking at photos of Ho Chi Minh City before 1975. *Photo: Ha Pham*

Young people should not miss this meaningful exhibition in the last days of April, a historic month for the whole nation. Photo: H.P — Young people should not miss this meaningful exhibition in the last days of April, a historic month for the whole nation. *Photo: Ha Pham*

The exhibition space is divided into two areas. The first area is arranged according to each stage of Ho Chi Minh City's development from 1882 to 2025.

The first period is 1882-1945 with photos of typical works of this period such as Notre Dame Cathedral and Pasteur Institute Saigon; the period 1946-1954 are photos of Norodom Palace (now Reunification Hall), Binh Tan market; the period 1955-1975 are photo documents of Nha Rong Wharf, Turtle Lake, Ben Thanh market.

Many tourists and people of all ages come to visit, check-in, and learn about historical values through photos. — Many tourists and people of all ages came to visit, check-in, and learn about historical values through photos. *Photo: Ha Pham*

Meanwhile, the period 1975-1985 was the period of national reconstruction and post-war stability with documentary images starting with the image of a tank crashing into the gate of the Independence Palace, or the day of the youth volunteers' departure, and the life of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City at that time.

Next is the period 1986-1995, the period of innovation with the 6th National Party Congress, or Vietnam joining ASEAN; the period 1996-2015 of innovation, integration and take-off with typical examples such as Thu Thiem tunnel, Phu My bridge, Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong expressway...

Ben Thanh Market, Tan Thuan Bridge through the frame. *Photo: Ha Pham captured*

The final stage of the image cluster is the period when Ho Chi Minh City and the country reached international level with symbols such as metro line 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien), tram system, green urban areas...

The remaining area is recreated with the theme “Saigon past and present”, including 9 typical locations of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City, such as Independence Palace, Bach Dang Wharf, Le Loi - Nguyen Hue corner, Ben Thanh market, Me Linh square (where the statue of Saint Tran is located), Majestic hotel... The arrangement of two photos taken at the same location but at two different times between past and present helps viewers easily visualize the development of the city.

"I am very impressed with the contrasting images, depicting the rapid and continuous development of Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City through the exhibition space of old and new photos. The images help our young generation understand more about historical values, bringing great motivation and aspiration to build our country to be more and more beautiful and civilized", Tran Dang Hoang (2nd year student of Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology) shared his feelings when viewing the photo exhibition.